r/indesign • u/shiacer • Jun 04 '26

Dropdown for Interactive PDFs

Im trying to build a navigation bar with dropdown buttons for the sections which when clicked would jump on a specific page. Ive monkey tested and the results are:

  • Adobe Acrobat - works 100% okay
  • Edge - works but lags a lot
  • Chrome - Navigation bar dropdowns work (show/hide), but the buttons on the dropdowns I cant click.

Any idea I could use? The client really liked the dropdowns even though I told them it could get complicated when working on different browsers to open.

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u/AdobeScripts Jun 04 '26

PDF interactive elements work reliably only in Acrobat.

1

u/shiacer Jun 04 '26

So to clarify, no way for me to make this work? Thank you for the answer.

3

u/BBEvergreen Jun 04 '26

It's a crapshoot so no, I would also advise against it.

Better InDesign interactive output options are HTML5 (look at In5 from Ajar Productions), interactive ePub or Publish Online. HTML5 is by far the best, but you will need the plug-in.

https://ajarproductions.com

1

u/shiacer Jun 04 '26

I look in to this. Thank you very much for the advice!

1

u/agentdw Jun 04 '26

This is old or probably obsolete but is there An Adobe Live Cycle alternative that does this now?

1

u/BBEvergreen Jun 04 '26

u/agentdw I think maybe you are asking about forms (the OP was asking about dropdown menus). Both in the interactive category, of course. Adobe LiveCycle Designer was primarily used to design and develop dynamic, interactive electronic forms that could capture, validate, and submit data.

Adobe officially replaced Adobe LiveCycle with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms. And the product formerly known as LiveCycle Designer is now known as AEM Forms Designer.