Complete frustration - scrollable, scalable text!

[deanreardon]

I want to have two separate scrollable columns of text (two completely independent articles not linked to each other) per page. I want to be able to simply tap on an article and make it the entire screen/tablet width with the text scaled appropriately while the other column is hidden. I don't want to pinch or squeeze. I want to tap!

I've spent 3 hours trying to figure out how to do that and I am no further along than I was before I even began!!!!

I am beyond frustrated. How can something so simple be so damn hard (I find this true of most adobe products).

It is for an epub document.

1. I figured out how to do scrollable text but nothing beyond that in 3 hours of work.

Dean

[BobLevine]

If I understand what you want, you could put the scrollable text into a multi state object. The first state would be empty and the second state would have the text. You’d need a close button there to get back to the first state.

[deanreardon]

Thanks....I was just looking at that. i found out how to make two different states but then I got stalled on how to switch from one state to another. I checked out forms/buttons menu. Guess I need to play with it even more. don't have my tablet with me to assess whether it works or not. That is another bone of contention....I have to save as epub, wire up my tablet for usb, transfer it over to tablet, then check it out....Why isn't there an internal viewer....what happen to the content viewer!

Ok, need a break...the more frustrated I get the more problems that annoy me

I appreciate your feedback and I'll check out MSO/buttons/forms and try and get this simple thing to actually work.

[BobLevine]

MSOs can be a bit of a challenge to work with but once you get the hang of it, they’re incredibly powerful.

There is an epub interactivity preview panel in InDesign. Use it.

[deanreardon]

Thanks for the hint on the  epub interactivity panel....seems Adobe decided to move it to a less discrete location for users to find.

Also, I guess I have to give up on scroll aspect as after 9 hours of searching and playing around yesterday I learned that epub does not support scrolling text although there is a plugin from ajarproductions that allows that. But then I am unable to expand the text from dual column to single column.

So now I am trying to find out how to make a two column document and then with a tap, it will expand to a wide single column - still working on this - I can expand the column with MSO but then the two columns of text for some reason aren't linked anymore and only the text in one column will expand.

I guess it's simple once you learn it. But figuring I'm trying to make an epub document that runs on a tiny tablet, common sense would tell you that a viewer would want to go from two columns (which shows a large amount of content to reader but too small to actually read) to a single column with the larger content that is much easier to read. I've seen multiple ebook magazines that do this. Seems like Indesign should make a simple button or something that allows people to set this up quickly and easily....but no. Not to mention, I haven't been able to find a single tutorial showing what every single ebook magazine does. Yes, 3 hours into again today and I'm even more frustrated!

Indesign is fantastic for print layout but damn, epub interactivity is shrouded in mystery in Indesign.

[BobLevine]

As I said, and MSO will allow you to give the impression that you’re expanding the text. If you want to post a screenshot or two I’ll be happy to offer you a bit more advice on what can be in each state of the MSO to give readers a better experience.

[deanreardon]

OK.....now one step further. I did get it to work in multistate!

• I have two separate/unlinked columns with their own "story"/placeholder text.
• Each column is independently scrollable
  • I group them together to make a multistate object (state 1)
  • To expand the left column, I simply shrink the right column so that it has no width and expand the left column to full width (state 2)
  • To expand the right column, I simply shrink the left column to the left so that it has no width and expand the right column to full width (state 3)
• I have three buttons (1) go to state 2, (2) go to state 3, (3) return to state 1
• It works in my interactive previewer (scrolling and each multistate (still scrollable)
• Doesn't work in my android epub ereader (still scrolls). Must be an issue with my eReader app and multistate. I'll try other eReaders (any suggestions)?

I know I'm a PITA and that Indesign is a complicated program, But I progressed multi-times more today than yesterday

[AnneMarie Concepcion]

You'll find support for fixed layout epubs (what you're doing) to be spotty among ereaders, because it depends on HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript; whereas most mobile devices only support the lowest common denominator in epubs. It's not an Adobe or InDesign issue, it's an issue of what the epub spec says is officially supported or not, and then if the ereader developers and mobile device manufacturers care to support everything the epub spec allows.

deanreardon  wrote

Common sense would tell you that a viewer would want to go from two columns (which shows a large amount of content to reader but too small to actually read) to a single column with the larger content that is much easier to read

For a reflowable epub, users have a chance to change from single to facing-pages or vice-versa on their own, via controls in the epub reader software, and they can change the size of the type too. That gives them the flexibility you're struggling so hard to provide in your FXL epub (which does not allow changing facing pages/single pages, nor changing the size of type.)

I'm glad you got the MSO workaround to work. I'd love to see the final result!

AM

[AnneMarie Concepcion]

The

deanreardon  wrote

• Doesn't work in my android epub ereader (still scrolls). Must be an issue with my eReader app and multistate. I'll try other eReaders (any suggestions)?

The epub reader you want to test in is the epub reader the majority of your audience will be using to read the publication. If they're mainly using Android devices, you need to make it work there.

That said, the most robust support for FXL epubs is iBooks on the iOS platform.