Acrobat Resources

TIP #81

Adding Watermarks and Backgrounds

A good way to create a cohesive-appearing document you have constructed from multiple source documents is to use a watermark or background. Watermarks overlay the page content; backgrounds are—to state the painfully obvious—applied to the background of the page behind the content.

In this tip, we show you how to apply and configure a graphic background, as well as a text watermark. It is important to plan ahead. Before you start, create the background content and save it as a PDF file if you intend to use an image; if you are using text for watermark or background, you can create it right in the dialog—a terrific new feature in Acrobat 7.

Open the document to which you want to apply the background or watermark. 

1. Choose Document > Add Watermark & Background to open the dialog shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
See larger image

2. Choose Add a Background or Add a Watermark in the Type area, and then specify where you want the background or watermark to display (it can be shown on screen and in print).

3. Click Browse to select a source document to use for a graphic background or watermark. If the document has more than one page, select the page you want to use (Figure 2)

Figure 2

4. Select the range of pages you want to receive the background or watermark.

5. Modify the position, appearance, and size of the background or watermark content as desired. Then set the horizontal and vertical alignments and rotation. Adjust the opacity by using the slider (Figure 3).

Figure 3

6. Check your adjustments in the Preview area. When you are sat­isfied with the results, click OK to close the dialog and apply the background or watermark.

You can add both a background and a watermark to the same document. In the same example, I have added both a graphic back­ground and a text watermark.

1. In the Add Watermark & Background dialog, select the Add a Watermark radio button.

2. Then click the From text radio button in the Source area of the dialog (Figure 4).

Figure 4

3. Type the text to use for the watermark in the text field.

4. Choose font and color characteristics, and adjust the text loca­tion as required.

5. When the text is just right, as shown in the preview area of Figure 4, click OK to close the dialog and apply the watermark.

This tip was excerpted from:
Adobe Acrobat 7 Tips and Tricks: The 150 Best by Donna Baker.
Copyright © 2005 Donna Baker.
Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Adobe Press.

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