DG art director Sam Berkes created the InDesign example at right, exported it as a PDF, and used Acrobat to make it interactive.

Continuing the interactive newsletter theme, in this issue we show you how to add sound and buttons to one of the pages.

Guitar: image 22812200, Creatas Images; laughing women: image 22201368, IT Stock Free; both from www. jupiterimages.com (available free at www.dynamicgraphics.com/downloads)

Adding interactive buttons to your PDF file can be a fun and easy way to liven up your project. Let’s start by adding sound to your PDF.

1. Choose Tools> Advanced Editing> Sound tool. Draw a small box somewhere on your PDF page. This box will be hidden from view, so size, shape, and position are not important. The Add Sound window will appear.
2. In the Add Sound window, choose the Acrobat 6 (and Later) Compatible Media option. Click on Choose to select your music file (we used file 4721.mp3, Funk Metal, www.bbm.net, available free at www.dynamicgraphics.com /downloads). Make sure the Embed button is checked. Click OK.
3. Double-click on the sound box created in step 2 to open the Multimedia Properties window. In the Appearance tab, choose Invisible Rectangle from the Border Type menu. Click Close.
4. Choose Tools> Advanced Editing> Button tool. Click and drag a rectangular box over the Play section. The Button Properties window will appear. In the Appearance tab, select No Border and No Fill. In the Actions tab, set Trigger to Mouse Up and select Play Media (Acrobat 6 and Later Compatible) for Select Action. Click Add and the Play Media window will open. Choose Play as the Operation to Perform. Choose Annotation from 4721. mp3 and click OK.
5. Repeat step 4 for the Pause and Stop buttons as well. Choose the correct Operation to Perform for each button you are creating (for example, Pause or Stop from the Operation to Perform drop-down menu for this exercise). Click OK and then click Close.
6. Select the Hand tool to test your newly created buttons. Click Play to start the rocking sound clip. Pause it or click Stop to bring the clip back to the beginning.

Acrobat 7.0 Radio Buttons Now let’s add another interactive feature: radio buttons. 1. Choose Tools> Advanced Editing> Radio Button tool.
2. With your cursor, Click-drag down and to the right to create a small radio button. The Radio Button Properties window will open after you draw the button.
3. In the General tab, enter “Yes” for Name and “Attending” for Tooltip. (A Tooltip is displayed when you hold the mouse over a button to see what information is needed.) Do not close the Radio Button Properties window.
4. In the Apperance tab, enter the information shown at right.
5. In the Options tab, enter “Yes! I wouldn’t miss it!” for Export Value. Click Close.
6. Choose Tools> Advanced Editing> Radio Button tool. Select the newly created button. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Option (Mac), to copy and move the button. Pressing shift while doing this will ensure the button will be in line with the others.
7. Repeat step 6 to copy the button for the remaining answer options. When your Radio Buttons are complete, double-click on the new buttons to enter correspond ing information. For the “No. I won’t be able to attend.” button, enter “Yes” for Name, “Attending?” for Tooltip, and “No. I won’t be able to attend.” for Export Value. Note: Keep the Name the same for a set of questions. This ensures that only one selection can be made per set of questions. Keep Appearance options the same for each button. Doubleclick for each of the buttons and repeat the steps, entering the correct name of the button choice as well as export values.
8. Now to add a reset button in case readers make a wrong choice and need to change their selection. Choose Tools>Advanced Editing>Button tool. Click-drag a rectangle shape at the bottom of the page. The Button Properties window will open. Choose the General tab and enter “Clear” for Name and “Click to reset form” for Tooltip.
9. In the Appearance and Options tabs, enter the properties shown above left. Do not close.
10. In the Actions tab, choose Mouse Up for Trigger and Reset a form for Select Action. Next click Add. The Reset a Form window will open.
11. In the Reset a Form window, make sure all the fi elds are selected. Click OK to close the Reset a Field window and click Close to close the Button Properties window. Now you have an interactive form!