Add a Media File (Video)
You can add several types of audio and video files to the InDesign file for use in an exported PDF file. You can import media files in Flash Video format (.FLV and .F4V), H.264-encoded files (such as MP4), SWF files, QuickTime (.MOV), AVI, and MPEG, and MP3 format. When you export to PDF, any media files linked to the InDesign file are embedded in the final PDF, so be aware of the file size of your video content. Also know that Acrobat and Reader 9 and later use the Flash Player to play most of the video content.
Next, you will add a video file to the InDesign document.
- With your document still open, make sure nothing is selected and choose File > Place. Navigate to a supported video file like an .FLV or .MOV file, for example. Select the file and click Open to place it.
- Click in the spread with the loaded video cursor to place the video (see Figure 6).
- To preview the video, make sure that the video object is selected in the document with the Selection tool. Open the Media panel (Window > Interactive > Media) and click the Play button to play the video in the Media panel. To preview the video as part of the page, open the Preview panel (Window > Interactive > Preview) and click the Play Preview button in the lower–left corner of the panel. In this instance, you will most likely need to also click on the video in the Preview panel to get it to play (see Figure 7).
- In the Media panel, with the video selected in the document, there are several options you can set for video appearance and playback. If you want the video to play back as soon as the page loads, select Play on Page Load. If you want the video to play to the end than start playing at the beginning automatically, and do this continuously, select Loop in the Media panel.
- By default, From Current Frame is selected in the Poster menu. If you drag the preview slider in the Media panel to a different frame, then that frame is taken and used as the poster.
- If you don’t want users to see anything before the video plays, choose None from the Poster menu.
- To insert a generic video icon before the video plays, choose Standard from the Poster menu.
- To insert your own image into the video bounds before the video plays, choose Choose Image from the Poster menu and select an image.
- To set PDF media specific settings, with the video selected on the page, click the Set Options for Exporting Interactive PDF button at the bottom-right of the Media panel.
- In the PDF Options dialog box, you can add a description (for searching) and/or play the video in a floating window that is bigger or smaller than the original video file dimensions (not the version you placed and may have scaled on the page). The floating window will play the video in a separate window on top of the PDF. Select Play Video in Floating Window (see Figure 9). Click OK.
- Test out the movie by opening the Preview panel (Window > Interactive > Preview) and click the Play Preview button in the lower–left corner of the panel.
Figure 6 Insert a video
Figure 7 Preview the video
The Poster option in the Media panel allows you to change what users see in the video bounds before the video plays. Here’s what each poster option means:
The Controller option allows you to “skin” the video, giving it controls such as play and pause. You can choose from a variety of these skins and make it so that the controller only shows up when the user rolls over the video (not all the time) by choosing Show Controller on Rollover (see Figure 8).
Figure 8 Set the media options
Figure 9 Set PDF specific media settings