Interactive InDesign CC

Bridging the Gap between Print and Digital Publishing

Mira Rubin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781135943936
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Digital Media
• Index: Computer Science

With a growing focus on digital destinations, the publishing landscape is evolving at a dizzying speed and InDesign CC is at the forefront of the digital frontier. Known as the premiere layout application for magazine and print collateral, InDesign is also a powerful creation tool for both static and interactive PDF, Flash SWF, EPUB, and apps that can be published for sale in various app stores.

This tutorial-based guide to InDesign CC provides you with a hands-on experience of the EPUB creation process, InDesign animation, Digital Publishing Suite app creation, creation of interactive PDFs, and a host of techniques that serve equally well in both print and digital production.

This extensively detailed book is filled with over 700 screenshots, explicit diagrams, and step-by-step real-world exercises to get you up and running with:

*InDesign Animation

*Buttons, forms, and other interactive elements

*Interactive PDFs

*EPUB

*App building with DPS

*The fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and GREP

*A treasure trove of trips and techniques that will forever transform your work with InDesign.

Part 1

INTERACTIVE INDESIGN

This section provides the foundation to get

you up and running with the rich interactive

capabilities of InDesign CC. You’ll learn

guidelines for interactive design, become

acquainted with the interactive design tools,

customize the interface, and get a taste

of what you can really do when you put

InDesign through its paces. Get ready for

a wild ride! You’re going to be amazed by

the things you can do.

Chapter 1

THE LAY OF THE LAND

You’re going to be blown away by the rich

variety of digital publishing options that

InDesign puts at your fingertips. This chapter

will help you navigate your options and

provide you with a taste of what can be

accomplished with this awesome tool. You’ll

tour some of the completed exercise files

both in a browser and in Adobe Reader or

Acrobat. You’ll see video and animation in

action, use dropdown menus, play slideshows

and this is just the beginning. When it’s all

said and done, you’ll have the rest of the

book to learn how to do all of this and so

much more.

The Stampede from Print to Digital Media

When speaking of the migration from print to digital media, we’re reminded of the

frenzy that must have characterized the days of the gold rush and the wild, wild

west. These are indeed exciting times with emerging digital media technologies

transforming the horizon almost minute-by-minute. While it would be wonderful

to be able to provide a definitive set of instructions with explicit best practices,

tried-and-true workflows and ultimately a reliable step-by-step guide, the fact is that

the digital media landscape is changing so quickly that, at best, we can provide

only a compass and some navigational aids to help you chart your travels.

So what exactly is it we mean when we talk about digital media? And how

does InDesign factor into the mix? Known as the premiere layout application for

magazine and print collateral, InDesign has been evolving to become an extremely

powerful and versatile tool in the digital media space as well. As a creation tool for

both static and Interactive PDF, Flash SWF, EPUB and apps that can be published

for sale in various app stores, InDesign has been blazing a solid trail from

print-to-interactive and helping to define the new Printeractive® paradigm.

As to the digital media side of things, sorting through all the possible digital

destinations to choose the best option for your needs can be a little daunting.

The fact is that the technologies and formats are morphing and converging at a

staggering pace and what may be a clear distinction between them at this writing

may not be so definitive in the near future. That said, let’s take a look at the

assortment of digital publishing options to help you better prepare for this wild and

woolly journey.

PDF, Flash, EPUB, HTML or DPS?

Just as you wouldn’t print a magazine when you needed a business card, or a

billboard in lieu of a brochure, different digital modalities are best suited for

different purposes. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses will go a long

way toward helping you determine what direction to take as you navigate the

evolving digital publishing frontier.

PDF

People just don’t realize how sexy PDFs can be. When viewed in a desktop version

of Adobe Reader or Acrobat (and other PDF readers with varied support), a PDF

can contain bookmarks, hyperlinks, video, audio, Flash animation, interactive forms,

navigational buttons, show/hide effects and page transitions. PDF functionality

can be further extended in Acrobat Professional by adding form field calculations,

custom JavaScript, attached files and more. You can even view PDFs in full screen

mode for a more immersive interactive experience.

The development timeline for Interactive PDF can be minimal compared to

other digital publishing options if you design your print assets to be able to

accommodate media and interactive elements. Adobe Reader is widely adopted

and freely available and you can easily distribute a PDF as an email attachment

or a download from the web. One of the primary advantages to PDF is that your

audience can zoom in and out as desired without com...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Bound to Create
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1: Interactive Indesign
• Part 2: Document Layout & Navigation
• Part 3: Buttons
• Part 4: Flash Animation and Output to SWF
• Part 5: Interactive PDF
• Part 6: EPUB
• Part 7: Digital Publishing Suite
• Extras
• Index