Overlay image on a report

[jimatqsi]

The boss wants the word "CONFIDENTIAL" overlaying certain reports. He wants it large, slanted across the page, on every page, very light gray, outlined letters, not block letters. I thought Word Art and the report Picture properties would fill the bill, but not so much. An image added like that is a background to the report, so text in the report steps on the image. What I need is the image (or some text object) to be clearly readable, which it is not after the text replaces the great majority of the background image.

Surely one of the experts here has something to meet this fairly common request. Please enlighten me.

Thanks,

Jim

[cactusdata]

If "the text replaces the great majority of the background image" there isn't much you can do.
That should be obvious.

Use a red (slightly slanted) "stamp" at the top of the page above the printing area. That have worked for centuries.

[jimatqsi]

I've been able to solve the problem with after the fact editing. PDFGear is a wonderful utility for editing PDF files. I use the watermark tool to add the desired text, and it allows me to customize the angle and opacity of the watermark.

It's very good, but not ideal. If anyone discovers a solution using Access, I'd love to learn about it.

[NeoPa]

Hi Jim.

My suggestion would also have been to use a PDF-printing watermark. I'm not sure Access handles overprinting as such. You can overlay one control over another, and even set a picture file as background, but the best you can do, that I know of, is to use controls whose background is set to transparent. This comes close, but anything that is actually printed in the foreground, whether light or dark, will obliterate the background for that pixel. I would think this would do for most cases, but if that is not good enough then the watermark can work.

Another way to handle a watermark is the old-school approach of course. Simply print the watermark on blank paper then print whatever you want from Access onto the pre-watermarked paper reloaded into the tray.

[coldbluts]

It's very good, but not ideal. If anyone discovers a solution using Access, I'd love to learn about it.