The rmannot Package
Beginning with version 9, Adobe Reader and Acrobat contain an embedded Adobe Flash Player that
will play SWF, FLV, and MP3 files. A new annotation type, called a rich media annotation,
was developed to manage these media file types in a PDF file.
The rmannot package supports the creation of rich media
annotations (a RichMedia annotation type), and the embedding of SWF, FLV, and MP3 files in a PDF.
SWF animations, FLV video, and MP3 sound
can then be played within PDF viewed within version 9 (or later) of Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
The rmannot package was written, in part,
to support the AcroFLeX Graphing package.
What's new
The following list notes the most recent changes.
- v2.0 features support for 3D models (U3D and PRC). These models are presented within
a rich media annotation rather than a 3D annotation. This allows you to bind SWF applications
to the background or foreground of the scene, or to materials of the model
itself. tst_rm3da.pdf is the only example for now, others will appear on the AcroTeX Blog.
- v1.1a introduces support for third-party video players, examples will eventually appear at the AeB Blog. Support for F4V files is also added; this requires Acrobat X Pro, which has only just been announced. I have posted to articles on the use of VideoPlayerPlus.swf and VideoPlayerX.swf on the AeB Blog with more to come.
- v1.0 has one major feature, the introduction of cue points. If your FLV is encoded with cue points, you can execute Acrobat JavaScript when these cue points are reached in the video. The demo file for this feature is tst_cuepts1.pdf. (10/15/10) I have posted several articles at the AeB Blog on cue points.
The Distribution and Documentation
- rmannot.zip
- You can view the documentation for the package, rmannot_man.pdf, which has SWFs, FLVs and MP3s embedded. If you don't have version 9, the rich media annotation will not activate, you'll only see the poster appearances.
You also need to pick the the latest versions of
there were minor, yet important additions to these packages in support of both rmannot and AcroFLeX.
Demo files
Two others demonstrate special techniques
the former is demos a SWF file driven by its own SWF skin, and the latter demos the scripting bridge between Acrobat and Flash.
The rmannot package is part of AeB Pro, this means that Acrobat Distiller 9.0 or later is required to build a PDF with a rich media annotation.
Related Application Packages that use rmannot
- The acroflex package: A graphicing application that uses a special SWF file, written using FLEX 3.0, to graph functions, systems of parametric equations, and polar equations.
- The yt4pdf package: This YouTube application uses YouTube API chromeless video player to play YouTube videos through a PDF document.
- The fldigigal package: Create a Flash-based slide show of digital files.