Features
Making an interactive PDF for on-screen display
20060317 [MacUser]
Making an interactive PDF for on-screen display
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1 The first thing to do is consider page orientation. Landscape formats work better than portrait on screen, at least when they're meant for full-screen use. Reference documents that are meant to be used while you dip in and out of other software are better set in portrait orientation, as this demands less of the screen for their use. |
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2 The other thing to consider is page size. A4 is OK for print, but when regular page sizes are scaled to fit some screens, small text might be difficult to read, so A5 or B5 can be better. Additionally, work in points (the equivalent of pixels) instead of millimetres for more precise placement; choose InDesign > Preferences > Units & Increments. |
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3 Unlike printed artwork, screen resolution places limits on legibility for small type. For clarity, try typefaces such as Lucida Grande, Verdana, Georgia and Trebuchet, and avoid setting paragraph text smaller than 9pt (or the equivalent at the magnification your final pages will use). Use anything for headline text, but always consider body text. |
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4 The same goes for images in your layout. If an image isn't as legible as it needs to be at its final size, the page design won't be doing its job. This is a minor concern for decorative backgrounds, but diagrams and maps need to be assessed in the layout and maybe redrawn to work without zooming in and out. |
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5 As you design your document, choose View > Display Performance > High Quality Display, and work at least most of the time at 100% magnification; things look deceptively good if you stay zoomed to a larger scale. If you're planning to fill the screen with the page, work in that magnification, but consider the display size of your users. |
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6 InDesign's PDF export builds clickable hyperlinks from email and web addresses automatically, but it doesn't mark them in the page. If you want them to be noticed, you have to style them. To make obvious web-style underlines can be useful, but anything that indicates a difference and works with your overall design is fine. |
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7 Hyperlinks to different pages in your PDF are invaluable for easy navigation. Choose Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to open the palette and pick New Hyperlink Destination from the palette's pop-up menu. Make this a 'Page' type, pick a page number and give it a name. Finally, choose either Fixed or Inherit Zoom for the Zoom Setting. |
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8 To use your new hyperlinks, select the item to be the hot link and choose New Hyperlink from the palette's pop-up menu. Pick the destination from the Name list, check the destination page, and choose its appearance. Invisible Rectangle is less obtrusive than a visible box, and Highlight: Invert makes it an obvious link when in use. |
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9 Choose File > Export to make your PDF. After the Save dialog, you'll choose PDF settings. In Compression, downsample all of images to 72 pixels per inch for screen-only use (144ppi if zooming is needed) and medium Jpeg compression. In Output, convert colour to destination and set that to sRGB. Finally, in Security, you can restrict printing and copying. |
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10 To allow your hyperlinks to work, select General in the Export Adobe PDF dialog and choose Hyperlinks in the Include section at the bottom. Click the Save Preset button to name and save your custom settings. You can select it from the list at the top of the Export Adobe PDF dialog or simply from File > Adobe PDF Presets. |
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11 Open your PDF in the full version of Acrobat (not Acrobat Reader). Notice that it has opened zoomed to your screen. Choose File > Document Properties and click Initial View. Set the Page Layout to Single Page and Magnification to 100% to start with. You could also select 'Resize window to initial page' and 'Hide tool bars'. |
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12 Click OK, save, and close and re-open the PDF to see how your Initial View changes affect the user's experience. Finally, open Document Properties again and add some details in the Description panel. Next, in Initial View, choose Show: Document Title. Click OK, save and your screen-friendly, screen optimised PDF with built-in navigation is ready. |
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