Creating Interactive PDFs from InDesign (5)
Digitip 084 – Adobe InDesign CS4: Hyperlink to selected document pages
This is the 5th tip in a series of tips on Interactive PDFs. We’ve learnt in previous tips to create buttons, add cool roll over effects, add actions to buttons and more. In this tip we’ll look at using InDesign’s Hyperlink feature to create a link from the thumb tabs that appear on all pages of the PDF to particular pages in the PDF.
Master page and artwork
At the very start of this interactive PDF project, I opted to create a Master Page, that contained all of the side tabs on it that appear on all pages of the document.
First I renamed the A-Master default master page that appears in all new InDesign document. By choosing from the Pages Panel menu Master Options for “A-Master”…, and changing the master Prefix to “b” and the Name to “Base”.
Why Base? well, this master page is going to be the base for all other master used in this project.
On this master page, I’ve added the 6 thumb tabs that are going to be a navigational link to selective pages in the finished PDF file.
To ensure the Tabs always on top of any other content, I’ve place the the 6 text frames in a separate layer called “ThumbTabs”.
Basing master pages on other master pages
As the background tints and textures applied to document pages in the 6 different sections vary, I opted to create additional master pages that would be applied to each section’s document pages.
In order to include the thumb tabs on these additional master pages, each New Master page I created is based on the “b-Base” master and thereby inherits all of the objects (the thumb tabs in this case) that exist on this master.
Choose New Master from the Pages panel menu and enter the Prefix and Name for this this master.
Next set Based on Master to ‘b-Base’ and click OK to add the master to the pages panel.
Each of the background textures was placed into its own layer.
With all this master work completed, and master pages applied to document pages we’re now ready to get the thumb tab links working.
Thumb tab links
Before we build the hyperlinks, there’s a little homework to: dot down which document page is the first page of each of the different sections to which the thumb tabs will lead 
In all honestly there are few different methods you can use when creating hyperlinks and link destinations in InDesign. The most commonly used method is to set the destination options as you are creating the New Hyperlink. However, I prefer to set my hyperlink destinations first and then point to these destinations later on when creating the hyperlink. Maybe a preference I picked up from earlier Acrobat work… not sure…
In this example I’m focussing on the orange Melbourne thumb tab. It is going to link to page 6 of the document.
Display the Hyperlinks panel (Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks)
From the panel menu, choose New Hyperlink Destination.
In the dialog that appears set Type to Page.
Name the Destination and set the Page number to ‘6′ (or other number in your case).
The Zoom Setting enables you to set display behaviour for the destination page in the PDF. I’m choosing “Fit in Window”, as I’d like for the person clicking the thumb tab to see the entire first page of the Melbourne section.
Next, display the b-Base master page.
On the master page select the thumb tab for which you want to create the hyperlink. In the example I choose the Melbourne thumb tab text frame.
Choose New Hyperlink from the Hyperlinks panel.
In the dialog that appears choose set Link To to “Shared Destination”. The destination we created earlier, can be used as many times for various different links if needed.
To complete the Destination setting, select the active Document, as this is the file in which we earlier created the destination and choose the Name of the destination. “Melbourne” in the sample here. [note: I've noticed that the Page reference below this isn't always correct, not quite sure why, but believe me, the link will work in the end and jump to the correct page number]
Had I selected the text “Melbourne” instead of the text frame on the master page, I could have also assigned a different character style to be applied to the Hyperlink. Be aware though that applying a character style to a hyperlink text will remove any other local character style settings that might already be applied to the link text.
Appearance settings is another way in which you can make a hyperlink stand out. As the design of the interactive newsletter with its thumb tabs is pretty straight forward I opt not to apply a visual queue for the hyperlink.
For Appearance set Type to “Invisible Rectangle” and Highlight to “None” to create a fully functional hyperlink that only become apparent to the user when they move the cursor over the tab.
Click OK to complete the hyperlink.
We’re now ready to test this rollover effect in the interactive PDF.
Creating the PDF
Choose a File > Adobe PDF Presets and select a PDF setting from the list of settings. Alternatively choose File > Export and set Format to PDF.
In the General section of the Export Adobe PDF dialog ensure the Hyperlinks option is enabled for inclusion. Next click Export and generate the PDF.
Topics: Adobe, InDesign, digitip, pdf | 8 Comments »
January 31st, 2010 at 5:17 am
Hi there,
I’ve got a huge problem. I’ve created a document (52page) in indesign cs4. I need to export it as a PDF (which i’ve already done) only when i open it in acrobat 9 it displays as single pages. I have selected the option VIEW>PAGE DISPLAY>TWO UP CONTINUOUS, and the document is displayed correctly, however, it needs to be uploaded to a website as a pdf, for ‘viewers ‘ to download, with the download to show each double page spread in a single window ( next to each other without selecting the VIEW>PAGE DISPLAY etc). I have already tried adding a page in indesign, selecting the other pages, choosing ‘unable pages to shuffle’ to get all pages (importantly the front cover – initially) to show as a double page spread. Please, please, please can you help me?… I’m a graphic design company (newishly formed – and still work part time in a contact centre, to hopefully leave soon – helped by this job!!) and this job hinges on this very detail…
I really thank you in advance….
(any advice needed)
Mark Cadwallader.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:10 am
@Mark.
It sounds like what you are after is exporting the pages as PDF spreads. You enable this option in the “General” section, under ‘Pages” in the Export Adobe PDF Dialog.
Hope this helps,
Cari
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Does anyone know how to add a print function to a pdf? I’ve seen a pdf that has a little printer icon and when you click on it, it opens the print dialog box so you can print it. It also has a separate functionality for “save this”. Anyone know how they did it?
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:24 am
I am wanting to create a PDF from an Indesign document with a clickable TOC (like you can from Word). This tip wasn’t quite what I looking for. Could you help?
February 12th, 2010 at 8:45 am
@Angie
I believe you’ll find the answer to that question in tip (6):
http://carijansen.com/2009/03/22/tip-085/
Cheers,
Cari
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Hi,
I have an InDesign CS4 document that my client wants as PDF with an index of names that each links to the appropriate page. I can create a link for each name but there are hundreds of names but only 20 pages
Is there a way to create a hyperlink for each of the 20 pages and then just assign each name to the correct page? Or do I have to create a link for each name?
Thanks,
WZ
March 26th, 2010 at 9:48 am
@Walter
InDesign’s Hyperlink feature has support for this.
On the index page, highlight a name, then “New Hyperlink”, then change Link To: Page and choose page number…
If there is a range of names that all go to the same page and they are all listed one after another, you could highlight all of them and use the same feature.
Else, you could also considering adding a “hyperlink” layer probably and drawing invisible graphic frames over all the names that say need to go to page 2, then with them all selected, choose Object > Path > Make Compound Path … and then create a New Hyperlink for this compound path.
Hope this helps.
Cari
April 17th, 2010 at 4:23 am
I have created a button with lines of text that refer to stories further back in the pdf. How can I assign hyperlinks to text within a button? And is it possible to have multiple hyperlinks {Lines of text) within a single button?