InDesign: Producing Simple Animations & Animated PDFs

You can animate objects in InDesign along a motion path or make an animation start when the object is clicked. The important export limitation is that these Animation-panel effects do not become native PDF animations. Use a suitable digital output, such as fixed-layout EPUB or Publish Online, and test the result in the intended reader or browser.

Update to this original CS6 tutorial: its former animated-PDF workaround embedded a Flash SWF file. Adobe ended Flash Player support in 2020, so that workflow is obsolete. Adobe’s Flash guidance for Acrobat and Reader explains the change. The motion-path and click-trigger exercises below remain useful without relying on Flash.

Animate a shape along a path

Open Window > Interactive > Animation and the EPUB Interactivity Preview panel. The original lesson used SWF Preview; use the EPUB preview when working in current InDesign.

1. Draw a simple shape. For a star, use the Polygon Tool and choose a point count and star inset; five points and a 50% inset are suitable practice settings. Give it a fill that contrasts with the page and remove the stroke if you do not need one.
2. Position the shape near the start of the intended movement. Deselect it and use the Pencil Tool to draw a separate wavy path.
3. Select both the shape and the path. In the Animation panel, choose Convert to Motion Path.
4. Select the animated object and choose On Page Load in Event(s). Set a duration, then play the preview. Increasing Duration makes the same journey take longer.
5. Check where the object begins and ends. Use the Direct Selection Tool to refine the path if necessary, then preview again.

For the first test, keep the movement inside the page so that the object stays easy to see. Once the basic animation works, experiment with entering from outside the page and check the exported result for clipping.

Start an animation by clicking the object

A self-click trigger does not require turning the object into a separate button first.

1. Draw or select a second shape on the page.
2. In the Animation panel, choose the Spin preset.
3. Under Event(s), deselect On Page Load and select On Click (Self).
4. Play the EPUB preview, then click the shape. Confirm that it waits for the click instead of spinning immediately.

If a separate control should start the animation, that is a different setup: use a button with an Animation action and the appropriate target. Keep the simple self-click exercise separate while learning how triggers work.

Why the old animated-PDF method no longer applies

The original article exported the animation as SWF, placed that SWF into another InDesign document, and exported an interactive PDF. Playback depended on Flash support in the PDF reader. It was not native support for InDesign motion presets inside PDF.

Do not use that sequence for a new deliverable. Interactive PDF can be useful for features such as links and forms, but selecting the interactive PDF export option does not preserve the motion-path or Spin effects from this lesson.

Choose and test a suitable output

• Fixed-layout EPUB: use File > Export and choose EPUB (Fixed Layout). Open the exported file in the intended reading application and test the animation and click trigger; support varies between readers.
• Publish Online: use a web publication when sharing through a browser is appropriate. Test the published version, including on touch devices if those are part of your audience.
• PDF required: provide a useful static layout and a clearly labelled link to the animated version. Keep the essential meaning available without motion.

Before sharing:

• Confirm the starting position, end position and duration.
• Test each trigger independently and replay from the beginning.
• Make clickable objects easy to recognise.
• Check the actual exported or published result, not only the InDesign preview.
• Include a static explanation when motion carries important information.

For the controls, see Adobe’s motion preset options and interactive preview guide. Adobe’s interactivity tutorial also introduces output choices.