Inserting a PDF File into Storyline
Jul 24, 2013
By
Ricky Fowler
I would like to insert a one page PDF into a Storyline course and then add two buttons, and a trigger for each button. I would like participants to be able to view the file, which I may need to do a screenshot and insert picture. Here is where I'm running into a problem. I want to add two buttons; one that will allow the participant the ability to save the file to their computer, the second button would allow the participant the ability to print the file. Or maybe a button that would allow them to email the file to themselves.
I'm not able to save the file to a shared drive and add a trigger to link to a url. Any suggestions? I would really appreciate anything you can do for me.
Thank you,
Ricky Fowler
40 Replies
This is a rather 'low-tech' option and may not work for you, but you could add these buttons directly into the pdf file. If you have access to Adobe Acrobat (not the reader, the actual doc management software) you can easily add rudimentary links/buttons to the pdf file and have them execute menu functions, such as Print and Save. See this quick example. Hopefully, others have better ideas but at a last resort, it might just do the trick.
Michael,
Thank you! This helps a lot, but I have one question for you. How did you insert the PDF file into the Storyline slide? I can't find that option.
Thank you,
Ricky
I used a web object with the pdf's URL.
Michael,
Thank you!
Ricky
Hi Ricky! Glad Michael was able to take care of you. Hope both of you are having a great day!
Thank you Leslie.
I have one more question for Michael, if he doesn't mind.
Michael,
What are you using to convert your PDF files to html files? I tried using Acrobat Pro XI and I keep losing formatting. What is your secret?
Thank you,
Ricky
You don't convert the PDF to html. You need to upload the PDF to a web server somewhere. Then use the URL of the PDF on the web server as your web object link. If you make your web object full screen, i.e., covering the entire Storyline screen, your PDF will load seemlessly in your player. It will be fully interactive so any buttons you put in the PDF will function as you designed them.
Thank you, Brett! That helped clear up my confusion.
Hi Ricky, Brett is correct. I didn't convert the pdf to HTML at all, just linked to its URL.
I use a few pdfs in Storyline.
If you create a button, and then link it to the pdf you want, the pdf file will be saved along with the storyline file. It is saved in a folder called "Story Content" as a subfolder called "external Files".
Unless you choose to disable saving and printing (in Acrobat Pro), the end user should be able to perform those functions with the saved pdf automatically.
when the user clicks on the button you created,l the pdf should open in a web browser. It can then be saved and printed from there.
This case does not need Web servers, and will work with exe files and html5 Storyline outputs.
The use will save the pdf to their own machine, and print from there.
Steve
Steve, that's true. I assumed Ricky wanted to make sure that users who are not as technology savy would be able to save and print a pdf. It may be hard to believe for technology folks like us, but there are lots of users who not necessarily know how to save/print a pdf from within a browser window.
Steve and Michael,
Thank you both for your help. Steve, I'm going to try your idea either today or tomorrow. I have to test it with our LMS, I've not used Cornerstone before so I'm still learning what it can and can't do.
Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress Ricky! Hope you are having a great day!
I am adding a button and linking it to a PDF on my computer, but after an hour or so of battling with this, I cannot get it to work whatsoever. Would anyone mind helping me?
Hi Stefanie! We'll be happy to help you.
Can you share a bit more about what is not working? It may also help if you can post your .story file so that we can take a look and test it out. If you're unable to share the file here in the forums, our Support team is also happy to take a look privately.
Hi! I have added PDF files to Resoures and also a button on the slide with a link to the files in Resources. I had to create it in both English and French. It works in the English version but not the French one. Could it have anything to do with the title of the file having accents and ' . I had tested in Scorm Cloud and worked fine but once uploaded in the LMS, I have a error message saying the file is not available or the link was broken. Help please! :)
Hi Veronique! If the content works in SCORM Cloud as expected, you would need to look to your LMS for further assistance.
I am inserting the pdf (which is housed on an outside commercial website) as a web object, and when I test the link it works. But when I publish the project, it does not show the pdf or a link, or anything. I would be glad to just insert the pdf file, but I can't seem to do that. Any suggestions?
Hi Rebecca,
Are you testing it by uploading to a server or your LMS, or are you testing the published output locally? If so, you may be running into security restrictions such as described here.
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for getting back to me. I should have said, but I am publishing it to my website. I am publishing it for the web, and uploading via FTP. Everything works fine until I open up the website.
I can put a link to the same PDF file in the resources tab, and it opens like a charm. Any ideas what is going on?
Hi Rebecca,
Perhaps your web server doesn't like the web objects? Could you look at uploading it to another web server such as one of the ones mentioned in this article I linked?
Thank you for your suggestion. I had tried several browsers, but didn't think about the web server. I published it to an LMS, and it worked fine. Must be my web server. Is there anything I can do about that? I have heard the web objects can be persnickety on our LMS.
Sorry, that was an internal server that had web object errors, not the university LMS. I would still like to know if there are any solutions to working with my existing web server. I really appreciate your help!
Hi Rebecca! Could you test the web published version on Tempshare to see if you have the same difficulty? Do you have a server admin you could follow up with to understand what may be happening?
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