These forums are now Read Only. If you have an Acrobat question, ask questions and get help from one of our experts.

Need answers - controlling 3d animations in pdf

Forum Index > 3D > Need answers - controlling 3d animations in pdf
2010-07-01 12:05:17
Dex64
Dex64's picture
Registered: Jul 1 2010
Posts: 3

I've got Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, and am trying to re-create a technical repair 3D pdf similar to the samples I've seen online (like the carburetor repair pdf located somewhere on the Adobe site). So far, I've been able to create my own animated 3D pdf from a STEP file using Acrobat 3D Reviewer and export it to PDF using the supplied template. From there, I wanted to create button click steps in the pdf that start/stop the animation steps. I've followed the outdated Acrobat 3D tutorial I found (on the Adobe site again), but my buttons and script won't work for me. If I try to attach Javascript, it kills my embedded animation. So all I have right now is a 3D pdf that keeps looping the animation and I can't figure out how to control it. Is there another basic tutorial or more information on what makes Javascript work inside a pdf? Is there anyone offering training on how to do this? Starting to lose the hair I have left.......thanks in advance for any replies....

Dex64

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro Extended 9.3.1, Windows
Top
2010-07-01 23:35:21
#1
UVSAR
UVSAR's picture
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
The simple answer, unfortunately, is that most of the step-assembly type PDFs you'll find floating about as examples were created in Deep Exploration, not in Acrobat. Although Acrobat supports the JavaScript functions required to make them work, all the code has to be written by hand. It's easy enough with a single step, but if you have lots of them it gets tedious very quickly.

The script embedded inside your 3D annotation will be working with the scene.animations array, which holds all the 'steps'. To play one, you first have to activate it, then tell the runtime object to play it - for example to play the 5th one you'd use:

var _anim = scene.animations.getByIndex(4);scene.activateAnimation(_anim);runtime.play(); // ...and to stop itruntime.pause();scene.update(); // .. to rewind it_anim.currentTime = _anim.startTime;scene.update();

the SDK has more information on the animations array, but not much in the way of example code.
Top
2010-07-06 09:26:04
#2
Dex64
Dex64's picture
Registered: Jul 1 2010
Posts: 3
Hi:

I appreciate the information you posted. That did help confirm I'm not a total loser. I am hoping that you can help further?? I have very limited JavaScript knowledge, but with a little help we could create the pdfs we are looking for using Pro 9 extended.

I sent you a PM.....

We have another person here who knows a little about JavaScript, so we could easily expand on a basic set of instructions. We've tried about everything we can think of using the 3D tutorial as our guide and cannot get it to work. http://www.myacrobatpdf.com/8072/adobe-acrobat-3d-controlling-animations.php

The animation controller and document JavaScript files seem to embed, but if you create a button with a script and test it, it doesn't play. Something's not connecting here and we don't know where to look to fix it.......

Thanks in advance for your response.....

Dex64

Top