ImagePlacer

User Guide — Mapsoft ImagePlacer Plugin for Adobe Acrobat

Overview

ImagePlacer is an Adobe Acrobat plug-in that places and positions images on PDF pages with precise control over positioning, scaling, transparency, rotation, and page selection. It is designed for workflows where logos, watermarks, signatures, stamps, or other image assets need to be added to existing PDF documents consistently and accurately.

The plug-in supports common image formats and provides a visual page preview so you can see exactly where your image will appear before applying the change. Images can be placed as a foreground overlay or as a background layer behind existing page content, giving you full control over how the image integrates with the document.

ImagePlacer includes additional features such as image borders, horizontal and vertical flipping, aspect-ratio locking, JPEG quality control, and a clipping area option. All settings can be saved as named configurations for reuse, and the plug-in exposes a COM automation interface for scripted and batch workflows.

Getting Started

After installation, ImagePlacer adds a menu item under Extensions › Mapsoft › ImagePlacer in Adobe Acrobat. Click this to open the ImagePlacer dialog. You can also access ImagePlacer from the Acrobat toolbar if the toolbar button has been enabled.

Open a PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.
Go to Extensions › Mapsoft › ImagePlacer.
Browse for the image file you wish to place.
Set the position, scaling, and transparency as desired.
Select which pages should receive the image.
Click Apply to place the image, or OK to place and close the dialog.

Tip: Use the page preview panel on the left side of the dialog to see a live representation of where your image will be placed on the page. You can also drag the image in the preview to reposition it visually.

Selecting an Image

Click the Browse button to select an image file from your computer. ImagePlacer supports common raster image formats including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and BMP. Once selected, the image path is shown in the file field at the top of the dialog.

The original pixel dimensions of the image are used as the basis for scaling calculations. If you change the image file, the position and scaling settings are retained so you can easily swap one image for another without reconfiguring the layout.

For best results, use images at the resolution appropriate for your intended output. A 300 DPI image is suitable for print workflows, while 72–150 DPI is generally sufficient for on-screen viewing. ImagePlacer preserves the colour space of the source image when embedding it into the PDF.

Position and Scaling

ImagePlacer provides precise numeric positioning using X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) coordinate fields. You can specify the reference point for measurements — for example, distance from the left or right edge of the page, and from the top or bottom edge.

Position Reference

The X From radio buttons let you measure the horizontal position from the left edge or the right edge of the page. Similarly, the Y From radio buttons let you measure from the top edge or the bottom edge. This flexibility makes it easy to anchor images to any corner or edge of the page.

Measurement Units

Use the Units dropdown to select your preferred measurement unit. Available options include points, millimetres, centimetres, and inches. All position and size values in the dialog update automatically when you change the unit.

Scaling

Enter a scaling percentage or specify an absolute width and height for the placed image. When Lock Aspect Ratio is enabled (the default), changing the width automatically adjusts the height proportionally, and vice versa. Disable this option if you need to stretch or compress the image independently in each direction.

Rotation and Flipping

Enter a rotation angle in degrees to rotate the image around its centre point. You can also flip the image horizontally or vertically using the corresponding checkboxes, which is useful for creating mirror-image effects or correcting image orientation.

Layer Placement

Choose whether the image is placed in the foreground (on top of existing page content) or the background (behind existing content). Background placement is ideal for watermark-style images or subtle branding that should not obscure the document text.

Transparency

The Transparency slider controls the opacity of the placed image, expressed as a percentage. At 100%, the image is fully opaque. Reducing the value makes the image progressively more transparent, allowing the underlying page content to show through.

Transparency is applied using PDF transparency features and a configurable blend mode. The default transparency is set to 50%, which is a good starting point for watermark-style overlays. You can fine-tune the value using the slider or by typing a precise percentage directly.

Tip: When placing a company logo on a certificate or letter, a transparency of 80–100% is typically appropriate. For background watermarks, try values between 10% and 40% for a subtle effect.

Page Selection

ImagePlacer lets you choose which pages receive the image. The page selection options include:

Current Page — Places the image only on the page currently displayed in Acrobat.
All Pages — Places the image on every page of the document.
Page Range — Enter a specific range such as 1-5, 3,7,12, or 1-3,8-10 to target specific pages.

When processing multiple pages, ImagePlacer applies the same position, scaling, and transparency settings to each page. The preview updates to show the currently selected page so you can verify the placement before applying.

Undo

ImagePlacer maintains an undo history that tracks each image placement operation. Click the Undo button to remove the most recently placed image. You can undo multiple operations in sequence to step back through your changes.

The undo feature works by recording the PDF element references for each placed image, so it can precisely remove the correct element without affecting other page content. Undo is available for the current Acrobat session; once you close and reopen the document, previous placements become permanent.

Saved Configurations

The Configuration dropdown at the top of the dialog lets you save and recall named presets. This is especially useful when you have standard image placements that you apply repeatedly — for example, a company logo in the top-right corner of every report.

To save a configuration, set up all the options as desired, type a name in the configuration dropdown, and click Save. To recall a saved configuration, select it from the dropdown list. To remove a configuration you no longer need, select it and click Remove.

Configurations are stored in the plug-in's INI file and persist between Acrobat sessions. They include the image file path, position, scaling, transparency, rotation, page selection, and all other dialog settings.

COM Automation

ImagePlacer provides a COM automation interface that allows external applications and scripts to place images on PDF pages programmatically. The COM object exposes a PlaceImage() method along with properties for configuring all placement parameters.

This is particularly useful for integrating ImagePlacer into automated document processing workflows, where a script or application needs to add images to PDFs without user interaction. The automation interface can be called from any COM-compatible language, including VBScript, PowerShell, C#, and Python (via the win32com library).

To use the automation interface, create an instance of the MAPSImagePlacer COM object, set the desired properties (image path, position, scaling, transparency, etc.), and call the PlaceImage method with a reference to the target PDF document.

System Requirements

Adobe Acrobat: Acrobat Pro or Standard DC (2017 or later). Not compatible with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11 (both 32-bit and 64-bit Acrobat installations are supported).
Image Formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP.

Support

If you encounter a problem or have a question not covered here, please get in touch: