Interactive PDFs - how can we view with interactivity?

[jamessk12]

A client has asked me to create an interactive pdf for them, I can create in InDesign CC, no problem but they will be expecting to send this pdf to their clients. My question is how would their clients view the pdf? All posts and discussions I see regarding this which are all very dated now, state that the reader will need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on their machine - I'm wondering if that is still the case or whether they can now be viewed in browsers?

If not, does anyone know of a 3rd party tool which will allow their clients to view online with full interactivity?

I look forward to hearing from you

Thanks!

J

[amaarora]

Hi,

Depends on what constitutes interactivity...

Try publish online. Use Publish Online to publish your InDesign documents

-Aman

[Jongware]

PDF support inside browsers differs per browser. Therefore "in browsers" is way too general a statement – and the more interactivity (= "anything more than just viewing it") you insert, the greater the chance it will not work inside "a" browser.

Recommend your clients to view your file with Acrobat Reader. It has always been, and still is, free.

[Derek Cross]

You may need to educate your customer about some of the issues with Interactive PDFs as outlined in this blog: It's okay to say no to interactive PDF

[Barb Binder]

They can simply download Adobe Reader to view the interactivity that is supported in a PDF like including movies and sound clips, hyperlinks, bookmarks, page transitions, and buttons. There are lots of interactive features that you can put into an InDesign file are not supported in a PDF (like animations and slideshows). These can be included in a document produced via Publish Online, as per Aman's answer.