Universal Scrolling Frames From InDesign to HTML and EPUB

Adobe InDesign is full of wonderful interactive capabilities. The old DPS/AEM Mobile (Folio) Overlays panel adds several additional options, such as scrolling frames.

While this extra interactivity was supported by DPS, as well as our tool—in5 (InDesign to HTML5)—it’s not supported by InDesign’s native export formats: ePUB, HTML, and Publish Online.

In looking for ways for add this interactivity for all formats, I heard from many people that scrolling frames were a high priority.

I worked with Chad Chelius to refine the CSS that would support scrolling frames in ePUB and Publish Online. Chad wrote up how to manually insert this code on epubsecrets.

Then I went one step further and created a simple panel that will let you control scrolling with zero coding.

animated demo of the panel

The scrolling frame will work in ePUB (Fixed Layout and Reflowable), HTML, DPS, Publish Online, and in5. Thus I’ve dubbed it Universal Scrolling Frames.

Compatibility

The panel works with InDesign CC or newer. Does not work with interactive PDFs.

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The Universal Scrolling Frames extension is free when you sign up for our newsletter.

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  1. jorge says:

    I installed the Univ Scr Fr and worked well only the first test in one frame… it doesn’ work anymore… what happpened?

    1. Justin says:

      Hi Jorge,
      Looks like you were able to get things working after emailing with us. 🙂

    2. Eduardo says:

      Hello Justin.
      I’ve been using “Universal Scrolling Frames” since so long in different versions of InDesign. Now I updated InDesign to the latest version (17.3) and don’t work. Do I need to wait for an Upgrade of the script?

      Thank you very much!!
      Eduardo

  2. Debra says:

    Hi there! I installed the file and it kept saying that it wouldn’t work with my version of indesign (cs6) so I downloaded the new extension manager for cs6 and it still doesn’t work. It still says it is looking for Indesign 9.0 or greater.

    1. Justin says:

      The Universal Scrolling Frames panel is only supported for CC versions of InDesign.

    2. Chuck says:

      I rolled back to InDesign 18,5 because I couldn’t get my In5 to work with version 19. I kept getting the message the license would not load incompatible with adobe text library.

      1. Justin says:

        We believe that could be an InDesign 19 bug. You might be able to resolve it by setting your new version of InDesign to open as an admin. Otherwise, hopefully Adobe will release a fix.

  3. Marcello says:

    Hi Justin, how do I make the scrolling horizontal, because once exported to HTML5 it doesn’t scroll unless I use the touch pad but with a scroll wheel on the mouse nothing. could you please let me know, thanks.

    1. Justin says:

      How are you outputting?

      If you’re using Publish Online, you can’t control the scroll wheel.

      If you’re using in5, I could provide you with some custom code to attach.

  4. Adam says:

    Will this plug in be updated for Indesign CC v 15.0?

    1. Justin says:

      I will be releasing an updated installer soon. In the meantime, you can use the zxp file in the assets folder and this 3rd-party installer: http://zxpinstaller.com

      1. Adam says:

        Wonderful thank you

  5. Maria says:

    Hi, I have such a big problem, I have the latest version of InDesign, but when I installe the extension it tells me that there is not a compatible version of InDesing creative cloud, I have tried to download the EM but it doesn’t work neither. So I don’t really know what to do.

    1. Justin says:

      Just sent out an updated installer. Please check your email.

  6. Marcello De Cesare says:

    auto update of Indesign(huge pain)scrolling frame doesn’t work, tried to re-download but there is nothing online…are you working on a new version?

    1. Justin says:

      Just sent out an updated installer. Please check your email.

  7. Annie Shaw says:

    Hi there, I have followed all of the instructions and the program has installed without problems. However, my document doesn’t scroll in the epub. Could you please let me know how I can go about fixing this?

    1. Justin says:

      Hit the contact link above and send us your InDesign file. We’ll take a look. 🙂

  8. Volkens says:

    Hi, auto update of Indesign(huge pain)scrolling frame doesn’t work, tried to re-download but there is nothing online…are you working on a new version?

    1. Justin says:

      I sent out an email recently with an update. You can use the download link in your original confirmation email. It will point to the latest version, which includes a 2020 installer.

  9. N says:

    How long does it take to receive the extension? I signed up yesterday. Thank you

    1. Justin says:

      It should arrive immediately. Check your spam/bulk folder.

  10. Steve Barnier says:

    This doesn’t seem to work when the InDesign file is exported with “Export HTML5 with in5” and output as “Web”. No scrolling and no scroll bar. Is this a limitation or am I doing something wrong?

  11. Doug says:

    Hi Justin,

    First off, love this scrolling frame script. It’s great 🙂

    I’m using it for a simple ePub document with a really long scrolling image. Everything is working perfectly when I look at it in the Books app except it isn’t exporting the full length of the image. Is there a way to solve this?

    Thanks,

    Doug

    1. Doug says:

      Actually, thanks, I’ve sorted it out: operator error 🙂

  12. Hi I was trying to use this feature for my Publication Class to make a mobile PDF of our publication.
    I tried using hyperlinks and text anchors to help navigate and when published online the links are not translating.
    Looking at my file it seems like the links can see the anchors because they are in the frame.

    Any advice?

    1. Justin says:

      Scrolling Frames are not supported in PDF.
      See this post for more info.

  13. Inês says:

    Hello,

    my plugin was working but now when I hide the scroll bar and publish it online it doesn’t work. What can I do?

    1. Justin says:

      Can you share the URL?
      If you want to send it privately, you can do so here:
      https://ajarproductions.com/pages/contact.php

  14. Giorgos says:

    Hi, I have a big problem, I have the latest version of InDesign from creative cloud, but when I install the extension, and open the Universal Scrolling Frames panel in InDesign, panel don’t have commands or buttons to do work, but only instractions… Can you help me please?

    1. Justin says:

      Hi Giorgos,
      Follow the instructions in the panel and the interactive elements will appear. They will only be available when you have a properly configured InDesign element selected.

  15. Marco Girardin says:

    Hi Justin,
    I downloaded and installed the universal scrolling frame, but where do i find it inside indesign and how do I apply it to the container?

    Can u help me?
    Thanks.

  16. Alice says:

    Hi Justin,
    during upload on “Publish on line” from Indesign, give an error. “Library:Application Support:Ajar Productions:scrollingframe:scrollingframe_epub.css”. What’s that? And how fix?
    (Sorry my english)

  17. ana says:

    Hello Justin!

    I have problems with the scroll when I export and open ePUB on Android. What could be happening?

  18. so says:

    sign up link not working!

    1. Justin says:

      Sorry about that! Sign up page should be working now.

  19. Flo says:

    Hey Justin, im quite a newby. Scrolling frames seems not to work – I’ve tried it exactly the way described, but no scrolling happens. When I try to publish it online I always get the error: Ressource(n): 1 fehlt (missing)
    Macintosh HD:Volumes:null:Ajar Productions:scrollingframe:scrollingframe_epub.css
    and – no scrolling on the published site. What am I doing wrong?

    1. Justin says:

      Hi Flo,
      That error is saying that the CSS that powers the scrolling frames is missing. It’s likely that the scrolling frame(s) in this file were created on a different computer/version of InDesign. To update, open the scrolling frames panel and re-apply the scroll setting to the frame (turn it off, then back on). When you export the EPUB, you can go in and remove the file path from the CSS files included (but leave the new one that was added when you toggled the scrolling frame back on). That will remove the error and cause the frame(s) to work in the output.

      1. Flo says:

        Hey Justin, thanks for your answer. I did as you told, but when exporting, there’s only one file path mentioned in the CSS section. And that one ist still missing while exporting. The file by the way is created on the same computer and version of InDesign as from where it is exported.

      2. Justin says:

        Hi Flo,
        I’m noticing that Volumes is “null” in the file path. That would seem to be an issue with the machine or perhaps the InDesign installation.

  20. Maciek says:

    Hi,
    is it possible to make scrolling arrows, not scrollbar?

    1. Justin says:

      To accomplish that, I would recommend using Object States + Buttons.

  21. Honsta says:

    Hi,

    Is there a way to alter the thickness of the scroll bar, so it’s easier for users to locate and grab if they wish to control the scrolling frame this way?

    1. Justin says:

      It’s possible in some browsers, but not reliable across all browsers:
      https://www.w3schools.com/howto/howto_css_custom_scrollbar.asp

  22. Taylor Stetzar says:

    For some reason the scrolling frames aren’t working and the scroll indicators don’t show up. I am using the same file from 2020 in which the scrolling frames are working – I just made some minor coloring and image updated to the content within the frames. Help!

