Is there a way to fill the PDF using data from Excel automatically?

Hello

I’m Adeyemi and I’d be happy to help you with your question.

Yes, there are ways to fill PDF forms using data from Excel automatically. You can use Excel's Export XML Data feature to populate PDF form fields. This feature can be accessed from the Developer Tab, XML Group from Ribbon. You can prepare the Excel structure for export, extract the XML structure of the PDF Form, and map the XML file to an Excel sheet. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro installed, you can use an Excel App to fill out PDF forms automatically, directly from Excel.

As for setting a PDF as the background of an Excel page, it seems that Excel does not support this feature directly. However, you can mimic a watermark that will be printed by inserting a graphic in a header or footer.

You can also set an image as the background of an Excel page. From the Page Layout tab, select Background. Then, select your desired picture from a file and press Insert. You can adjust the transparency of the image to make it semi-transparent

Please note that these methods do not require VBA.

I hope this helps.

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Kind regards, Adeyemi

Currently, most of the forms are PDF files. Is there a way to fill the PDF forms by extracting data from Excel automatically?

Or is there a way to set the PDF as the background of the Excel page so I only have to put the data into the cells which are in the right position in PDF form? Then I can print it to a PDF file or Save it As a PDF file to generate the filled PDF form.

Or is there a way to set an image as the background of an Excel page, this background should be transparent for me to see the cells on it?

I'm looking for a solution without VBA. Any suggestion or advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you very much! Have a wonderful day!

You might want to take a look at Power PDF Filler add-in for Microsoft Excel. It seems to be able to populate PDF Forms with Excel Data automatically, with simple clicks. https://youtu.be/w6h7s8COkXA?si=uAW2KJ8hj8yZ448X

I understand your concerns. Let's address them one by one:

1. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro, there are other tools available that can help you fill PDF forms using data from Excel. For instance, you can use a tool called BulkPDF. It's a free software that allows you to automatically fill an existing PDF form with different values using a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel 2007/2010/2013, LibreOffice or OpenOffice Calc) with the desired values
2. The issue of Excel automatically adjusting the image of the header causing the cells to not align with the header graphic when switching laptops could be due to different display settings on different laptops. One possible solution is to adjust the size of the image to fit inside the header or footer section
3. As for the issue of the background image covering the cells, Excel does not support setting an image as a background to a specific cell or a range of cells. The background image in Excel is always tiled and covers the entire sheet. A workaround could be to insert a new shape into the sheet and fill it up with a picture, defining it as "Picture or texture fill" and attaching it to the range of cells using the option of "Move and size with cells". However, this might not be the perfect solution as it still doesn't put the image behind the cells.

Regards Adeyemi

You too, Alice.

Hi, Adeyemi,

Thank you very much for the reply. It increased my knowledge. But there are still some issues for me.

1. I don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. I tried the second way, and it worked successfully to a certain extent. But it raised an issue, just my previous post.

When we switched the laptop, Excel automatically adjusted the image of the header, causing the cells to not align with the header graphic. And different laptops have different reactions. I mean different laptops have different gaps of alignment.

3. I'm sorry semi-transparent is not acceptable for my case. It covers the cells. I did not find a way to make the background at the back of the cells. The background is always on the top of the cells.

Thank you anyway for your help!