two column to one column epub interactivity

[deanreardon]

Many ebook/epub magazines have multi-column text that when you tap the text it expands to show all the content in a single nice wide column...that is what I want to do. Haven't found a tutorial on youtube or on adobe that describes this feature (seems like a common feature to me).

I set up two column two page document with filler/placeholder text. I can set up a multistate object (2 states) where for I can set state 1 as 2-column with text and state 2 with just one column with larger text. I haven't even tried setting it up with a button for the "tap to go from state 1 to 2. But now the first page text becomes completely unlinked to the second page - There is the little "+" sign at the bottom (when I enlarge the text it is supposed to flow over to the next page.....which is still 2 columns.)

Does anyone know of a tutorial that explains how to do this????? It seems like this would be the very most simple basic feature that someone would want to do in an interactive epub, yet I can find nothing on the topic! I spent 9 hours yesterday and going on 4 hours today trying to figure this out! It can't be this damn hard!

I even tried setting up two different layouts but can find no way to switch between one layout and the other.

[Derek Cross]

When you state "interactive ePub", do you mean a FXL ePub or a reflowable text ePub?

[BobLevine]

Those sound like reflowable EPUBs which are a completely different animal from fixed layout.

[Derek Cross]

I've just noticed you've already posted this question in the ePub forum, where Bob's replied.  

[deanreardon]

Derek,

You are correct. Bob was helpful but I was still unable to get it to work so thought I would post something similar here in the general forum.

My original intend was to have a two column page (two separate stories/separate columns) that I could individually scroll vertically through each individual separate story on the page and then tap the story in one column and have it maximize to a full page and still vertically scrollable.

Finally, after much frustration, I have found that I can't do that via multistate since upon expansion of one column, it overlaps the other with the half page column showing through.

So, what I tried was to create a second layout (alternative layout) with an individual story at full width (one column) per page that is still vertically scrollable through the entire story. I can now tap/click a story (one column) in the two column spread and go to the alternative layout with the single story at full width. Clicking again takes me back to the original two column page. I can now do this with both stories......exactly what I was attempting to do since yesterday. Yippee! This is done in epub3 non-flowable/fixed format.

Now my only issue is how do I publish in ebook/epub format and limit viewing of only the two column pages unless a story is tapped/clicked. In other words, I do not want people to be able to go from page to page through the two column stories and then all of a sudden start flipping through the one column pages that were set up as the expanded 1 column story pages.....if that makes sense.