Add backgrounds to PDFs

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A background appears behind text or images on the page. The background can be as simple as a solid color, or you can use an image. You can selectively apply a background to only specific pages or page ranges in one or more PDFs. A PDF supports only one background per page, but the backgrounds can vary from page to page.

Before and after adding a background
Before and after adding a background

Add, replace, or edit a background

  1. Open the PDF file to which you want to add the background.

  2. Choose Tools > Edit PDF.

    The Edit PDF toolset is displayed in the secondary toolbar and other related options are displayed in the right hand pane.

    Note:

    If a message appears, telling you that the current document already has a background, click Replace Background. If you apply the new background to a limited range of pages, the old background remains unchanged on pages outside that range.

  3. In the secondary toolbar, choose More > Background > Add.

  4. (Optional) To apply the background selectively to individual pages, click Page Range Options. Then specify a page range and choose a Subset option, as needed.

  5. Specify the background:

    • To reuse a background and background options that you saved in an earlier session, select it from the Saved Settings menu.

    • To apply a solid color background, select From Color. Then select a color swatch or custom color from the color picker .

    • To use an image, select File, then select the image file. To select a specific image in a multipage file, enter it in Page Number.

    Note:

    Only PDF, JPEG, and BMP files can be used as background images.

  6. Adjust the appearance and position of the background, as needed.

  7. (Optional) To apply the same background to additional PDFs:

    1. Click Apply To Multiple Files.
    2. Click Add Files, choose Add Files or Add Open Files, and then select the files.
    3. Click OK.
    4. In the Output Options dialog box, specify your folder and filename preferences, and then click OK.

Update a recently edited background image

If the original image file that you are using as a background change, you can update the PDF to show the new version of the image rather than removing the old version and readding the new one.

  1. Open the PDF file to that contains the background you want to update.

  2. Choose Tools > Edit PDF.

    The Edit PDF toolset is displayed in the secondary toolbar.

  3. In the secondary toolbar, choose More > Background > Update.

  4. Click OK, or make other changes to the background options and then click OK.

Note:

This process applies only to backgrounds added in Acrobat 7.0 or later.

Remove a background from selected pages

  1. Open the PDF containing the background.

  2. Choose Tools > Edit PDF.

    The Edit PDF toolset is displayed in the secondary toolbar.

  3. In the secondary toolbar, choose More > Background > Remove.

  4. Click Yes to confirm the background removal.

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