2. Animation
The new interactivity features—especially the ability to animate objects in a document—make it possible for designers to get in on the act of creating dynamic SWF files for the web without writing a single line of code. In the SWF file that you’ll be exporting from InDesign, do you want a graphic to fly in from the right? Do you want a headline to scale up to 500% when the page is turned to? Or page icons to bounce up and down when clicked?
Animating an object is simple. Select the object, and then choose a motion preset in the Animation panel, such as "Fly in from Left," "Gallop," and "Fly in, Pause, Fly out." Use the settings in the Animation panel to determine what starts the animation and how long it lasts. Edit the motion path the same way you edit any path—using the Pen tool and Direct Selection tool.
If more than one object is animated on a page, use the Timing panel to determine the order of play or to make them play at the same time.
Use the Preview panel to test the animation. The Preview panel saves time by letting you preview and test interactive features in InDesign.
Figure 2 The "Live" headline flies in from the top in the exported SWF file.