Creating PDF with embedded video now that Flash is history

[Bob_Lang]

In 2010 I began creating publications in InDesign that became PDFs with embedded videos. It was easier than I expected, and despite issues over the years getting Acrobat Reader to play nice with various video players and operating systems, it was user friendly. It turns out that the window in InDesign to add a controller skin to the embedded video used Flash, and this option is not longer available. Adobe's response was "with the end of Flash, we removed it."

Here are examples from my website https://readwatchdo.com/store/sketchup-books-in-enhanced-pdf-format/ the "look inside" videos show how this used to work.

Without the controller skin the videos still function, but the end user has to jump through several hoops in Reader Preferences, and all they can do is start and stop the video. There is no way to pause, rewind, control the volume, etc. This functionality also used Flash, so it was removed from Adobe Reader. What good does it do to be able to embed a video if there isn't a way to control it? What is up with Adobe that they remove a useful feature without providing a replacement?

I could go on at great length bashing Adobe. I've spent a lot of money on their software in the last decade and I have thousands of customers that aren't happy along with the need to reformat.

The real question is "Is there a way to work around this and replace the controller skin with something else that can be easily placed in InDesign and be reliably functional in Acrobat Reader?"

Bob Lang

[BobLevine]

The answer to your question is no. That's why I wrote this almost five years ago when the handwriting was already on the wall: It's okay to say no to interactive PDF (boblevine.us)

There is a PDF 2.0 coming, one of these days, but if I were you, I wouldn't be holding my breath. Adobe warned of this a couple of years ago. SWF is dead and has been a long time. 

[dstaskev]

Agreed, this has major repercussions for me as well. I can't get anything in terms of embedded audio or video to work through InDesign anymore, and doing everything manually in Acrobat is not feasible, as every time I'd need to make corrections to the source document in InDesign, I'll have to export and re-embed everything in Acrobat, one-by-one. I work in education and have lessons with hundreds of media clips to teach proper pronunciation, and use fillable form fields for homework. Publishing online eliminates the form field possibility, interactive PDF has no working media through InD.

Are we missing something, or is this a huge oversight?

[BobLevine]

No you don't have to do that.

Use the replace pages command in Acrobat.

[dstaskev]

Wasn't aware that's a workaround, I'll try it out on my end. Appreciate the reply.