Animation with InDesign CS5

So I’ve recently purchased the upgrade edition of InDesign CS5. A feature I am definitely having fun with is the new Animation and Timing panels, finally it seems that Flash has fallen into the hands of the designer once more.

I loved Flash back in the days of ActionScript 2.  Where button actions were simple to create and a slideshow could be generated with only a few trials and errors.  When ActionScript 3 arrived I was blown away by how strict and formal the language had become, instead of writing a basic onClick() action I had to “register an event listener”.  I’m not complaining though, Flash was making a natural progression to cater more for developers and those wishing to create more than a gimmicky slideshow.

Now it seems that Flash is forming a staple part of InDesign, the animation above was solely created in InDesign.  Interactive elements are also easy to implement (e.g. click on the 8-bit Chris in the above animation).  Many hard core InDesign fans have expressed a dislike for this move into interactive animation, InDesign has always been associated with design for print.  Personally, I’m very excited at the prospect of creating an animated PDF magazine or being able to quickly produce a flashy banner advert.  Cheers Adobe.

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