Interactive Documents

    This week in Digital Publication we learned about publishing interactive documents and adding animation effects to different pages. Did you know there are different types of interactive files, and they are not supported by all browsers? An interactive document is a document that contains animation, video, and music.

    An ePUB E-Book is a file that gives you the ability to see and hear any audio you want in an interactive document. The “pros” to ePUB is you get the whole InDesign experience, “cons” not all devices support it. An Interactive PDF is a format file that opens and displays on a default viewer; it varies on the operating system. The “pros” to PDF it is supported by most devices, “cons” you usually do not get the full experience you want losing any video, audio, and animation. A PDF requires a flash player that has been discontinued and is not supported by modern devices because it is a program of the past.

    I believe that a PDF is great for non-interactive documents, and ePUB is what should be used to publish interactive documents. There are many updates that are constantly being done to devices and software that they will eventually be supported because it is a part of modern technology for a better reading experience. If you do not wish to deal with any of those Adobe Indesign gives you the ability to publish online and send your viewers a link. The link has no expiration date, it is until you decide to remove it and is free to Adobe users. I think this is also great because it will give you the full experience in an interactive document with a click of a link. 

    In conclusion, there are many file types to select from and it is up to the designer to decide. The viewer may or may not get the full experience depending on the operating system viewer they use.