Interactive PDF not showing animations

[Annalise5E75]

Hi,

I am making an interactive file in Indesign and adding animations/links/buttons etc to the file. When I export it to an interactive pdf and view it on Adobe Acrobat, the links work correctly but the animations no longer work. It becomes a static piece. However, when I select Publish Online in Indesign instead of exporting, the animations work. Unfortunately, that option won't work for what my job needs this file for so is there anyway for me to export the interactive pdf and have the animations function correctly?

[Derek Cross · Accepted solution]

You can't have animations in a PDF - use InDesign's Publish Online, which is HTML5.

[nealbridgens · Accepted solution]

Do you ean they've removed that feature? Used to be able to have animations in PDF.

The export to interactive pdf includes a page transitions option (if nothing else), not that it seems to do anything.

Don't know why they would leave those options if they don't work.

[nealbridgens · Accepted solution]

Been √'ed so I suppose that's the truth then. 

So the whole transitions pallet in indesign does nothing.

I have figured out that if you append a publish online address with ?transitions you get some default transitions but they are not related to the transtions pallet.

[BobLevine]

You could never have true animations in a PDF. The workaround was to place SWF files in the PDF but SWF is dead. Page transitions, AFAIK, should still work in full screen mode in Acrobat or Reader.

[JR Boulay · Accepted solution]

"You can't have animations in a PDF - use InDesign's Publish Online, which is HTML5"

More exactly: you cannot export animation made with InDesign to PDF since Flash Player has become obsolete.

But with Acrobat Pro and JavaScript you can do whatever you want in a PDF file.

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

Maybe YOU can, but I’m guessing most people can’t. 😊

[defaulthkelyzxqm8mg]

Do you have links to tutorials on how to do this? You mean you create the animations in Acrobat once the PDF is already created/exported from InDesign?

[Derek Cross]

Animation in PDF is not part of the PDF specification.

Depending on the final output,  you can use instead, for example, InDesign's Publish Online (HTML5) or for social media have a look at Adobe Express (video) .

[defaulthkelyzxqm8mg]

Thanks. I know. I was specifically asking how this [But with Acrobat Pro and JavaScript you can do whatever you want in a PDF file.] can be done.

[JR Boulay]

"Do you have links to tutorials on how to do this? "

See this one:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/adobe-pdf-with-embedded-gifs/m-p/11749733

They are many other tips in this forum.

This document is old but still relevant:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:2efca783-c525-4c50-b00c-f2d153de54cc

[defaulthkelyzxqm8mg]

Thank you!!!

[JR Boulay]

"Animation in PDF is not part of the PDF specification"

What animation format?

3D, video and JavaScript (ECMAScript) are part of the PDF 1.7 specifications, aka ISO 32000-1:2008.

See:

https://www.3dpdfmaker.com/example

https://abracadabrapdf.net/file/AnimatedPDF.pdf

https://abracadabrapdf.net/file/abcAnimaux.pdf

https://abracadabrapdf.net/file/LesGourmandine-BdC_demo.pdf