Indesign CS5 interactive document problems

[tmer]

hi, a few things been giving me a headache with my new Indesign cs5, please help!

1. when I preview my interactive document, I have some pictures and text boxes set to 'appear on page load' with a 1 second fade-in effect each. They always fade in sequentially. I would like them to fade-in all at the same time on page load. I have no delay options on any of them. whats going on?
2. when I export to PDF (interactive) and I remember to tick the box that says export buttons and such. Nothing works. I get the document with no interactive features. ?? help please..

 

[macstudent]

1. You need to use the timing panel. Window > interactive > timing panel
Select all of the objects in the panel and link them together.

2. Are you opening the PDF in acrobat pro or reader? If you open it in preview, the interactive features will not work. The other problem is that animations that you create in InDesign will not natively play back in acrobat. What you need to do is select all of the interactive items on each page and export them to a swf, then place the swf back inside the indesign file (don't forget to hide the original art.) Now, when you export to PDF the animations will play.

If you are find yourself creating lots of animations I would recommend that you export as a swf and then present from the flash player rather than PDF.

Here are a few links to articles that I have written on InDesignsecrets that will hopefully help you. If you have any more questions, please let me know.

http://indesignsecrets.com/creating-a-presentation-part-1-automatically-animating-a-list.php

http://indesignsecrets.com/should-you-use-legacy-or-flash-media-in-cs5.php

http://indesignsecrets.com/bringing...to-a-pdf-with-the-help-of-a-little-script.php

Fritz

 

[tmer]

Thank you sir. So I have to link all my appearances so they behave as if they are not linked... hmm. Unfortunately I need to completely redo my presentation now, so I have new troubles.
Since your an expert maybe you can help me with my next problem... Right now i am trying to do a bit of a simple graphic in Illustrator to accompany my presentation. I need to draw a little picture which is an outline of a sort of 'landscape' it has lots of straight lines that change direction (like outlining a city horizon line, but there are some round forms*), is there a better way then using the line tool?

p.s- oh i just remembered I would like to create a document that is one long strip. It has a narrative so I don't want it to open in the middle, how do I ensure it opens on the far left?

 

[macstudent]

The pen tool would probably be your best bet for creating the art in Illustrator, but if you have never used it before it can be overwhelming. Since you seem to be new to these programs I would recommend that you seek out some tutorials to help you with your skills. Lynda.com is fantastic resource, but you there are others online if you search for them.

Good luck with your designs!