How to apply templates to a PDF when printed

[Julian5C9B]

We have an excel file that users print to PDF and historically (and no one knows how this works) it seems a template is applied with a cover page and a second page that repeats on every page then on. I have no idea what is generating this. The template had text and a logo. 

I am told it is no longer working but no one seems to know who built this or how to fix it. I'm not even sure what to search for to start fixing it. Can anyone suggest what feature this may be?

[try67]

Please describe the exact process you follow to create the PDF file from Excel. Also, what version of Acrobat do you have?

[Julian5C9B]

We have the latest version of Acrobat Pro DC (not sure if something changed recently and broke this) . From what I can gather the user would modify the Excel document then print to Adobe and it would add the template. Here is where it gets foggy as no one seems to really understand how it works. The best I can gather is that a template is applied in Adobe.

On the left is the version with a logo applied and the right without. the weird thing is the user does not select a template when printing. it just stopped working about 3 weeks ago. I am at a loss as to how it every worked if they didn't select some sort of template to add to the pdf process. 

the excel and print via Adobe Acrobat Pro. 

[Julian5C9B]

If this helps. The Excel document is 6 Tabs and the template is different for Tab 1 and Tab 2. Tab 3 onwards has the same template logo and details. If there is a way Adobe can apply such a template I can recreate this template I guess and teach people how to apply this. I am at a loss as to how this every worked but they all tell me it worked until approx 2-3 weeks ago. they even have converted PDF's from one day that work, and then the next they do not. 

If someone can point me in the right direction of what features in Acrobat I would need to use to make this happen I am happy to look further. I could not see a way to apply different templates to different pages or tabs. 

[try67]

I don't believe Acrobat is capable of doing that. I think this is something that is done in Excel before the file is converted to PDF. And you still haven't answered my original question...

[Julian5C9B]

The process I was told was open excel modify as needed, print to PDF. I challenged that and said I cant possibly see how this would apply a template in Acrobat pro using this process. I suggested they modified the document then closed it. opened Acrobat and selected the file to convert to PDF. This seemed to be the only way I could see a template could be applied. We have had new staff and I suspect a process was lost along the way.

The version we have now is Adobe Acrobat Pro DC 2020.013.20066

[JR Boulay]

It sounds like an Excel feature

[Julian5C9B]

We thought that but one lady who has been here for 5 years said there was a process in Adobe Acrobat Pro where they would apply a template but she was not sure of the exact practice or where these template files were. We found some files that could be templates but they don't seem to match what would be needed. 

[Julian5C9B · Accepted solution]

The more I look at this the more I am coming back to your theory that it is in Excel as a background or header.