    1. Justin says:

      Please contact us here so that we can follow-up and troubleshoot with you directly: https://ajarproductions.com/pages/contact.php

  23. Monica says:

    Hi, when I publish online I get this message:

    Resource(s) : 1 missing
    Macintosh HD:MonicaHDmacbookair:Users:monicaprieto:Library:Application Support:Ajar Productions:scrollingframe:scrollingframe_epub.css

    I am using Adobe 16.4

    1. Flo says:

      Same here:
      Ressource(n): 1 fehlt
      MacintoshHD:Volumes:null:AjarProductions:scrollingframe:scrollingframe_epub.css

      I’m using InDesign 16.4 too

      1. Simon says:

        I’m getting the same message as well

      2. Justin says:

        If you see “Volumes:null” it means that a temp directory cannot be found, which means there was an issue with your InDesign installation. Several people have been had success with this issue using the Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

  24. Pietro says:

    I installed the plug-in on my mac, went on indesign 2021, window, utility, scripts and double clicked on the Split Text script… but nothing happens from there, can you help me?

    1. Justin says:

      There might be something on your system that is blocking scripts from running. Do any of the sample scripts in the panel work? If not, there’s either an issue with the InDesign installation, or an admin is blocking script access.

  25. Marc says:

    How can I change the colour or line-width of the scrollbar in Epub fixed lay-out?

  26. Chio says:

    Lo he bajado y colocado en Indesign pero cuando lo exporto en Publish Online sale: Macintosh HD:Users:Seitoku:Library:Application Support:Ajar Productions:scrollingframe:scrollingframe_epub.css
    No tengo Mac no sé por qué sale eso.

  27. Bridget says:

    When will scrolling frames in available for inDesign 2023 (18.0)? I have one frame that works but my second new one does not. We use this feature for a bi-weekly newsletter so I need to know if this is going to be updated soon or if I need to revert to 2022

    1. Justin says:

      Just posted an update and sent out an email. 🙂

  28. Diogo Soares says:

    Hi
    I have downloaded and installed the universall scrolling frames panel and it asked me to resart indesign so i did but when i go to in5 > interrative widgets > scrolling frames it asks me to install the panel again
    I have tried to resart the all pc but not even that works
    it says that installs it but when i go to use it it says that it isnt intalled
    Im using InDesign (17.4)

    1. Justin says:

      Check under Window > Universal Scrolling Frames.

  29. paul stott says:

    Hi

    Does this still work in Adobe InDesign 2023

    I have followed instruction to the letter and it just wont scroll on my android device

    The InDesign EPUB preview window it does scroll with mouse wheel.

    Google Play Books – just shows top half of window.

    1. Justin says:

      Yes, but we don’t control the epub readers’ behavior. It tends to work best with in5 (because we have more control over that).

  30. Steve T says:

    Hi

    I have some content which needs to horizontally scroll from right to left from a tab that sticks out, but i can’t control this with the curser, it only responds with a scroll wheel or gesture.

    Is it possible to have it swipe left with a finger or cursor?

    Many thanks
    S.

  31. Ryan says:

    So I currently have InDesign 2023 version on Mac, and whenever I try to open the scroll framer installer file, I get the message “No compatible versions of InDesign found.” I am trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Is it because I have my InDesign downloaded to an external hard drive and not the computer’s main hard drive?

  32. Austin says:

    It seems the email download link for this extension also does not work

    1. Justin says:

      Does it open a tab and really quickly close?

      I would suggest reaching out to us here to help you troubleshoot the link:
      https://ajarproductions.com/pages/contact.php

      1. Austin says:

        Just tried again and got the installer, sorry about the false alarm!

      2. Justin says:

        No prob. Glad you were able to get it to work. 🙂

  33. Fabian Salomon says:

    Hello, I have a problem with the scrollingframe.
    Whenever I check the hide box, scrolling with the mouse wheel doesn’t work anymore. it should scroll horizontally in this case, but it only works with the arrow keys on the keyboard or with the mouse wheel pressed and moving to the right with the mouse. what can I do?

    and is there a way to use a button to make the scrollingframe jump from the very left to the very right? so that it is less like a scrollingframe and more like a carousel that always jumps one frame forward when the button is triggered.

  34. Janice Flint says:

    I am attempting to use a scrolling frame in an iframe on our website. It’s working perfectly but our web pages are all a very dark navy. The scrolling frame has white text on a transparent background – as I said – that all works great. The problem is that the small bar on the right to scroll through the text frame is also very dark. Is there a place to change that color?

    1. Justin says:

      There’s a CSS file that’s generated with the output. You can edit the color of the scrollbar in there, but it may be ignored by some browsers.

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