Using an existing PDF as a background

I've got an existing PDF file I'd like to use as the background for my form. I've trying importing it into designer, but I'm missing some of the fonts and there are a lot of mistakes.
I tried saving the PDF as graphics, then creating an image PDF from the graphics, then using that as the background, but saving at a decent printable resolution (1200 dpi) crashes Designer when I try to use that as the basic form.
Is there any way to avoid these problems?
-- Chris

Chris,
I have the exact same problem. Have you found a solution?
Thank you,
Mike

Similar Messages

When creating a fillable form fields from an existing pdf file, how do you set or allow end user to set the font size in the fields?

I successfully created a form filled pdf using an existing pdf document. However, the font size is too large to allow end user to type in information in the form box. Is there a way to 1)globally set all of the form fields when generated to a much smaller font size &/or 2) allow end user to change the font size if needed to put all information in one box without font being so large?

Hi DenisonDoc,
There is no option right now to set properties globally primarily for Text fields. You may make sure fields doesn't contain anything.
Select all the text filed from the form and right click any of the selected field make sure all of them are selected choose properties --> Appearance there you can choose Font Size and Font type.
- End users cant change size and type of font. It is up to designer.
Regards,
Ajlan Huda.

Use my own pdf form as a template

Can I use my own pdf form as a template? I want to add a dropdown list in my form.
Thanks.

Hi;
FormsCentral does not enable you to edit a PDF - there is an "Import PDF" feature that allows you to use an existing PDF form and import it into FormsCentral to collect and manage responses, but it does not allow you to edit and does not provide a "web" version of the form.
Here is a tutorial on that feature: http://forums.adobe.com/docs/DOC-2654
You could use Adobe Acrobat XI to edit your PDF adding a drop down list.
Thanks,
Josh

How to replace string in existing pdf using pdfbox?

My requirement:
Your loan amount @loanamount is approved.
I wanted to replace @loanamount to 5,00,000. If i try with pdfbox api,i am not able to replace. i am getting empty space in pdf.
If i use same api and if try to replace @loanamount to abcd. now its replacing
replaceFirst("@loanamount","5,00,00"); - not able to replace. getting empty content in pdf
public void replaceString()
PDDocument doc = null;
try {
doc = PDDocument.load("D:/DOCS/Letter.pdf"); //Input PDF File Name
List pages = doc.getDocumentCatalog().getAllPages();
for (int i = 0; i < pages.size(); i++)
PDPage page = (PDPage) pages.get(i);
PDStream contents = page.getContents();
PDFStreamParser parser = new PDFStreamParser(contents.getStream());
parser.parse();
List tokens = parser.getTokens();
for (int j = 0; j < tokens.size(); j++)
Object next = tokens.get(j);
if (next instanceof PDFOperator)
PDFOperator op = (PDFOperator) next;
// Tj and TJ are the two operators that display strings in a PDF
if (op.getOperation().equals("Tj"))
// Tj takes one operator and that is the string
// to display so lets update that operator
COSString previous = (COSString) tokens.get(j - 1);
System.out.println("COSString::"+previous);
String string = previous.getString();
string = string.replaceFirst("@loanamount", "5,00,000");
//Word you want to change. Currently this code changes word "Solr" to "Solr123"
previous.reset();
previous.append(string.getBytes());
PDStream updatedStream = new PDStream(doc);
OutputStream out = updatedStream.createOutputStream();
ContentStreamWriter tokenWriter = new ContentStreamWriter(out);
tokenWriter.writeTokens(tokens);
System.out.println("updatedStream::"+updatedStream.getInputStreamAsString());
page.setContents(updatedStream);
//setItem(COSName.CONTENTS,updatedStream);
doc.save("D:/DOCS/loanamt_filled.pdf"); //Output file name
sample content in pdf:
Dear ABC,
Your loan amount @loanamount is approved.
Regards,
DEF
Output:Your loan amount is approved.
I m getting empty spaces instead of @loanamount
Could anyone help me out ?
Please suggest me java open source api to replace caption or content in existing pdf.
Thanks in advance...

