- The Race to Rich-Media Domination
- Adobe Steps into the Interactive Arena
- Adobe's Mission: One Application for Print and Interactivity
- Adobe Redefines the Office Workflow
- Page-Based vs. Timeline Formats
- The Cost of Playback
- Adobe Introduces Reader 5.1
- Multimedia Moves to the Web Page
- Acrobat's Best Friend: Adobe InDesign
- InDesign Gets Interactive
- A Polarized New-Media Industry
- Rich-Media PDF and Disruptive Technologies
- Building a Team That Includes Everyone
- Reader 8 (PDF 1.7)
- Commenting and Forms
- Attached Files
- Viewing Interactive 3D Rich Media
- Adobe and Macromedia
Viewing Interactive 3D Rich Media
Reader 7 also provided a new rich-media PDF feature called U3D. The CAD industry now has a way to share files with others who do not have the same application that created the model. Acrobat initially had a Print to PDF option so anyone could read any document that could be printed in Reader. Well, once again Adobe has followed that business model; it has allowed 3D models and animations to be displayed inside PDF files so clients can view the model in 360 degrees. U3D also provides the capability to animate the model—breaking it apart to show how the parts fit together (FIGURE 3-4).
Figure 3-4 The CAD industry now has a way to share files with others who do not have the same application that created the model. U3D provides the capability to animate a 3D model–breaking it apart to show how the parts fit together.
JavaScript Is the Key
To bring this all back to the point at the beginning of this chapter, all of this interactivity inside PDF from Reader is provided by JavaScript, the original language that Adobe adopted in PDF version 1.2 (Acrobat 3.1). The latest version of Adobe JavaScript controls the interactivity of the PDF pages, the 3D models, the audio, the video, and now the Flash animation. To learn more about Adobe JavaScript visit Adobe.com and sign up to receive the Adobe Acrobat JavaScript Scripting Guide.