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Abdessamad13
New Participant
March 24, 2023
Answered

Interactive buttons not working on mobile pdf readers

  • March 24, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 4001 views

Hello everyone,

 

I'm having an issue with interactive buttons in Adobe InDesign. When I create them and export my file as a PDF, they work perfectly on my laptop using Adobe Reader. However, when I try to open the same PDF on my Android phone, the interactive buttons don't work.

 

I would really appreciate any insights or solutions to this issue. Thank you in advance for your help!

Correct answer Steve Werner

I agree with Bob:

Aside for using PDF interactive buttons on desktop/laptop computers, when using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, they are pretty worthless.

They are used in standardized use in PDF in mobile devices. Most PDF readers average users make use of (browsers, apps like Apple Preview, etc.) do not support them at all.

 

It's just not worth trying unless you have a very narrow user group who all use Reader or Acrobat.

2 replies

Steve Werner
Steve WernerCorrect answer
Community Expert
March 24, 2023

I agree with Bob:

Aside for using PDF interactive buttons on desktop/laptop computers, when using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, they are pretty worthless.

They are used in standardized use in PDF in mobile devices. Most PDF readers average users make use of (browsers, apps like Apple Preview, etc.) do not support them at all.

 

It's just not worth trying unless you have a very narrow user group who all use Reader or Acrobat.

    BobLevine
    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    March 24, 2023

    This is NOT an InDesign issue. If you take a look at other discussions on this forum you'll find that this is pretty much the way it is. Interactive PDF beyond Acrobat and Reader on a desktop is nothing short of a crapshoot and the worst possible experience is on mobile devices.

    My standard advice, forget it. Unless you can control the reader app and platform, find another way.

      D
      dimeo_9029
      New Participant
      February 5, 2025

      Hi! I created an interactive presentation in InDesign, hoping it would work on both computers and mobile devices, but I found that the interactive buttons don't work on mobile devices. I started searching for answers and discovered that this issue has existed at least since 2022, now three years ago, and hasn't been resolved. Is there hope that they will fix it?

       

      leo.r
      leo.r
      Community Expert
      February 5, 2025
      quote

      now three years ago, and hasn't been resolved. Is there hope that they will fix it?

      By @dimeo_9029

       

      nope it will not change and there's also nothing to "fix". please read earlier answers for the detailed info.

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