Tom
To answer your original question, I know of now easy way of processing your clips and replacing the existing ones already edited.
If I have this right you have your sequence fully edited?
There is a workaround, messy and time consuming but it will not spoil the video element of the sequence.
Process: -
Drag the audio for each clip so that it is on a track with space at either end of it.
Unlink each clip.
For every audio clip extend each audio's head and tail
Then use the edit in Audition link
The clips are individually processed
Then you can go back adjust the head and tail to what you want and fade out and in as you wish.
I'd manually fade each clip rather than add an audio transition
Take care not to alter the video clips at any time or you will go out of sync
Hope this helps
Col

Inserting PDFs into existing PDFs using Preview

Previous to the 10.6.6 update I was able to insert a PDF document into an existing PDF document by dragging the new PDF into the sidebar within Preview.
Now when I try this, instead of adding the document, it opens the PDF I have just dragged in, in the same window.
Is this a setting that I have missed somewhere? Have check document security permissions, preferences etc...
Thanks
Message was edited by: griffs

Preview (in Snow Leopard) can display more than one multi-page PDF in one window. If you drag pages from document 2 into the space at the end of the sidebar of document 1, they will remain as separate documents. Drag them on top of the pages of document 1 in the sidebar. Document 1 will highlight and you can position the pages as desired. It is easier to do it than to explain it.

How do you insert another PDF document into an existing PDF page

Here's some background. I used to use Acrobat 5 (I know it's really old but it worked great for my needs, but it's time to upgrade). Say I have an existing 1 page PDF document (an Invoice for example). Sometimes in Excel I create additional supporting details/calculations/etc that I must place onto the Invoice. In the past I would print my Excel document to PDF using PDF Broadgun (great tool!) - and I'd like to keep doing this. Then I would go into Acrobat 5, open up my 1 page Invoice PDF document, then I'd use the Form tool, insert Icon, and select my "supporting" PDF document right onto the 1st page. Then, as needed, I could resize it and place it anywhere on the existing Invoice/PDF 1 page document that I started with, and the resolution was great (i.e. no "grainy" appearances, etc).
I've now upgraded to Acrobat XI Pro (well, technically I'm trialing to make sure it'll will meet my needs - so far so good, until I ran into this). I have tried copying the Excel data directly into my PDF Invoice document, but it often times makes the object super large (way off the page left to right) and then I have to resize it (substantially reducing the size) in order to make it fit the page. This resizing the causes the text to appear "grainy".
So pretend that my original Invoice/PDF 1 page document took up the top 1/2 of the page. Then in Excel I create some backup which is say 5-10 lines of calculations. How can I get the Excel backup as an Image into my original 1 page document (and on 1 page)? The only work around that I've found so far is to insert it as the last past, then highlight the new stuff from Excel, cut and copy it onto page 1 (these seems like several extra steps in my eyes, but it does work).
I also want to avoid using screen snip-it, snagit, and various other tools for the following reasons:
1. I don't want to remove the grid lines within Excel (i.e. when you print from Excel the grid lines do not print by default)
2. I use PDF Broadgun to generate a PDF (i.e. electronic print) and then the data/document looks just like I'd want it to look if I had physically printed it
Any thoughts? Many thanks in advance for the help too.
Other Details: Windows 7 Pro, company/business use

I don't see what the problem is with printing to PDF using the Adobe PDF printer as you did with the other tool. Then open your new Excel PDF and do the same process as before (assuming it worked for you). Just go to the Tools>Interactive and add a button field (I assume this is what you did before) and put the file there. At least give it a try as I think that is what you said you used to do.

How to position text in an existing PDF document with X,Y coordinates

There used to be a CFX PDF tag that could do this. the company (www.easel2.com) does not appear to exist any more.
This is what i want to do. I have an existing PDF file that is uploaded by a user. I want to receive the file, then put a registration number (some text) in the lower left corner of the 2nd page (I don't know the exact x,y coordinate but I can figure that out later).
Does anyone know how I can do this?

