Can't remove watermark...

[hikerguy62]

I have a PDF that I need to remove what looks like a watermark across each page, but using the "remove watermark" feature in Adobe X Pro does not remove it. What else can I try to get rid of

what looks like a watermark on each page?

Thanks,

Andy

[Steve Werner]

Try selecting the object with the Select Object tool and deleting.

Tools > Content > Select Object

[hikerguy62]

Steve, I tried that, but it had no effect. I clicked on Select Object, then clicked on the "watermark" but nothing happened (I expected some type of change / some indication the object was selected, but it had not effect). Any other ideas?

[Steve Werner]

This could happen if the file was locked, so you couldn't edit it.

If it was editable, this is how it would look when you select the object. There would be a rectangular bounding box around it. When you hit Delete, it would disappear.

[George_Johnson]

You should use the Edit Object (or perhaps Edit Document Text) tool, not the Select Object tool.

[Steve Werner]

You're right, George! I was using Edit Object tool but calling it Select Object. Confusing naming, I'm afraid, and fell for it.

[hikerguy62]

Hmmmm. Well, when I do that, it "activates" the whole page, and all I can do is delete the entire page. Any other thoughs?

[George_Johnson]

It sounds like the entire page is an image, in which case you should be able to edit it in Photoshop if you have it, or maybe use the Redaction tool to remove the parts you don't want. If you can post a sample somewhere we will know for sure what you're dealing with.

[Alec Molloy]

The "Remove Watermark" feature only removes watermarks that were created by Acrobat. If the watermark is not an Acrobat one, you can just delete the object with Steve's method.

[dave_m_k]

You could try to save the file as a Word document, check to see if you can then grab and delete just the watermark, then convert the file back to PDF.  I've seen that work in instances like this.

-David

[Nikeitha23261345iqgs]

Hi, Did you find a solution ? I'm experiencing a similar problem. 

[markpkessinger]

Here's a solution that sometimes works, depending on how the watermark was created.  If it's a gray watermark, export the file to an image (PNG or TIFF works best).  This will create one image for each page of the document.  Then open each page in an image editor.  Raise the contrast to 100%.  This will have the effect of fading the gray watermark so that it is invisible, while any text remains unaffected. Then save the images.  Once all the page images have been edited, recombine them into a .PDF.