Chapter 18. Interactive PDF Elements

At the risk of sounding like an old codger, I can remember when a page-layout program only laid out print files. The idea of creating "push buttons" that sent you flying to other pages or even other documents was totally unfathomable. After all, how was someone supposed to press on a weather summary on the front page of a newspaper to jump to the full weather map on the last page?

So it is with some amazement that I write this chapter. Page layout no longer refers to just printed pages. InDesign has a wealth of features that let you create interactive elements for electronic documents.

These interactive features may be simple links that let readers move from one page to another. They may be hyperlinks to Web pages. They may also be special bookmarks that can be used as navigational tools. They may even be rollover buttons that can play movies and sounds in a PDF document.

Of course, if you have no interest whatsoever in creating these types of interactive elements, feel free to skip this chapter entirely. Who cares if this is the future of publishing!