PDF Watermark & Page Elements
Add watermarks, page numbers, headers, footers, and other overlay elements to PDF documents.
Overview
This skill helps you:
- Add text or image watermarks
- Insert page numbers
- Create headers and footers
- Apply stamps and labels
- Batch process multiple documents
How to Use
Watermarks
"Add 'CONFIDENTIAL' watermark to this PDF" "Apply a diagonal 'DRAFT' watermark" "Add our company logo as a watermark"
Page Numbers
"Add page numbers to this PDF" "Number pages starting from page 3" "Add 'Page X of Y' at the bottom center"
Headers/Footers
"Add a header with the document title" "Create a footer with date and page number" "Add company name to every page header"
Watermark Options
Text Watermarks
markdown## Text Watermark Configuration ### Content - **Text**: CONFIDENTIAL - **Font**: Arial Bold - **Size**: 72 pt - **Color**: #FF0000 (Red) - **Opacity**: 30% ### Position - **Placement**: Center - **Rotation**: 45° diagonal - **Offset X**: 0 - **Offset Y**: 0 ### Pages - **Apply to**: All pages / First only / Custom range - **Skip pages**: [None] ### Preview
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Image Watermarks
markdown## Image Watermark Configuration ### Image - **File**: logo.png - **Size**: 200 x 100 px - **Opacity**: 20% - **Maintain aspect ratio**: Yes ### Position | Preset | Description | |--------|-------------| | Center | Middle of page | | Top-right | Corner logo | | Bottom-center | Footer area | | Tile | Repeated pattern | ### Current Setting - **Position**: Bottom-right corner - **Margin**: 20px from edges - **Behind text**: Yes (background)
Watermark Presets
| Preset | Text | Style | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | DRAFT | Gray, diagonal, 50% | Work in progress |
| Confidential | CONFIDENTIAL | Red, diagonal, 30% | Sensitive docs |
| Copy | COPY | Blue, horizontal, 25% | Duplicates |
| Approved | APPROVED | Green, stamp style | Sign-off |
| Sample | SAMPLE | Gray, tiled | Demo documents |
| Do Not Copy | DO NOT COPY | Red, diagonal, 40% | Restricted |
Page Numbers
Configuration Options
markdown## Page Numbering Configuration ### Format | Style | Example | |-------|---------| | Simple | 1, 2, 3 | | Page X | Page 1 | | X of Y | 1 of 25 | | Section | 1-1, 1-2 | | Roman | i, ii, iii | | Letter | A, B, C | ### Position | Location | Alignment | |----------|-----------| | Header | Left / Center / Right | | Footer | Left / Center / Right | ### Current Setting - **Format**: Page {n} of {total} - **Position**: Footer, Center - **Font**: Arial, 10pt - **Start from**: Page 1 - **Skip pages**: Cover (page 1)
Advanced Numbering
markdown## Advanced Page Number Scheme ### Section-Based Numbering | Pages | Format | Example | |-------|--------|---------| | 1 (Cover) | None | - | | 2-5 (Front matter) | Roman | i, ii, iii, iv | | 6-100 (Body) | Arabic | 1, 2, 3... | | 101-110 (Appendix) | Letter | A-1, A-2 | ### Prefix/Suffix - **Prefix**: "Page " - **Suffix**: " - Company Name" - **Result**: "Page 5 - Company Name"
Headers and Footers
Header Configuration
markdown## Header Setup ### Layout (3-column) | Left | Center | Right | |------|--------|-------| | [Logo] | Document Title | [Date] | ### Styling - **Font**: Arial, 10pt - **Color**: #333333 - **Line below**: Yes, 0.5pt gray ### Dynamic Fields | Field | Code | Output | |-------|------|--------| | Page number | {page} | 5 | | Total pages | {pages} | 25 | | Date | {date} | Jan 29, 2026 | | Time | {time} | 14:30 | | Filename | {filename} | report.pdf | | Title | {title} | Q4 Report |
Footer Configuration
markdown## Footer Setup ### Layout | Left | Center | Right | |------|--------|-------| | © 2026 Company | Confidential | Page {page} of {pages} | ### Styling - **Font**: Arial, 9pt - **Color**: #666666 - **Line above**: Yes, 0.5pt gray - **Margin from bottom**: 0.5 inch
Stamps and Labels
Stamp Options
markdown## Document Stamps ### Preset Stamps | Stamp | Style | Color | |-------|-------|-------| | APPROVED | ✓ Checkmark | Green | | REJECTED | ✗ X mark | Red | | REVIEWED | ○ Circle | Blue | | PENDING | △ Triangle | Yellow | | FINAL | ▢ Box | Black | ### Custom Stamp - **Text**: SIGNED - **Date**: Include date below - **Name**: Include name line - **Style**: Official stamp look
Bates Numbering
markdown## Bates Numbering (Legal) ### Configuration - **Prefix**: ABC- - **Start**: 000001 - **Suffix**: -2026 - **Position**: Bottom right ### Example ABC-000001-2026 ABC-000002-2026 ABC-000003-2026 ... ### Across Multiple Documents | Document | Start | End | |----------|-------|-----| | doc1.pdf (50 pages) | ABC-000001 | ABC-000050 | | doc2.pdf (30 pages) | ABC-000051 | ABC-000080 | | doc3.pdf (25 pages) | ABC-000081 | ABC-000105 |
Batch Processing
Batch Watermark Job
markdown## Batch Watermark Application ### Input - **Folder**: /documents/contracts/ - **Files**: 25 PDFs - **Total Pages**: 450 ### Watermark Settings - **Type**: Text - **Text**: CONFIDENTIAL - **Style**: Diagonal, 30% opacity, red ### Progress | File | Pages | Status | |------|-------|--------| | contract_001.pdf | 15 | ✅ Complete | | contract_002.pdf | 22 | ✅ Complete | | contract_003.pdf | 18 | ⏳ Processing | | ... | ... | ... | ### Results - Processed: 25/25 files - Total pages watermarked: 450 - Output folder: /documents/contracts_watermarked/
Output Example
Watermark Report
markdown## Watermark Application Report ### Document - **Input**: quarterly_report.pdf - **Output**: quarterly_report_watermarked.pdf - **Pages**: 45 ### Applied Elements | Element | Details | Pages | |---------|---------|-------| | Watermark | "CONFIDENTIAL" diagonal | All | | Logo | Company logo, bottom-right | All | | Page numbers | "Page X of Y", footer center | 2-45 | | Header | Title + Date | All | | Footer | Copyright notice | All | ### Verification - [ ] Watermark visible but not obscuring content - [ ] Page numbers sequential and correct - [ ] Headers/footers properly positioned - [ ] No content overlap issues
Tool Recommendations
Online Tools
- SmallPDF: Easy watermarking
- ILovePDF: Good page numbers
- PDF24: Free, configurable
- Sejda: Many options
Desktop Software
- Adobe Acrobat Pro: Full control
- Foxit PDF Editor: Good features
- PDF-XChange: Many options
- Preview (Mac): Basic only
Programmatic
- pdf-lib (JavaScript): Full control
- PyPDF2 (Python): Basic watermarks
- iText (Java/.NET): Professional
- PDFBox (Java): Good options
Limitations
- Cannot perform actual watermarking (provides guidance)
- Image watermarks need proper resolution
- Some secured PDFs prevent modifications
- Complex watermarks may increase file size
- Position may vary with different page sizes
- Font availability affects text watermarks
