The charm of animation has always attracted me, just like many others whom I know. No doubt, we all like watching a good animation every now and then. And the idea of a moving cartoon around the screen is still a source of great pleasure for all of us. Adobe InDesign offers some great presets to create a good animation. Further, in this article, you will learn how to create animation in Adobe InDesign.
Creating good animations is as fun as watching them.
There are a number of design parameters that allow the user to create a good animation. There are objects, path settings, and timers to help you execute the animation. It allows you to create new documents with all the animation you need. There are several effects and objects to play around. It is part of the fun of creating an animation.

These files are created with an extension of .indd which resembles its parent tool, InDesign. Many a time the transferring of animated documents, execution of animation in a corrupt tool/computer, or using the .indd file in an incompatible tool may corrupt the files or drive. This leads to the deletion or loss of these files. When a situation arises, you must be equipped with the solution to recover deleted and lost .indd files. Here are some of the important points to guide you through the process of animation:
Create Animation File
To create a new form for the animation, you need to open a fresh document. To open a new document in InDesign;
- Launch the tool
- Go to File > New and then select Document


- Select The Web from the drop-down menu as intent
- Set the size of the page and click OK


- Open the Document and go to the Application menu bar > From the Switch Button Select ‘Digital Publishing’.
Move Your Objects
There are several motion presets in the tool that are default settings for the movement of objects in the form. This panel provides a number of options for the animation. It allows you to change the opacity, size, and other properties of animated objects.
- To use this function, Go to Windows > Interactive
- Click Animation to open the animation menu.


- Use the selection tool to choose the object for animation.
- Define the Name of the object in the Animation panel.
- Select a motion from the Preset Dropdown – This will allow you to apply preset motions to the object.


- An event window appears on the interface which has some options like duration, playtime, speed, etc. Make desired changes to the default settings like ‘on page load’, animation time, etc.
- Click Preview and watch the animation.
- Select the Motion path that is displayed on the object and define it using the selection tool. You can adjust all the motion paths with the use of this selection tool.
- Change the duration from default.
Making an animation with the help of these presets is easy in Adobe InDesign. There are a number of functions you can browse through the wide menu. Most of the animations have an object and a predefined motion path. This predefined motion path has a defined motion that collectively makes a basic animation.
Conclusion:
Animations are a great way to pass information just as you imagined it, a good animation really captivates the viewers and leaves an impression. After reading this article we hope that you will be able to make an animation on inDesign in a better flow than before.
Go ahead with your idea. We are very sure the output is going to be great. Happy animating!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, You can have animation on a PDF file even with audio and video files on the PDF file.
To export animations from InDesign:
- Select all the frames and Click on File
- Make sure the Loop forever is checked and click on Export.
To create live captions on InDesign: Select Object and then click on Captions and choose Generate Live Caption.