Hyperlinks or buttons can be used with scrolling sites to take the user directly to specific content. In this article, you'll find different ways to set up your layout, add these links, and customize the links.


First, you can make a vertical scrolling site using any of the following approaches:

  • Create one long page where the height is extended to accommodate all of the content.
  • Make separate pages and use the Merge Pages Vertically script to merge the pages into one tall page.
  • Make separate pages and export (in5 > Export HTML5 with in5...) with the Borderless Page Scroll (Vertical) page format where the pages appear without spaces between them or with the Continuous Page Scroll (Vertical) page format if you would like a little space and a drop shadow between the pages.


To link to specific content for any of these types of documents, you could use a hyperlink with a text anchor or a button with either a text anchor or a bookmark anchor. 


Create a hyperlink or a button with a text anchor

  1. Select the text in the position where you want the link to go.
  2. Go to Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks.
  3. In the Hyperlinks panel menu (the hamburger menu in the upper right of the panel) select New Hyperlink Destination.
  4. The New Hyperlink Destination dialog should open with Type set to Text Anchor and the Name set to your selected text. Click OK.
  5. Create the link.
    • If you're making a hyperlink, then do the following:
      1. Select the text or the object where you want to apply the hyperlink.
      2. Either click on New Hyperlink in the Hyperlinks panel menu or click on the + button at the bottom of the Hyperlinks panel.
      3. In the New Hyperlink dialog, set
        • Link To to Text Anchor.
        • Document to your document's name.
        • Text Anchor to the selected text that was used for the name of the text anchor that you created.
    • If you're making a button, then do the following:
      1. Select the object that you want to become the button.
      2. Go to Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms.
      3. In the Buttons and Forms panel,
        • Set Type to Button.
        • Add an Action to Go To Destination
          • Set Document to your document's name.
          • Set Destination to the selected text that was used for the name of the text anchor that you created.

Create a button with a bookmark anchor

  1. Select the text in the position where you want the button to go.
  2. Go to Window > Interactive > Bookmarks.
  3. In the Bookmarks panel menu (the hamburger menu in the upper right of the panel) select New Bookmark or click the + button at the bottom of the panel.
  4. A bookmark will appear with an anchor to the left of the bookmark name based on the selected text.
  5. Use the same process above for a button that goes to a text anchor and select the bookmark anchor instead for the Destination.

Note: If you create a bookmark with an object selected instead of text, the button that is set to go to the bookmark will take the user to the top of the page that contains the object instead of to a specific location on that page. You can see the difference between these types of bookmarks in the Bookmarks panel. Bookmark anchors that go to the location of the text on the page have an anchor icon. Bookmarks that go to a page have a page icon.



Create a link or button to a specific page


When you make a scrolling site in which the content is split up onto separate pages, you can use other types of links and buttons to go to specific sections by going to directly to the page that contains the content. This approach works well when the pages are of various heights to make the flow of the content appear seamless. 

  • If you're making a hyperlink, then do the following:
    1. Select the text or the object where you want to apply the hyperlink.
    2. Either click on New Hyperlink in the Hyperlinks panel menu or click on the + button at the bottom of the Hyperlinks panel.
    3. In the New Hyperlink dialog, set
      • Link To to Page.
      • Document to your document's name.
      • Page to the page number of the desired page.
  • If you're making a button, then do either of the following:
    • Use a Go To Destinationaction with a bookmark that goes to a page.
      1. Select the object that you want to become the button.
      2. Go to Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms.
      3. In the Buttons and Forms panel,
        • Set Type to Button.
        • Add an Action to Go To Destination
          • Set Document to your document's name.
          • Set Destination to the bookmark that goes to a page.
    • Use a Go To Pageaction.
      1. Select the object that you want to become the button.
      2. Go to Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms.
      3. In the Buttons and Forms panel,
        • Set Type to Button.
        • Add an Action to Go To Page
          • Set Document to your document's name.
          • Set Page to the page number of the desired page.


Note: Hyperlinks and buttons that go to pages do not include the yellow highlight box that helps the user locate the section where they are being taken. The yellow highlight only appears when using bookmark anchors or text anchors.


If you prefer to not include the highlight that appears with bookmark anchors or text anchors, then use one of the approaches that takes the user to a page or follow the instructions from the the following article for customizing output to not show the yellow highlight box:


With InDesign and in5, you have multiple options for creating hyperlinks and buttons to specific content within your scrolling sites with the option of customizing the output that can help guide users or match your content's aesthetic.


For more information about setting up scrolling sites, see Keith Gilbert's How to Create a One-Page Scrolling Website with InDesign & in5 course on Ajar Academy: