Placing .GIFs in InDesign and Exporting to PDFs

[olivialk]

Is there currently any way to place a .gif file into an indesign file, and export a PDF where it plays?

Currently my only option is to convert the .gif into a .mp4 file, and then embed the .gifs into the PDF file after the PDF is made. This is time consuming and also have to be redone for every .gif, every time there is an updated PDF.

Is there a way of exporting a PDF, by means of online sharing, interactive PDFs, or something else in the export settings?

It would be awesome in the future if, when .gifs are placed as a link in indesign, and a PDF is exported, the program would recognize a .gif file as a link and generate it into the PDF by nature of file type.

[Derek Cross]

Try InDesign's Publish Online.

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

To specifically answer your question, there is no means of directly placing a .GIF file into InDesign and exporting a PDF file where the .GIF file is played directly. PDF and Acrobat don't currently natively support .GIF. This may change in the future after Flash support goes away. Stay tuned …

          - Dov

[Laubender]

Hi Dov,

also think of SVG > PDF with SVG animation of any kind 🙂

Regards,
Uwe

[Dov Isaacs]

Yes, but understand that SVG animation isn't natively supported in PDF either! Static SVG readily converts to PDF, though!

          - Dov

[JonathanArias]

What would it take to make it work? A whole new platform for reading .pdf format? Or would we not be in a .pdf format at all?

[Dov Isaacs]

Eventually it will probably go into PDF as a multimedia item of the type .GIF or animated .SVG. It won't require a change to the PDF specification but to the programs that read PDF and create same.

          - Dov

[JR Boulay]

This may change in the future after Flash support goes away. Stay tuned …

Is it still worth the wait?

[Justin Putney]

Publish Online, Fixed Layout EPUB, and in5 (3rd-party add-on) are the only options for working, animated GIFs from InDesign.

in5 can also create animated GIFs from InDesign content:

https://ajarproductions.com/blog/2019/10/11/how-to-create-an-animated-gif-with-indesign-in5/

***Disclosure: I'm the creator of in5.***