Posts Tagged PDF

PDF Accessibility and InDesign CS5.5

Posted by Vikrant in Design on April 11, 2011

InDesign CS5.5, brings with it several improvements. Several that  you don’t have to do anything about. They’re just there, and work! You can continue using the same workflows.

Accessible PDF documents is one such area. You can create accessible PDFs for Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader, or other software such as screen readers. InDesign CS5.5 automatically adds tags for the following:

  • Tables and nested tables
  • Lists and nested lists
  • Footnotes
  • Hyperlinks

If you have an InDesign document that has the following structure:

InDesign Document snippet

InDesign Document snippet

The following images show the tags exported by InDesign CS5.5 (viewed in Acrobat Tags panel).

Role Mapping

Table tags

Nested list tags

Nested list tags

Note tags

FoootNote tag

Hyperlink tags

Hyperlink tags

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: The THead, TBody, and TFoot tags are honored only if you export to PDF version 1.5 or higher

See Adobe InDesign CS5 accessibility overview

Update( April 13) : I wrote another post about how Articles can be used to specify Reading Order. You might find that interesting as well.

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InDesign multi-state objects in interactive PDFs

Posted by Vikrant in Design on March 7, 2011

InDesign has cool multi-state objects that let you create some really awesome effects. You can use these to create slideshows and other interactive content. As you might have noticed, multi-state objects work in SWF output only. So what do you do if you want to include a slideshow in an interactive PDF?

You can add multi-state objects to interactive PDFs. It is a  little cumbersome and clumsy, but works quite well.

A simple two-step process; so simple, that most of you might be doing this already!

  1. Create a multi-state object and export to SWF.
  2. Place the SWF in your main document.

See Create Multi-state objects in the InDesign help for information about multi-state objects.

For example, if you want to add a slideshow to an interactive PDF, do the following:

Create a multi-state slideshow

  1. Create your slideshow in a new document.
  2. Export to SWF. See this for more information on exporting to SWF.

It’ll help if you specify the dimensions as per the frame where you’re going to place it.

Bob Bringhurst, has written a nice overview about Multi-state objects here.

InDesign CS5 introduces a new kind of page item designed for creating slide shows in a SWF file. A multi-state object changes its content when a button is clicked in a SWF file. To create a multi-state object, place a bunch of images in your document and align them in a stack. Select them all, and then click the New button in the Object States panel to create a multi-state object. Then use the Buttons panel—which has been enhanced in InDesign CS5—to create navigate arrows that jump to the next or previous state in the multi-state object.

 

Place SWF in your main document

  1. Choose File > Place and place the SWF file.
  2. Specify Poster settings.

For more information see Add movies and sound files to documents.

Export to interactive PDF

  1. Choose File > Export.
  2. Specify a name and location for the file.
  3. For Save As Type (Windows) or Format (Mac OS), choose Adobe PDF (Interactive), and then click Save.
  4. Specify options in the Export To Interactive PDF dialog box, and then click OK.

For more information see Create interactive documents for PDF.

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Where is the Typewriter tool in Acrobat X?

Posted by Vikrant in Acrobat, Design on November 9, 2010

You’re used to using the Typewriter tool in earlier versions of Acrobat; and can’t find it now. Don’t worry, its still there in Adobe Acrobat X.

Choose Tools > Content > Add or Edit Text Box.

Accessing the Add or Edit Text Box tool in Acrobat X

Accessing the Add or Edit Text Box tool in Acrobat X

The Typewriter toolbar that you are familiar with displays. See Acrobat online help topic here to learn how to use the Typewriter toolbar.

{Tools | Comment | Share} are no longer menu items. They are called task buttons and are located on the top-right of the application window. When you click on these buttons, the task pane opens and display the buttons inside. The buttons are highlighted in the screenshot.

 

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Coming Soon: Acrobat X

Posted by Vikrant in Acrobat, Design on October 18, 2010

Adobe announced the next generation of your favorite software.

Some New Acrobat X Features

  • Automate multi-step tasks with new Actions Wizard and easily share them with coworkers and collaborators.
  • PDF Portfolios using new layouts, visual themes and color palettes.
  • Microsoft SharePoint integration. Check-in, check-out PDF files for reviewing and editing shared documents, using both Acrobat and the free Reader X.
  • Updated User Interface to organize the most used tools in one place

New in Adobe Reader X

  • Comment with Sticky Notes and Highlighter tools available to all users.
  • Protected Mode to for secure experience.

Ten cool features of Acrobat X Pro

See what PDF Portfolios, guided Actions, and SharePoint integration can do for you.

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