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Correct answer Sam265112911dz1

just HOLD the SHIFT KEY and use the mouse to select the region, text or image you want in focus. VOILA!

2 replies

G
GeeTeez
Participant
August 4, 2023

Hi, I was having the same issue and figured out a simple work around that was useful for me. With my document open I selected the Layers tab on the left side of the screen. I used the Options drop down menu from there to select Import as Layer... I sselected the image I wanted as my background image and near the bottom of the dialouge box I selected Order: Appear behind page. Then when I need to select text areas that are on top of the background image I use the Layers tab to hide the background image layer I created by clicking the little eye symbol. This has worked for me so far.

    Thom Parker
    Community Expert
    Thom ParkerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 9, 2018

    Please explain more about your issue.  Selectable by what tool? in what type and version of Acrobat? Can you provide a screenshot?

    But, just in general, everything viewable in Acrobat Professional is editable. However, if a document is signed with a digital certificate or has special Reader extensions applied, then Acrobat behaves nicely and blocks editing. But this is a courtesy, other viewers and tools can still modify the document, although they'll break the certification in the process. So with a signed(certified) PDF you can make Acrobat and other compliant viewers block editing, and if the PDF is modified by another tool you can detect the changes, but you can't completely protect content from copying and manipulation.

    Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
    H
    Henriette SantingAuthor
    Participant
    September 9, 2018

    This is the attachment I'm taking about in my previous message.

    H
    Henriette SantingAuthor
    Participant
    September 9, 2018

    Ok, so you are not interested in protecting the PDF from other people editing the background. What you want to do is to edit text on the page without the background getting in the way. This is exactly the type of info we need in order to answer your question.  Without it we have no idea what you are asking about.

    Now, when Acrobat is in "PDF Edit" mode, the top item directly under the cursor will be selected when the mouse is clicked. So you can select and drag individual text elements as long as nothing is in front of them. Further, when dragging out a selection area, only the items fully inside the rectangle are selected, so if you can avoid drawing the selection around the background then you should be able to avoid selecting it.

    There is a way to get the background out of the way entirely, but it's tricky. When you use the backgound tool, the background is added as an OCG layer. You can hide this layer and then it is not selectable. Here's how you do it.

    1.  Run this JavaScript code in the console window

    setOCGOrder(getOCGs())

    Here is a tutorial on using the console window:

    Free Video Content & Full Listing of Available Videos

    2. Open the Layers panel on the left side of the Acrobat Window and uncheck the "Background" entry. This is turn the background off so it is no longer visible or selectable.


    Dear Thom,

    In your answer I read:

    "You can hide this layer and then it is not selectable."

    I want to have an image in the background so I don't want to hide it.

    kind regards, Henriette

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