Unfortunately, I can not create the PDF. It is uploaded by the user, and I have to open the PDF, insert the text and save it. BUT, I did find the solution in a slight roundabout way.
1) Create an image file containing the text I need
2) Use that image file as a watermark with 10 opacity and use the tag's x,y coordinate setting.
Below is the code I found to work:

<cfset myImage=ImageNew("",500,500)>

<cfset ImageSetBackgroundColor(myImage,"white")>

<cfset ImageClearRect(myImage,0,0,500,500)>

<cfset ImageSetAntialiasing(myImage)>

<cfset attr=StructNew()>
<cfset attr.size=50>
<cfset attr.style="bold">
<cfset attr.font="Verdana">
<cfset ImageSetDrawingColor(myImage,"blue")>
<cfset ImageDrawText(myImage,"PROOF",100,250,attr)>

<cfimage action="write" source="#myImage#" destination="text.tiff" overwrite ="yes">

<cfpdf action="addwatermark" source="c:/book/1.pdf" image="text.tiff"
destination="watermarked.pdf" overwrite="yes">

HowTo/Best Practice: Fill existing PDF Form by Reports

Hi,
we have a pdf form which should be filled by Reports.
We don't want to build this form manually in Reports with all the fields and graphics.
Is there a way to transform an existing pdf form to rdf?
Can we use this pdf as background inside the rdf?
Does anybody has other ideas to accomplish this?
Thanks in advance!
Florian.

Thanks, Rainer,
am I right? You are describing the BI-Publisher way... unfortunately customer has no BIP... :-(
There is just Oracle Reports.
The approach of Andreas (+"For using it as background, create an item out of the pdf and import it using Insert->Image"+) doesn't work for me because customer needs RTF output.
And there is a bug in RTF generation of Reports:
If you generate RTF output with images inside and you use MS Office 2003/2007 for viewing/editing then images are scaled to 133% :-(

Extract Tag Tree from existing PDF

Hello,
We are starting a new project where a user can accessibility check their pdf. They do this by uploading the pdf file and on a new screen we are supposed to show if the tag tree of the pdf (if it has tags).
Can the tag tree from an existing pdf be extracted on the server by running some command line code in the background or by calling a method in the .NET SDK? Anyone have any ideas.
If this isn't possible does anyone know of any other software programs that I might use in order to get this information. As long as I can get the tag tree I shouldn't have any problem marking it up into HTML and rendering it to the person's browser.
Thanks,
Dustin Michaels

Are you sure you can't install it on a windows server? This links says you can.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/productinfo/systemreqs/Re: Extract Tag Tree from existing PDF
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 4; Windows Server® 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit editions) with Service Pack 1; Windows XP Professional, Home, Tablet PC, or 64-bit Editions with Service Pack 2; or Windows Vista™ Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business, or Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit editions).
Anyway even if you couldn't install it on a server we could always have it installed on a Windows XP machine and have the windows server contact the Windows XP machine to get the tag tree from the pdf uploaded.
Do you have any idea how you might extract the tag tree regardless of what operating system adobe acrobat is running on using some .NET code?
Thanks,
Dustin Michaels

Chrome - Adobe-Acrobat/Reader can not be used to view PDF files in a web browser.

I can't view PDF files via Chrome (it works on Internet Explorer but I prefer Chrome) - the error below has arisen recently on Chrome, though I can't see what has changed.
"Acrobat plug-in
The Adobe-Acrobat/Reader that is running can not be used to view PDF files in a web browser. Please exit Adobe Acrobat/Reader and exit your Web Browser and try again."
I have looked through Forum articles on similar errors and have tried the following(text copied from other Forum entries)
Repair Adobe Acrobat (from Acrobat)
Repair Adobe Acrobat (from Control Panel
Configure Acrobat as a helper application: Choose Edit > Preferences., Select Internet on the left., Deselect Display PDF In Browser Using [Acrobat application], and then click OK.Quit Acrobat or Reader
Create a registry item for Acrobat: with Regedit: If the registry item doesn't exist on the system, do the following: Go to Edit > New > Key and create the missing HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\Exe.Go to Edit > New > String Value and name this key (Default).Select (Default), and then go to Edit > Modify. Type the Adobe Acrobat path in the "Value data" for your product.,restart your computer
Repair the HKCR\AcroExch.Document registry key: Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document., Right-click AcroExch.Document and select Delete; make sure that you have the correct key, and click Yes on any prompts, Right-click AcroExch.Document.7 and select Delete; make sure that you have the correct key, and click Yes on any prompts. Repair your Acrobat installation
None has solved the problem. However it still works ok with IE. But I want to stick with Chrome because I find IE is so slow!
I am using Vista, with Adobe Acrobat standard 9.5.2 and Google Chrome version 23.0.1271.64 m which is marked on Chrome as 'up to date'
Does anyone know why I might be getting this error on Chrome but not IE?

