0 Replies Latest reply: Apr 21, 2010 12:49 PM by skeeze RSS

    Future of Interactive PDF's and their ability to run on Slate/iPad type devices?

    skeeze Community Member

      I am sure I am not the only one wondering about this question and am hopeful an Adobe Evangelist can answer these questions.  I love what Adobe has done with indesign CS5 and the ability to combine video, animation and high quality layout content all in one document.  What is currently missing is for the pdf reader to be "touch" aware so that people can scroll through pages like an ebook, which I would think would be fairly easy to do and would give me the complete picture I am looking for.  So...a couple of questions.  I am assuming that if you use the embedded flash features within a pdf document it would require the flash player? Is it possible Adobe could figure out a way to run the flash runtime inside of pdf to get around it?  Unfortunately Apple has decided to be jerks about the whole thing, but the reality is that the iPad is not going away.  Also, if you use Adobe's encoded video format and reference it via html from inside the .pdf, is that also not going to work on the iPad?(not sure if the video player is also driven through flash).  I think it would be a good idea for Adobe to support video formats other than their own anyway for playing in a .pdf (i.e. H.264).  I guess the other alternative would be to be for Adobe toembed HTML5 content into the .pdf instead of flash for the animations and that takes the work off of the designer that way.  Regardless, just wanting to know what the overall direction is as I am anxious to develop rich content using Indesign + interactive .pdf's, and I don't think you can achieve the same level of formatting or multi-media with the epub/ebook format as you can with an interactive .pdf, so any insights as to what Adobe's plans are would be appreciated.  I also don't want to start creating content that is going to be dead soon...

       

      PS: I totally don't have a problem with going with a PC based slate device that runs flash, but the problem is several of my friends already have an iPad and that limits my distribution audience.  As stated earlier, it is very disappointing Apple has decided to be so restrictive and proprietary about this, but I can't believe there is not some smart Adobe person in there that can't find a technical way around Apple's walls.   Any insights would be appreciated.