I would have never guessed I would enjoy creating one of the most tedious, patience bearing, technical documents, an interactive PDF. I didn't realize when I went to design school I would be editing and populating many of them as a production artist. 10 years have passed and now I am proud of acquiring this skill.

It makes you feel like an InDesign ninja.

Why Interactive PDFs?

Interactive PDFs can seem like a non essential process for businesses. It requires a special version of Acrobat and a designer. It costs extra money and time to build them. However, it adds momentum for workflow between teams, when you have a PDF with drop down menus, text friendly boxes, and beautifully designed boxes. It is nicer to look at and quicker to use. If that was not enough of a reason for you to learn this new skill, then I'll give you one more reason: it makes you indispensable to employers because it adds value to your skill set as a designer by helping to speed up other employees workflow.

Interactive PDFs can be built using Acrobat and Word, but most designers prefer to use Adobe InDesign. I will show you why. You have more control over the overall design by beginning with InDesign.

Planning the document

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We are going to create this simple PDF using InDesign!

I used a copyright free image from pexels.com, which came from rawpexels.com I am linking here. Pexels is a phenomenal resource for designers because most of the photography is free for both commercial and personal use. However, I still feel that it is important to credit the original photographer when you receive free intellectual property. Keep in mind that even though the resources from this site are free for use in design projects, a million other people might be using the same image. It is always best to use original materials, either commission a photographer or take your own reference photos. For the purpose of this project and my Skillshare tutorial this image worked great.

Step 1 - Save Your Files

The first step would be to create your reference folder. This folder can be located either on your desktop or another folder. The structure for this should be a master folder and inside you should have a "fonts" and "links" folder. The links should contain any images or assets you will use in the document. The fonts folder should contain any special fonts.

Step 2 - Create Text Boxes and Import Assets

In this next step you will select the text tool and follow the ruler guidelines in the document to form text boxes. Then copy and past in the text you would like to appear in these areas. Then using the Ctrl + D command you can place an image on the document. Drag the corner lines to resize the image until you are happy with the layout. The best way to approach this is by using a grid. I also cover this in my Skillshare videos. You can purchase a grid layout book for inspiration and use this to make your print design more conceptually strong and balanced.

Step 3 - Refine Your Layout

A lot of the ideation involved in creating a layout involves spending time refining the document's design. You might add in icons, additional images, or look at typographic nuances. Some of these involve eliminating widows. I discuss widows in another blog entry. All of these things make your document look professional, clean, and beautifully designed. You could purchase a layout design book on Amazon. The one I use is called Basics Design 02: Layout: Second Edition.

Step 4 - Output to PDF

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Make sure all of your images are still linked in the links window. Then go to File > Export > Interactive PDF.

Once you have saved the PDF, Acrobat will open with your new PDF showing active fields. These active fields are now ready to be styled with any font or feature you prefer.

Step 5 - Styling the PDF

If you are on a Mac the shortcut is

Ctrl + Cmd + 7

After you have used this shortcut, all of the interactive fields will become editable. Simply select the field and double click it. This will open a box where you can style, adjusting the size of fonts, font face, or alignment of the text.

Step 7 - Pat Yourself On the Back!

When you're done hit okay and then don't forget to save your document!

If you are looking for a more advanced version of this walkthrough then please check out my Skillshare class on creating interactive PDFs. You can watch me work on the document sample above. Hope this helps! Leave feedback in the box below.