I think I have discovered the answer to my own question!
I have disabled Adobe Reader plug-in, and can now see PDFs in Chrome.
(Steps: Chrome Menu, Settings option, Click Advanced Settings link, then Content Settings button, then select Disable Individual Plug-Ins, and a list of plug-ins is offered to enable or disable).
I then get a different result depending on whether or not Chrome PDF viewer is enabled - with it enabled I see the PDF document in Chrome, or with it disabled then the option is offered to download it, but either way I can get it it via Chrome without having to run Internet explorer in another browser window.

How do I Edit an Existing PDF Form Without Losing Form Functionality

I'm brand new to Acrobat but familiar and proficient with Flash, PhotoShop Premiere Pro, After Effects, Dreamweaver, Fireworks etc.
The company I work for sells office supplies. We sell 57 distinct items. We have Acrobat 9. I am designing a PDF order form with fields that can be emailed to our clients as an attachment. They fill out the form, it calculates the total, they send it back to us, we fill and ship the order. Basic and straightforward.
I can add form fields to my order/pricelist... not a problem. The question is:
Once I have brought a PDF into Acrobat and add 57+ fields and calculations, which is a time consuming process, how do I edit an item price at a later date, if someone in the company decides to make a change to our pricing?
See..., If I save the original Microsoft Excel document as a PDF, Acrobat can't edit the text for some reason. Something to do with "Renderable Text". Now if I open the PDF saved from Microsoft Excel in Adobe Illustrator, I can use the text tool to make changes. That doesn't help me... just saying. Why can't I edit "Renderable Text" with the Acrobat Text Tool? Someone in a forum stated that Acrobat is NOT a word processing program! If that is an accurate statement, it would appear that Acrobat can at least work with base PDF documents to make certain types of modifications and add functionality. Is that correct?
Here's the problem. I create a PDF with form functionality. Everything works great. The boss says, I want to change the price of the scissors. I can't change the text in Acrobat because of the "Renderable Text" nonsense. Does this mean that I have to re-apply all of the form fields and calculations to the new base PDF document every time there is a minor change? I know there has to be a simple work around. Should I upgrade to a newer version of Acrobat?
Is it possible to save the original existing form functionality as a layer or overlay to be applied to the new modified base PDF document? Kind of like so many other Adobe products do including PhotoShop, Fireworks, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash etc., so that all of the form functionality can be applied in one big chunk? Premiere Pro has the time-saving feature of "Paste Attributes". It's a real time saver.
It may be simpler to just direct me to a video that goes through the process of creating a PDF order form with fillable fields that multiplys quantity by unit price and totals one column.
I already created a prototype of the form in PhotoShop which can be saved as a PDF. The finished order document appearance has 95 horizontal 3px wide lines and 6 vertical 3px lines, kind of like what one might expect to see in an Excel spread sheet. The form also contains some graphics and unconventional text areas that acrobat could overlay text fields and everything would be fine.
With these great number of horizontal dividing lines, It doesn't seem practical or even possible to create the basic layout in Acrobat. As I originally stated, I'm new to Acrobat and would like suggestions for a workflow that enables easy editing of an existing PDF document with form fields. I want to avoid the monumental task of re-doing all of the fields and calculations.

For what you are trying to do that is probably what you want -- Replace Pages. There are a few more issues that you need to be aware of since this is a business form. If customers are using Reader XI, it is not an issue.
On the renderable text, can you see the text list when you look at the font tab in the document properties (ctrl-D)? If not, they you do not really have fonts to edit. This may be the type of fonts you used in the original or the way in which you did the conversion to PDF. You need to have fonts that are on your system and then be sure to embed them (otherwise others may not be able to read them because of different OS or such).
As to e-mailing the form, that is fine (though there are sometimes problems with various clients and PDFs -- but usually on the sending end).
For collecting the data you may want to try a different route. For users of Reader XI, they can save the form with the data. Prior versions could not do that unless you enabled the form for Reader. However, this latter process has a 500 form use limit -- A license issue. If the data is submitted, then it does not make a difference. The folks with Reader XI can still save the form with the data, others will have to print a copy for their records.
The data can be imported to the form on your end and so you would have the exact same results as what was filled out. However, the submission process should be set up to submit to a web script for your receipt and not use mailto. The latter has problems that you have no control over due to proper operation with the mail client on the user machine. Typically the mail client must be the default and use MAPI. In any case, it is not reliable (not for business use). So submission to a web script is useful. The data in AcroForms would be of the type FDF (or possibly XFDF). If for some reason use created the form with Designer, that limit any editing in Acrobat since it is no longer a real PDF, but an XML container that Acrobat and Reader can display and interact with, but not change. Again, submission to a web script is still preferred.
For dealing with a web script and some coding for various languages, you can check out the FDF Toolkit. It has been around a while, but should still handle the CGI needs of the submission. In addition, it has tools for adding the data to a database and other typical operations for data collection. You can save the FDF files and import them to the form and deal with the data there also.
The use of Replace pages would do the job if all your form fields will still need to be in about the same location. Form fields are mark up and the pages are referred to as the document. Thus the replace pages will just original page and leave all the form fields. You will still need to go back and fix the value within the fields themselves, but that is a field edit.

