How to Create a Looping HTML Slideshow with InDesign and in5

Update: 
You can still use the techniques in this article, but it much easier to create a looping slideshow from InDesign using in5’s Presentation Mode
(no coding required…not even copying and pasting). Shown in the video below.

In this article, I’m going to show you how to create a self-running slideshow using Adobe InDesign and in5 (InDesign to HTML5).

This will let you create animated slideshows that will run in any browser, using content you’ve created in InDesign.

This type of slideshow has many possible uses, including

  • web banners
  • tradeshow presentations
  • animated info graphics

This article shows you how to create a dynamic HTML5 banner ad using InDesign. You can also create an animated GIF using the same techniques.

There are only a few steps to creating a self-running slideshow…

in5 v3 is here – CC 2017 compatible, subscription plans, better output

in5 version 3 is here

InDesign CC 2017 compatible

in5 version 3 has a completely re-designed user interface and works seamlessly with InDesign CC 2017.

Better output

Here are some of the new features that are available right away.

  • Live HTML tables and columns (video).
  • Fully-rendered SVG tables, paragraph rules, and paragraph shading.
  • With a Pro subscription, you can now save your export settings as an Export Preset and reuse them (video).
  • Multi-page web output that will create an HTML file for every page in your InDesign document.
svg tables now render cell backgrounds and table strokes

SVG table rendering – Old version vs. New version

Flexible subscription licensing

The new subscription licenses are designed to work with CC subscriptions (so you’ll automatically be activated when you install a newer version of InDesign).

The new in5 subscription plans will let you:

  • Activate all versions of InDesign on your system simultaneously.
  • Easily move from one computer to another.
  • Deactivate one employee and transfer the license to another employee.

You can manage your license remotely from a secure online profile (i.e., deactivate a machine that you’re not using and move to a new one, even if you don’t have access to the old machine).

screenshot of online account user management

Online portal let’s you manage users and remotely deactivate

 

You can choose to be billed monthly, or get a discount to be billed annually.

The subscription plans also offer multiple tiers, so you can get exactly the level of features that suit you. For example,

  • The Starter Plan will come with all the basic features within in5.
  • The Pro plan will give you power features, like the ability to save and reuse export settings across InDesign documents.
  • The Elite plan will give you the ability to script and automate in5.

Migration discounts

You’ll get a big discount off the first year if you have a serial number from a previous version of in5.

Check out the new version of in5

How to Replace an iFrame with a Message When Your Viewer is Offline

An iFrame lets you embed a website inside of another HTML document. It’s often used to add online content to otherwise offline publications. When a viewer is offline, the iframe fails completely, and the author doesn’t have control of what is displayed.

So how do we go about fixing that?

How to always show scroll bars on a Mac

What if you were missing out on web content just because your Mac wasn’t telling you that you could scroll?

It turns out that this is the default on the current version of OS X. So there’s a good chance you are missing content.

Here’s the short and sweet steps to a solution.

How do I show scroll bars on a mac?

  1. System Preferences (from the Apple Menu) > General.
  2. Change the Show scroll bars setting to Always.

Digital Publishing with InDesign: Types of Interactive Elements

DigPubIDCC one page

This is a guest post by Sandee Cohen, adapted from Digital Publishing with Adobe InDesign CC by Sandee Cohen and Diane Burns. This article highlights the methods for adding interactivity to an InDesign document.

Types of interactive elements that can be added to InDesign documents

  1. Links: Hyperlinks, Cross-references, Table of Contents
  2. Bookmarks
  3. Audio/video files
  4. Multi-state objects
  5. Buttons
  6. Forms
  7. Animations
  8. Page transitions
  9. Overlays

Each has its own particular uses, and some of the features may overlap. Before you start work, you need to decide which type of interactive element is right for your job or you could be stuck with an effect that can’t be exported for your finished project.