He’s done it again… Martinho da Gloria has come up with an amazing script for InDesign that accomplishes something that I did not think possible: Previewing SWF files directly inside InDesign.
Until yesterday, I was shying away from using SWF in InDesign, but the news that installing Safari 4 on the Mac appears to enable Acrobat to play them again piqued my interest. Now, out of the blue, Martinho comes out with the PlaySWF script that lets you view SWF files inside a floating panel in InDesign! Now, suddenly, placing SWFs in InDesign seems like a far more interesting combination when making interactive PDF files.
You can import a SWF into InDesign the same way you import any kind of asset: with File > Place, or by dragging from the finder/windows explorer. But InDesign won’t show you a preview of the SWF; you just see a box full of diagonal lines, the name of the file, and a dorky filmstrip icon. However, if you have installed PlaySWF, you can choose Window > PlaySWF and see it running inside the PlaySWF window:
(Yes, even though this is technically written as a script, you don’t run it from the Scripts panel — it adds its own menu item.)
Even better, you can preview a SWF even before you place it in your document by deselecting objects on your page, clicking Open SWF, and choosing one from your computer. The SWF plays inside the window, and if you want to import it to your document, you can click the Place SWF button.
InDesign doesn’t accept all SWF files, though I’m not entirely clear about which it will or won’t. Most SWF files I’ve tried work fine, including some basic Flash games! (This is a limitation of InDesign, not the script.)
Now here’s the kicker… Martinho’s company, Automatication, is releasing PlaySWF for free! Well, let’s say it’s “donation ware.” if you find yourself using it much, please click the Donate button on his site and send him some “encouragement money!”
Oops! I almost forgot to include the link to where to find the script… It’s available at the Automatication web site.
Enjoy!
This article was last modified on December 19, 2021
This article was first published on June 12, 2009
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