How do I create a pdf from just one or two pages of an existing pdf?

I just purchased this product (acrobat online)
and it is not allowing me to do the things it promised, e.g. saving portions of one pdf to another, combining pages or entire docuements to create, even typing into a document (editing)! I am so frustrated - can someone please help!?

But I jut paid $89.00 for the adobe pack - if I subscribe to Acrobat Plus, will that be credited?
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:50:14 -0700
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Files.Acrobat.com How do I create a pdf from just one or two pages of an existing pdf?
    Re: How do I create a pdf from just one or two pages of an existing pdf?
    created by H.Spector in Files.Acrobat.com - View the full discussion
Hi,
Thank you for your subscription. If you are Acrobat Plus subscriber then you can extract the pages from the PDF file using Tools> Pages> Extract pages.
You can find "Tools" at right top once you open your PDF file in Acroat.
If you are subscriber to PDF Pack then please download Acrobat XI Plus from www.adobe.com.
PDF Pack service offers "Convert to PDF", "Export from PDF"(to Word/PowerPoint/Excel/RTF formats so that you can edit the exported files) and "Combine Files" (combine your files into a single PDF file).
Please let me know if you have any quesitons.
thank you.
hisami
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Is it possible to embed a newly created form into an existing PDF?

Hi,
I have an exisiting pdf (3 pages of text and images) that I need to add a form to on the last page. I've created a form but don't know how to embed it, and I have a feeling there's a better way to do it.
The idea is that we can then email this PDF to people and they'll be able to fill it in.
I'm a new user and can't find out how to do this- I'm sorry if i've missed something obvious!
Thank you in advance.

Hi;
You can do it with Adobe Acrobat...
First: Create your form in FormsCentral and from the Distribute tab "Save Submission-Enabled PDF"
Second: Open your existing PDF with text and images in Adobe Acrobat and in Acrobat go to Help - Find and type "Insert Page from File" (under Tools depending on the version of Acrobat you are using) and add the FormsCentral PDF to the existing PDF and save
The resulting PDF file would include the FormsCentral form and submitters data would be collected on FormsCentral servers for you to view/download in the View Responses tab. You can also set up Email Notifications and Submission Reciepts that would all work with this PDF form.
Thanks,
Josh

Is there a way to take an existing PDF and make it into a form that will aggregate the responses?

Is there a way to take an existing PDF and make it into a form that will aggregate the responses?

Sabian has pointed you to an older Acrobat X tutorial.
It depicts the use of acrobat.com "workspaces".
"Workspaces" are going away soon.
See:
https://forums.adobe.com/docs/DOC-4203
So, what is shown in the Adobe TV session is, basically, obsolete.
For forms you may want to give acrobat.com's (now "Adobe Document Solutions) FormsCentral subscription service a look-see.
https://new.acrobat.com/en_us/products/formscentral.html
Be well...

FAQ: Creating PDF Files from FrameMaker v.6 & earlier Documents -- Why you should not use "save as PDF"! -- Windows & MacOS Only!

