Adding video to PDF files has actually been possible for quite some time. With Acrobat 9.0, Adobe has brought this feature to the forefront, advertising it prominently in their  promotional material. In fact, they have made it easier than ever to add video to PDF files. Some marketers are very excited about this, and the advertising implications are epic. There are so many potential uses for embedding video into PDF files! But there are a few negative aspects to this feature, too.

Some people are concerned that this feature could be used to embed viruses inside flash videos or other media, and these viruses could be transmitted to the computers of anyone who viewed the infected PDF. This is a legitimate concern, of course, but other people have pointed out the fact that it has been possible to embed viruses inside PDF files for a  long time.

Additionally, people who don’t know how to properly compress their  video files could end up making very large PDF files that could take a long time to download, especially for users on dialup connections or with computers that can’t efficiently open and run very large files. It might be prudent to include two versions of your files for download if you’re going to embed video. That way, dialup users would be able to download a smaller file, and people with slower computers would have a file they are able to run.

But the benefits of this technology far outweigh the negatives. For one thing, you could actually create an entire video lesson embedded directly into a PDF.  Instead of the user having to find and click each new video in the series, the files would all be inside the single PDF file, and all that the user would need to do is scroll to the next page. Plus, the video could be enhanced with text or graphics above, below, or around it. This could provide additional information, diagrams, flowcharts, or other pertinent information. Sometimes it’s easy to follow a video when you have additional information presented in a different way.

You don’t have to wait for the new version of Acrobat to be released to add
media like audio and video to your PDF files. This capability has been around since at least version 6 in Acrobat Professional. To find out of your version of Acrobat has this feature, just use the following set of instructions below. If you don’t find these features, your version probably doesn’t support this type of media inclusion.

1. First, click on the “Tools” menu item in the menu bar at the top of the
screen.

2. In this menu, locate and click “Advanced Editing.”

3. In the next menu, click “Movie Tool.”

4. Now you have a tool that you can use to draw a rough outline of the box in which the video will appear on the page. Choose where you want the location of the video to be in your document and draw a box that is approximately the size you’d like your video to be. This can be changed later, so don’t worry about getting the size just right.

5. Once you have drawn your box, you’ll be prompted to browse for the  location of the video you want to insert into the PDF file. Locate the video on your hard drive. Note that the video needs to be the older Flash format, .SWF. The older versions of Acrobat don’t support the newer Flash video format, .FLV.

6. Select the video, and a box will pop up that allows you to select certain options for the video. Be sure the box beside “Embed content in document” is checked. If you don’t select this, the location of the video will point to your hard drive and no one else will be able to see it!

7. Make sure the box beside “Snap to content proportions” is NOT checked. Then click “OK.”

8. The video should now be inserted into your PDF file. Right click the video and choose “Properties.”

9. On the first page, the settings page, you’ll see a drop down box beside “List Renditions for Event.”  You’ll probably want to select “PageVisible” for this. That way, the video will begin playing as soon as the reader reaches that page of the document. If they scroll away from that page, the video will stop. (How cool is that?)

10. Click “Add Rendition,” then click “Using a File.” You’ll need to select your video again, and you’ll probably want to leave the other selections intact as the default. Be sure to select “Embed content in document.”

11. You can also use the other features such as “Appearance” to add borders to your video if you want the video to stand out from the page a bit more.

That’s all there is to it! You don’t need to wait for the new version of Acrobat to come out, because this functionality is available in many of the older versions of Acrobat Professional.

If your version of Acrobat doesn’t support this feature, you should be able to find a version that does on eBay for $50 to $100. Just be sure you’re buying a new (sealed) software package with the box, original CD with product key or serial number, and documentation. If you want to upgrade to a newer version later, you’ll need a legitimate copy of Acrobat with a valid key or serial number to do so.

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