is it possible to assign metadata to specific objects?

[danstrobridge]

i was hoping to attach metadata to specific symbols in a document (as opposed to just the document itself). is there a way to do this either through conventional techniques or programmatically? i have adobe acrobat 7 and something in the help file there suggested to me that we could do such a thing from within illustrator (but not within acrobat... we can only view the metadata in acrobat). the behavior that i'm after (in acrobat) is clicking a symbol on a map and having information about the point that was clicked pop up. if you're feeling ambitious, you can search for "object data" in the acrobat help file and click on "viewing data" to see exactly what i mean.

i apologize if the question seems silly... i've been a coreldraw user for several years. i know that we can assign data to objects in corel... but we can't "preserve layers" in an export to pdf, which is a key feature in the workflow of my current project. i downloaded the 30-day CS12 demo after learning about the "preserve layers in pdf" feature in CS12 and i have to admit that i'm thinking about converting after seeing how much scripting is possible within illustrator.

thanks in advance,
dan

 

[vakohles]

Try Assigning Tags - Alt Text to the images. When the Illustrator file is PDFed I believe that if you set it up to bring Tags over that it will bring that information as well.

This will not be in the metadata

InDesign CS, Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, Acrobat 7
Windows XP & MAC OS X (Yes I Use Both, Not at the Same Time)

 

[danstrobridge]

thanks for the quick response!

however, it sounds as if this would enable me to bring just a single text entry over. is this correct? what i'm really after is a small(ish) table that has in the first column a variable name and in a second column, the variable's value. this table is anticipated to be about 10 to 20 rows long. i was just exploring the MS Visio software and it seems as if i might be able to achieve what i'm after with that program... but i didn't want to have to bring in another software into my workflow if i could avoid it. currently, my workflow is: export a map from ArcGIS to illustrator and then export from illustrator to layered pdf.

 

[vakohles]

Hmmm - my response may be inaccurate, I believe Tags are only aplicable within InDesign to PDF.

I use Visio very infrequently and mostly for Org Charts. I do not use ArcGIS.

What is your are you trying to produce in your final outcome?

PDF for web view? or a website?

InDesign CS, Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, Acrobat 7
Windows XP & MAC OS X (Yes I Use Both, Not at the Same Time)

 

[danstrobridge]

i'm trying to create pdfs of maps with "options" to enrich the functionality of them as a deliverable for my client. the pdfs will be delivered via email/cd/ftp. they don't have to be optimized for web viewing. the "options" so far just include layers that can be toggled on/off and, if i can figure out how to do it, clickable-points that bring up specific data that i want the client to have access to without having to go to separate tables, graphs, etc...

 

[vakohles]

Hmmm - I am not really sure how to do that within Acrobat.
I know that you can assign notes to pages within Acrobat; however, I do not think that that is what you are looking for.

It sounds like you are trying to create a website (interactivity wise) that is a .pdf file?

I believe you may need ot use the SVG Interactivity within Illustrator to create the interactivity that you are trying to achieve.

I have one idea what you may or may not be interested in trying; I think I would use Photoshop and ImageReady for what you are attempting to do.

Again, I do not think that I can get you very far in what you are asking. Sorry.

This answer does interest me though, so I will check back to see if another user has some ideas that will help.


InDesign CS, Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, Acrobat 7
Windows XP & MAC OS X (Yes I Use Both, Not at the Same Time)

 

[danstrobridge]

i have actually considered SVG as an alternative to the pdf product that i am attempting to develop. SVG did not seem like it had quite as many benefits as going the pdf route.... although i made that determination before installing the CS12 demo and investigating SVG interactivity design options. thanks for the reminder. i will definitely check that out while i look forward to more valuable insights such as the ones you've been able to provide.

thanks!
dan