An issue that has come up over and over again on several FrameMaker and Acrobat/PDF email lists as well on the corresponding Adobe User-to-User forums is that of creation of PDF files. FrameMaker 5.5.6 and 6 have what looks like a convenient feature that is supposed to allow you to create PDF files via simply saving the document as a PDF file. I have gone on record as advising end-users not to use this approach for reliable creation of PDF files from FrameMaker documents under Windows and MacOS with FrameMaker 6 and earlier. Why do I most vociferously offer this advice and why doesn't the problem get fixed? And how SHOULD you create PDF files from FrameMaker?
GOOD NEWS
I will start with the good news. The "next major version" of FrameMaker will indeed have "save as PDF" re-implemented in a manner that it will be as reliable as printing to the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows or the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer under MacOS. I am personally working with the FrameMaker development organization to make sure this really happens and is fully and properly tested and debugged! Furthermore, this next major revision of FrameMaker, unlike FrameMaker 6, will come with a Distiller installer that will properly install the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows and the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer on the Macintosh (of course assuring that the latest PostScript driver is also automatically and correctly installed).
DON'T USE "SAVE AS PDF"
But what's wrong with "save as PDF" as currently implemented?
The following are some of the SYMPTOMS reported over the last few years by FrameMaker users that were traced back to use of "save as PDF" under FrameMaker:
(1) No PDF file is produced at all, possibly with a log file showing not-readily apparent PostScript errors during distillation.
(2) The PDF file "loses" color in images. All or some images (raster, bitmap images, NOT vector artwork) appear in the PDF file in grayscale.
(3) The resultant PDF file is on the wrong paper size, i.e., the document's logical page size does not match the output page size as seen in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
(4) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file is blotchy looking or overly bold.
(5) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file cannot be searched or indexed.
(6) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file appears in Courier or in some other substitution font.
(7) Interword or intercharacter spacing is a bit irregular in the resultant PDF file.
(8) Content is missing in the margin areas of the page, i.e. you cannot do full-page bleeds.
(9) Some or all page content is missing (other than margin areas).
(10) Relatively inefficient PDF is generated.
If this list by itself isn't enough for you, please note that some of these symptoms are very subtle and may escape attention when the PDF is first viewed or printed. Oftimes, it is when one attempts to manipulate the PDF file in Acrobat or repurpose its content or even view or print on a system other than the one on which the PDF file was created, that some of these symptoms make themselves obnoxiously visible (or invisible in some cases I won't make any bad jokes here about graphic examples!).
It is important to understand that FrameMaker does NOT have its own native ability to create PDF. Any and all PDF created from FrameMaker documents is actually done by creating PostScript via the PostScript driver and having the Acrobat Distiller create PDF from that PostScript. The only exception to this is creation of PDF via the Acrobat PDFWriter driver, which is likewise not recommended (see below).
In order for "save as PDF" to work correctly, FrameMaker must do the equivalent of calling Printer Setup and selecting the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows or the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer under MacOS followed by setting the driver's options correctly for paper size, page range, etc., followed by sending the proper commands to the driver to create PostScript.
Contrary to popular belief, PostScript as generated by the Windows and MacOS PostScript drivers is VERY device-dependent. The information in the PPD file associated with a printer driver instance provides critical parameters for generation of PostScript including:
Whether the printer supports color (Acrobat Distiller does)
What PostScript language level is supported (Acrobat Distiller 4.x and Acrobat Distiller 5.x are both PostScript language level 3)
Whether native TrueType support is available (Acrobat supports native TrueType as Type 42 fonts)
Available binary communications (Acrobat Distiller supports pure binary and ASCII, but NOT TCP, TBCP, or PJL)
Resident fonts (Acrobat Distiller doesn't really have resident fonts)
Available paper sizes and custom paper size availability (Acrobat Distiller supports a wide range of predefined sizes and continually variable "custom" sizes up to 200" by 200")
Margins / printable areas (for PDF and the Acrobat Distiller, there are no margins in which imaging is not permitted)
Device resolution (Acrobat Distiller can be set to any value from 72 to 4000 dpi; as a convenience, the Acrobat Distiller PPD provides a series of values for use by the driver. Since there is no inherent "resolution" of a PDF file, this parameter is used only for purposes of allowing PostScript programs that query for such a value to be satisfied and for the driver to be able to communicate this value to the operating system and/or application as required.)
