Interactive Buttons & Text

[KC_xo]

Hi Lovely Community I hope you are well.

I was hoping to get your advice and help. I have created a postcard design to be pasted into an email and sent to our clients. This design, im hoping to have interactive, clickable buttons and text.

Now when I created it in Indesign the text that I want clickable, I made the text hyperlink to a URL or Email and that works fine when I exported the file to PDF, but once I saved the file to PNG or an image file, as it needs to be that file type for it to be pasted into an email, and to be displayed as a image for the client to see when they open the email, the buttons and clickable text is no longer clickcable or interactive.

How do I get this design to work as I want it to? Is this possible?

For example the button says "Review Us Now" the client is to click on this button and it takes them to our Google page. The other clickcable text is "Unsubscribe" and that opens up an email to send to us and we take them off our database.

I know I could have these things directly in the email as type/text that is hyperlinked and not in the image but it would look silly as its all one part of the image, and wouldn't work and defeat the purpose.

(see attached for example)

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Not sure why are you expecting it to still be interactive and work - when you are flattening everything into a bitmap - bunch of pixels? 

It's the same situation as when you save vector graphics into a bitmap. 

Never done this before - but I think you rather have to export as HTML? 

But if you can't have HTML in your email either - just plain text for security reasons - then there is nothing you can do. 

[KC_xo]

Thanks for your reply.

I wasnt 'expecting' anything, I was coming here to ask for help, isn't that what this forum is for?

I exported my Indesign file as HTML and unfortunately it didn't work, the design went all skewif, it's a bummer as that may have been the answer as I don't believe there would have been a restriction on us using HTML format 😞

Thanks for the suggeston and idea.

(see attached example)

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

You should either try a different tool from Adobe - or look for something else entirely. 

[KC_xo]

I believe you have the right idea with HTML I just need to work out how to do it correctly, to make it format correctly etc. This is the right path to take.

I dont know if it will entail coding, knowing HTML etc. or if there is a simple way around it. If I will need a special program to use, or if there is a free program.

So much to figure out.

[BobLevine]

If this is to be emailed, then use Constant Contact, Mail Chimp or another service that specializes in this type of thing. InDesign is most definitely the wrong tool for this.

[KC_xo]

Thank you for your reply. I agree with you after reading replies from Robert Tkaczyk.

Unfortunatly both Constant Contact and Mail Chimp seem to be paid programs and I dont believe my work is looking to pay for a program to produce this.

[John Mensinger]

I dont believe my work is looking to pay for a program to produce this.

Then they don't understand how it works. HTML-based email marketing isn't straightforward; it requires a specific flavor of legacy HTML/CSS just to make it work across (the recipients') various email clients. Beyond that, tracking the results is a whole other can of worms you can't do on your own. The closest thing to making it straightforward is paying for one of those services.

[KC_xo]

You are correct, they dont know how it works, they are not in the business to know how it works, it is not their area of expertise, like the field they work in, is not your area of expertise and you wouldnt know how what they do works!!!

We are not looking for the software to tell us how it is tracking and the results, we will know that ourselves by if the client leaves us a review of not, if they dont, then clearly its not tracking very well.

This is not something the Directors have asked me to do, it is a project I have taken upon myself and I am proposing to them to take up, I believe that it can make a difference to the company, but I also belive it may be hard to push over the line, hence why I am trying to make it cost as little as possible or nothing at all. Hence also why I am trying to get help to find ways to achieve this. It is not something I have ever done before, programs I have ever used before etc.

I was working with a company that could do this for us but as you would understand their services come at a high cost. But if I can achieve this myself then why not give it a go. I believe if you try hard enough and research enough, anything is possible.

[Frans v.d. Geest]

"But if I can achieve this myself then why not give it a go. I believe if you try hard enough and research enough, anything is possible."

Not with InDesign you will and it won't be...

[KC_xo]

Many thanks for your reply. But as I have said in my replies to various people now, that has been clearly understood and agreed upon. We all agree and have moved on from this. The path we are taking and are all speaking to is HTML, email marking programs. 

[Frans v.d. Geest]

As you save it as PNG it is a PNG and no PDF!!

So everything that is a PDF function is gone of course... Ever tried making a screenshot of a website and then expected that all links on that screenshot would still work as if it is a website? Of course not...(!)

And if you send them the PDF, buttons won't work, only the hyperlink kind anyway.

Use Publish online and send them the link to that or use MailChimp/HTML.

Your workflow has no change of ever working...

[KC_xo]

Thanks for your reply. Oh I compltely get the concept, im not that silly. I was just trying to work out how to complete the task and what program to use to complete it. It is something new I have never work on before.

I am not looking to send a link to our clients that would require them to complete a second step and defeat the purpose of what we are trying to achieve. Im trying to make it as simple as possible so they will 'hopefully' complete the task.

So it needs to be a clickable image/button directly in the email. I believe to do this it needs to be HTML.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Here is a suggestion. Create your postcard in Indesign with all interactivity. Use Publish Online to create digital version. Capture url of publish online file, and place in email that will be deployed.

[Frans v.d. Geest]

As I already suggested above 😉

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Sorry I did not read your post completely.

[KC_xo]

Thanks for your reply. 

I am not looking to send a link to our clients that would require them to complete a second step and defeat the purpose of what we are trying to achieve. Im trying to make it as simple as possible so they will 'hopefully' complete the task.

So it needs to be a clickable image/button directly in the email. I believe to do this it needs to be HTML.

[BobLevine]

The one thing we can all agree on is that you're not going to accomplish with InDesign and unless you're very adept at HTML and CSS and understand the ins and outs of email applications, you're not going to get this project done without paying something to someone.

MailChimp and Constant Contact are again, my recommendations. Please speak to your powers that be. If the mail list isn't too large, it's not that expensive.