PDFs from Pages - Won't allow backgrounds to be added in Acrobat

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Level 1

10 points

PDFs from Pages - Won't allow backgrounds to be added in Acrobat

It seems when I print a Pages document to PDF, I cannot add a background to the PDF in Adobe Acrobat. I noticed that there is an unresolved post about the exact same problem with iWork Pages 06 so it seems, this has never been addressed. Does anyone know how to fix this? I have a PDF of my letterhead that I use as a background and now I cannot.

Mac Pro Dual Quad Core 2.8, Mac OS X (10.5.6), ???

Posted on Jan 20, 2009 11:07 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 21, 2009 1:16 PM in response to kencanuck

kencanuck wrote:
It seems when I print a Pages document to PDF, I cannot add a background to the PDF in Adobe Acrobat. I noticed that there is an unresolved post about the exact same problem with iWork Pages 06 so it seems, this has never been addressed. Does anyone know how to fix this? I have a PDF of my letterhead that I use as a background and now I cannot.

Sorry, but I'm not sure I understand the problem.

Do you print to PDF using Adobe's virtual printer?

Do you create a PDF you have created from the print > PDF > Save and then open it in Adobe Acrobat to add a background?

Exactly when is it you cannot add the background? Which step in the process? Do you get an error?

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Answer 2

Jan 21, 2009 7:50 PM in response to kencanuck

Why not just put the letterhead as background in Pages? Then print that?

Why go about this in such a round about manner?

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Answer 3

Jan 22, 2009 2:48 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Why not just put the letterhead as background in Pages? Then print that? Why go about this in such a round about manner?

If the original poster did not do the design in Apple Pages, but saved out PDF and tried to do the design in Adobe Acrobat, then possibly it is because the original poster has not been told that whereas PDF is a non-editable page description model, Microsoft Word .doc is an editable application model. This is something that should be stated in information wizards to support the everyday enduser in selecting the best file format for document interchange.

/hh

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Answer 4

Jan 22, 2009 3:25 AM in response to Henrik Holmegaard

Henrik Holmegaard wrote:

Why not just put the letterhead as background in Pages? Then print that? Why go about this in such a round about manner?

If the original poster did not do the design in Apple Pages, but saved out PDF and tried to do the design in Adobe Acrobat, then possibly it is because the original poster has not been told that whereas PDF is a non-editable page description model, Microsoft Word .doc is an editable application model.

Well, in Acrobat you can add backgrounds (Document > Background > Add/Replace). But we do not know if that is the method the OP tried to use.

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Answer 5

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,940 points

Jan 22, 2009 1:24 PM in response to Magnus Lewan

The old post may provide some insight into the problem:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=550685

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Answer 6

Jan 22, 2009 2:04 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

It isn't really a "problem" it is a matter of what the user is trying to achieve.

The pdf from Pages by default has a white background, it is the page object behind the text. Without it it would be like trying to view an overhead projector sheet.

If the O.P. wants a watermark behind their letter (not a brilliant effect on screen) then they need to make +the text block over it+ transparent.

If they want to fiddle around in Acrobat to achieve this then they need to use Acrobat's Advanced Tools and select the background (white) object and either delete it, or move it to be behind any inserted watermark object.

ie The object order would be +White page object+ (back) / Watermark (middle) / Text (foreground).

btw I doubt Word ever handled this elegantly with a pdf watermark, more likely it used an oversize or crude tiff bitmap.

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Answer 7

Jan 23, 2009 1:21 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

PeterBreis0807 wrote:
If they want to fiddle around in Acrobat to achieve this then they need to use Acrobat's Advanced Tools and select the background (white) object and either delete it, or move it to be behind any inserted watermark object.

ie The object order would be +White page object+ (back) / Watermark (middle) / Text (foreground).

I tried doing this in Acrobat Pro 8 for PC and 9 for Mac using Document > Background without success. Acrobat does not even recognise that there is a background, and a new background I add is not shown. I went through Document > Examine document without finding anything suspicious. I also tried the Preflight to see if that would reveal anything unusual in the PDF, but did not find anything.

To me this is a real limitation, even if it does not apply to many users. If you for some reason want to use some of the advanced Background options in Acrobat, I cannot see how you could.

Peter, did you try it in Acrobat and succeed? If so, could you give us a step by step instruction?

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Answer 8

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:09 AM in response to Magnus Lewan

I tried to print to PDF using the virtual printer AND using the Print > PDF > Save method. Neither worked.

I tried using Acrobat to add a background using Document > Background > Add/Replace.

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Answer 9

Jan 23, 2009 2:13 AM in response to Magnus Lewan

Magnus,

You are right, I couldn't get the background, at first, either. There is no security and I can edit the text but not much else.

Pages uses the same terse .pdf that Preview uses, constructed with QuartzPDFContext. Maybe Acrobat doesn't quite "get" this.

I pulled apart the Pages document pdf (Typewriter resume) in Illustrator CS4.

This is the postscript stack, foremost on top:

4. Text
3. Transparent bounding box
2. White page box
1. White page box

Back in Acrobat I added a watermark to the background, which was not visible as before.

As I now knew how many layers there were, I cleared the spare background boxes with:

+Acrobat > Menu > Tools > Advanced Editing > *Touchup Object Tool*+ not the *Select Object Tool*

With this I clicked on the background and highlighted the bounding box (transparent) which I deleted. and then clicked on and deleted the 2 two white background boxes.

The watermark is now visible.

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Answer 10

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:10 AM in response to Magnus Lewan

That is exactly what I tried to do.

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Answer 11

Jan 23, 2009 2:20 AM in response to kencanuck

kencanuck,

Just follow the exact procedure and the right tools, and delete all the background boxes until the watermark is revealed.

Peter

btw You weren't very specific about how you did the watermark. I just used the standard procedure, but being hidden behind the other boxes I couldn't see it, until I deleted the top page boxes.

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Answer 12

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:22 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

"The pdf from Pages by default has a white background, it is the page object behind the text. Without it it would be like trying to view an overhead projector sheet."

Well that would explain why you can't add a background using Acrobat. Does anyone else think this is a dumb way of doing things though? I mean, every other app I've ever used doesn't do this and they all function properly. I get what you're saying but the analogy of an overhead transparency, despite making sense, shouldn't apply because we are NOT talking about transparencies here. Word doesn't do this. Open Office doesn't do this. Pages, by doing so, "breaks" the ability to add backgrounds in Acrobat 100% of the time.

I also think this is a limitation because it prevents you from adding a background to any previously created PDF created in Pages. You'd have to go and edit the document in Pages first. What if someone else created the document and sent you a PDF and you wanted to add the background after?

I will look at the Advanced Tools in Acrobat and try the method you suggested. Thanks for the ideas and insights.

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Answer 13

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:29 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

It isn't a watermark. It's a PDF document of my letterhead I had created. I had been using MS Word up until recently. However, the MAC version of Word is pretty bad (I have a bunch of fonts that it won't recognize at all, inserting an Excel spreadsheet is bloody annoying) and I decided to try Pages. Guess it's part of the teething process of using a new application.

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Answer 14

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:34 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Well, I'm just starting to learn Pages. Can you tell me how to add a background in a Pages document? Optimally, I'd like to lock the background in place so it cannot be easily selected and potentially moved. That way, I can create new templates that include the background.

Thanks.

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Answer 15

kencanuck Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 23, 2009 2:39 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Can someone explain to me this concept of boxes in Pages? I find it odd because it seems that every time you create a new document, there is, by default a white box that covers the entire page. Is that correct? If so, why? I'm trying to wrap my head around the advantage of doing things this way. No other word processing app I've ever used does things this way.

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