Paper handling (totally irrelevant to Acrobat Distiller if input or output tray selection via "setpagedevice" is found in the PostScript stream, it is ignored by Acrobat Distiller)
Thus, if the wrong printer driver instance is selected (i.e., it isn't associated with the Acrobat Distiller PPD file) or that driver instance is improperly configured, improper PostScript will result and one or more of the symptoms described above can occur. As currently implemented, FrameMaker depending upon version will not necessarily choose the correct printer driver instance and/or correctly parameterize the print job via driver setup options. In fact, FrameMaker 5,5,6 might even try to generate PDF via calling a PCL driver, FAX driver, or even a non-PostScript inkjet printer!
DON'T USE PDFWRITER
The Acrobat PDFWriter is a relic of older versions of Acrobat. In fact, it is no longer installed by default in the "easy install" or the "typical install" of Acrobat 5. It hasn't really be updated since Acrobat 3 and only supports PDF 1.2. It is a GDI (Windows) / QuickDraw (MacOS) driver that directly generates PDF without any intermediary PostScript. Since it is not a PostScript printer driver, applications cannot pass through EPS graphics and/or PDFMark information (used for a wide variety of purposes by FrameMaker). For EPS graphics, most applications will send the low resolution TIFF (or PICT) EPS header in lieu of the PostScript text, if they send anything at all, to the driver. Forget about links, structure, or any other PDF "goodies." Expect that PDFWriter will fully "bite the dust" in the next major version of Acrobat.
SO HOW DO I GENERATE PDF FILES FROM FRAMEMAKER 6 & EARLIER?
The ONLY method that is really reliable for producing PDF files with FrameMaker 6 and earlier requires the generation of PostScript via a properly set printer driver instance associated with the Acrobat Distiller PPD and distillation of the resultant PostScript by Acrobat Distiller.
Case 1: FrameMaker and the Full Acrobat 4.05 or Acrobat 5.0x Products
PDF file from a "chapter" -- print directly to the Acrobat Distiller printer instance (Windows) or the Create Adobe PDF desktop printer (MacOS) already installed by Acrobat. If you check the "Acrobat data" option, then make sure to UNcheck the "print to file" option that gets set at the same time. As a result, the driver will automatically send the generated PostScript to the Distiller for you and delete the intermediate PostScript when done.
PDF file from a "book" -- print directly to the Acrobat Distiller printer instance with the "print to file" option checked (Windows) or the Virtual Printer desktop printer (MacOS) associated with the Distiller PPD (see details below under Case 2/MacOS). You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
In both the above sub-cases, the default driver options generally will be OK, but check on paper size and communication protocol (Use pure binary, not ASCII, for optimal performance AND no CTRL-D characters under Windows. Make sure to set Level 3 only and Binary under MacOS. Font inclusion "All" for Acrobat 4.05 and "None" for Acrobat 5 under MacOS.). With Acrobat 4.05, make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. With Acrobat 5, you can set this on a job-by-job basis via the driver printer setup interface (or print dialog on MacOS).
Case 2: FrameMaker 6 and the Bundled Acrobat 4.05 Distiller
Windows -- Create a new printer driver instance using the latest version of the Adobe Universal PostScript Driver Installer, downloadable from Adobe's web site AND the Acrobat Distiller PPD file (located in the XTRAS subdirectory of the Distiller directory). This driver instance should be set to print to the local port named "FILE:". Name this driver instance as "Acrobat Distiller". The default driver options generally will be OK, but check on paper size and communication protocol (use pure binary, not ASCII, for optimal performance AND no CTRL-D characters). Make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. Print directly to this Acrobat Distiller printer instance. Make sure that the "print to file" option is checked. You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
MacOS -- Install the latest version of AdobePS 8.7.x, downloadable from Adobe's web site. In FrameMaker, go to Page Setup and select the "Virtual Printer" and go to the "Virtual Printer" window pane. Select the Acrobat Distiller PPD file (located in the XTRAS subfolder of the Distiller folder). Print directly to the "Virtual Printer" (Make sure to set Level 3 only, Binary, and font inclusion "All".). Make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
Case 3: Acrobat 3
Acrobat 3 is not officially supported for the latest OS versions and I personally would no longer recommend its use for generation of PDF files given that Acrobat 5.0.5 is the current version of Acrobat.
- Dov

You're asking a lot of ancient Acrobat to work with an Office that never existed when it was made. "Just updated my office suite" is a massive change, and Window 8 didn't exist at that time either...

Using an existing PDF as a background

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