Add a video to a PDF

To add a video to a PDF, open it in the Viewnamic editor, draw an area where the video belongs and upload the video file into it. Readers start the video right on the page – in the viewer, in embeds on your website and on phones.

Step by step

1. Open your PDF in the editor (see Editor basics).
2. Click Add area, drag a rectangle over the spot – for example over a photo – and click Save. If the spot shows a still of the video, the editor can also find the area for you.
3. Drop the video file onto the area. Or click the area, stay on the Videos tab and click Upload file – or choose a video you uploaded before.
4. Keep the tab open while Viewnamic prepares the video. The right column shows the progress and marks the area Completed when it is ready.
5. Click the pencil icon next to the area, choose the video settings and click Save.
6. Publish with Save (new PDF) or Replace (saved publication).

Video settings

• Controls – readers get buttons to play, pause, jump and close. On for new videos.
• Loop – the video starts again when it ends.
• Auto – the video starts by itself, without sound, as soon as its page is shown. If Sound is on, readers can switch the sound on.
• Sound – the video plays its sound when readers start it. Without it, the video stays silent. Sound always comes with Controls.
• Picture-in-picture – readers can detach the video into a floating window. Needs Controls.
• Content fit – how the video fills the area: Fit (White), Fit (Black) or Fit (Custom) with a colour of your choice around it, Fill (Crop) or Stretch.

For a video that runs like a moving picture, switch off Sound and Controls and switch on Loop. A video without controls always starts by itself.

What readers see

The page looks as usual, and the area shows a play button. A click plays the video inside the area. With Picture-in-picture, the controls include Detach into a floating window: readers move and resize the window, keep watching while they turn pages, and bring the video Back to its page or close it. Switching to another view closes the window. Readers whose device is set to reduce motion don’t get videos that start by themselves: they start it with its play button. Without Controls, the video then runs as you set it, without a control bar.

Formats and quality

You can upload common video files such as MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, AVI or MKV, up to 500 MB each. Before the upload, Viewnamic prepares the video in your browser so that it plays everywhere – if needed, it converts it into a web-friendly MP4 in the video quality of your plan. Large videos take longer, and the conversion uses your device’s memory: use a computer for big files.

You can also upload videos in advance: Workspace → Your dynamic content → Videos → upload button (Upload video). They then appear in the editor’s library.

Accessibility

In the Workspace’s Videos panel, the accessibility icon (Edit accessibility information) next to a video opens a form for a title, a Video description, a Transcript, the web address of a subtitle file (Subtitles/captions file URL (.vtt)) that the viewer shows as captions if the file’s website allows other websites to use it, and links to an audio-described version and to an accessible alternative. A video without information of its own can be marked as Decorative video. Readers find these details under Accessibility information in the viewer, and the description and transcript also appear in the Reading Mode. Click Save information to keep them.

Each area with a video counts toward your plan’s total of interactive content – uploading to the library alone doesn’t. The video quality (Economy, Standard or Premium) also depends on your plan: see Pricing and Plans and limits.