Add audio, video, and interactive objects to PDFs

Include audio, video, and interactive 3D objects in your PDF files. Add files directly to your PDF or link to files on the web.

Adding video, sound, and interactive content transforms PDFs into multidimensional communication tools that increase interest and engagement in your documents.

All multimedia that are H.264 compliant can be played back in Adobe Reader 9 and later. (H.264, also known as MPEG-4 part 10, is a video compression standard that provides high-quality video without substantially increasing file size.) Video files of varying formats and filename extensions can be H.264 compliant.

Media files in other formats can be played back in earlier versions of Adobe Reader. However, users must install the appropriate application (such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player) to play the multimedia.

Another way to add multimedia is by entering a URL that refers to a video file or streaming media. Three types of URLs can be used: RTMP, HTTP, and HTTPS. On HTTP and HTTPS servers, H.264-compliant MOV and MP4 files are supported.

Add multimedia files to a PDF

Acrobat Pro supports .mp3, .mov, and other files encoded in H.264 (with AAC audio). You can convert other file types into one of the supported formats by using Adobe Media Encoder. You can also add mp3 audio files to a PDF for playback on any platform.

Advanced multimedia options (Acrobat Pro)

To view advanced multimedia options when you insert video, sound, or interactive content, select Show Advanced Options in the Insert dialog box.

You can also change these options after multimedia has been added to a PDF. Double-click the multimedia with the Select Object tool (Tools > Rich Media > Select Object).

Use these settings to determine how the media is started and stopped, where it is displayed, and what is displayed when the media isn’t running.

Select options to determine when the media is played and stopped. From the Playback Style menu, select Play Content In Floating Window to have the video or interactive content run outside the page. Content in a floating window enables users to read the page and view the video or application at the same time.

Creates a black border around the video or interactive content. For sound, the border surrounds the poster image.

To use an image that is not part of the file you are adding, select Create Poster From File. Click Browse to find the image you want to be displayed when the video, sound, or interactive content is not activated.

Use to set up which playback controls (skins) are available.

Select the set of playback controls (skin) you want to be displayed on the video.

Click to open the color palette and choose a color for the controls.

Sets the degree of transparency for the playback controls.

When selected, hides the play controls when the mouse pointer is not over the multimedia.

Available when you are adding a video.

Drag the Start and End markers below the slider bar to remove unwanted frames from the clip. This option is only available when a video clip is first added to a PDF.

The poster image is displayed when the video isn’t playing. Drag the marker on the top of the slider bar to the frame you want to use, and then click Set Poster Image From Current Frame.

Use Chapter Points to create markers in a video from which to launch specific actions. For example, in a training video, chapter points can link to additional information in a file or on the Web.

To create a chapter point, move the slider to the frame you want to use. In Chapter Points, click the plus sign. To add an action, highlight the chapter point in the list and click Actions.

Edit the play area (Acrobat Pro)