Place content transparently or opaquely

Since pdfToolbox 13.1, extended parameters for the existing Fixup "Place content on page" are available, that allow you to deal with transparencies as explained below.

  1. In this field, you can set the Opacity in percentage. Instead of placing the content opaquely over the existing page content, it can appear transparent on the page using this parameter, so that the original PDF still shines through.
  2. You can select a Blend mode for the transparency.
  3. If the content to be placed should be transparent, an isolated or non-isolated Transparency group must be defined.

Two use cases:

Place content transparently on page

If a content that does not contain transparency should be placed transparently on a page, it can be realised with the Opacity parameter. In addition to a percentage for the transparency, a Transparency group must be defined to activate the transparency. Whether the group is set to isolated or non-isolated is irrelevant for non-transparent content. Both settings generate the same result.

Place transparent content on page

If you want to place content, that is already transparent and interacts transparently with each other, over the existing PDF file, in many cases the appearance of this content should not be influenced by the PDF page. To ensure this, pdfToolbox offers the possibility to create an isolated Transparency group. That means that all the transparencies that are specified within that group are still there but do not interact with the existing background of the PDF file.

  1. The logo has been placed as a non-isolated transparency group.
  2. The logo has been placed as an isolated transparency group.