Add Text Watermark to Excel in Power Automate
What this action does
PDF4me - Add Text Watermark to Excel stamps a customizable text label - CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, APPROVED, a copyright notice, or any string - directly onto Excel worksheets as a WordArt object. You control the text, size preset (50 pt – 150 pt), color, font, bold/italic styling, transparency, rotation angle, and one of nine grid positions. Apply to every worksheet or target specific sheets by name or index. The action runs inside any Power Automate cloud flow and returns the watermarked Excel as binary ready to save to SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, or email.
Authenticating Your API Request
Every PDF4me action in Power Automate requires a connection that holds your API key. Create or select one when you add the action for the first time.
Important Facts You Should Not Miss
The watermark is embedded as a WordArt shape in the worksheet drawing layer. It is visible in both the sheet view and print output, unlike Excel's native header/footer text which appears only when printed.
Leave worksheet selectors empty to watermark the entire workbook. Specify sheet names or 0-based indexes to target only certain tabs - useful when a workbook mixes public summary sheets with restricted data sheets.
One action applies one watermark style. To stamp different text on different sheets, chain two or more Add Text Watermark to Excel actions in sequence, each targeting distinct sheets, before saving the final file.
Map File Content from your storage step, enter Watermark Text, and choose size, color, and position.
Parameters
Required: File Content, File Name, and Watermark Text. All other parameters have sensible defaults. Worksheet indexes use 0-based numbering (Index 0 = first sheet).
| Parameter | Required | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| File Content | Yes | Binary content of the Excel file. Map from a Get file content action in SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, or any storage connector. Must be a valid .xlsx or .xls workbook. | SharePoint → File Content |
| File Name | Yes | Filename including extension (.xlsx or .xls). Used to identify the document being processed. Supports dynamic values from prior flow steps. | report.xlsx |
| Watermark Text | Yes | Text to display on each worksheet as a WordArt object. Any alphanumeric string or symbol. Examples: CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, © 2025 Acme Corp. | CONFIDENTIAL |
| Text Size | No | Size preset: 1 = 50 pt (Small), 2 = 75 pt (Medium), 3 = 100 pt (Large, default), 4 = 150 pt (Extra Large). Values outside 1–4 fall back to 100 pt. | 3 |
| Text Color | No | Hex code (#FF0000) or named color (Red, Blue, Gray, Black). Defaults to Black. Invalid values fall back to black. | #CC0000 |
| Font Family | No | Font name for the watermark WordArt. Common choices: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman. Defaults to Arial. Unknown fonts may use the system default. | Arial |
| Is Bold | No | Set to true to apply bold weight to the watermark text. Improves readability over busy worksheets. Defaults to false. | true |
| Is Italic | No | Set to true to apply italic style. Useful for softer "Draft" labels. Defaults to false. | false |
| Transparency | No | Opacity from 0 (fully solid) to 100 (invisible). Set 40–60 for subtle watermarks that do not obscure cell data. Defaults to 0. | 50 |
| Rotation Angle | No | Angle in degrees. Positive = clockwise, negative = counter-clockwise. Range: –360 to 360. Use –45 for the classic diagonal watermark. | -45 |
| Position | No | 0–8 grid code. Top row: 0 = Top-Left, 1 = Top-Center, 2 = Top-Right. Middle: 3 = Mid-Left, 4 = Center (default), 5 = Mid-Right. Bottom: 6, 7, 8. | 4 |
| Selected Worksheet Names | No | Array of case-sensitive sheet names to watermark. Leave empty to apply to all sheets. Combined with Selected Worksheet Indexes. | ["Sheet1","Summary"] |
| Selected Worksheet Indexes | No | 0-based array of sheet positions to watermark. Index 0 = first sheet. Leave empty to apply to all sheets. | [0, 2] |
Quick Setup
- In your flow, click + New step → search PDF4me → select Add Text Watermark to Excel.
- Connect using your PDF4me API key (or choose an existing connection).
- Map File Content from your storage step (SharePoint Get file content, OneDrive Get file content, or Dropbox equivalent).
- Set File Name to the
.xlsxfilename (dynamic or static). - Enter Watermark Text - e.g.
CONFIDENTIAL,DRAFT, or© 2025 Acme Corp. - Adjust Text Size, Text Color, Transparency, Rotation Angle, and Position to match your branding.
- (Optional) Populate Selected Worksheet Names or Selected Worksheet Indexes to target specific sheets only.
- Add a Create file or Update file action after this step and map the Document output as the file content to save.
Workflow Examples
Flow ExamplesCommon Power Automate scenarios that use Add Text Watermark to Excel for security marking, draft management, and compliance.
- A scheduled flow runs at month-end when a new report lands in a SharePoint library.
- Get file content retrieves the Excel workbook.
- Add Text Watermark to Excel stamps "CONFIDENTIAL" - Text Size 4, Color #CC0000, Rotation –45, Transparency 40, all sheets.
- Create file saves the watermarked copy to a restricted SharePoint folder.
- A Outlook step emails the download link to authorized recipients only.
- A budget spreadsheet is submitted for review via a Power Apps form.
- The flow adds a gray diagonal "DRAFT" watermark (Transparency 60, Rotation –45) and emails reviewers.
- On approval, a second flow branch runs Add Text Watermark to Excel again with "APPROVED" in green (Color #008000, Transparency 40).
- The approved file overwrites the draft in SharePoint and triggers a Teams notification.
- An automated flow exports monthly analytics data from a database to Excel.
- Add Text Watermark to Excel stamps "© 2025 Acme Corp - Internal Use Only" in small text (Size 1) at Bottom-Right (Position 8) on only the "Data" and "Charts" sheets.
- Selected Worksheet Names is set to ["Data","Charts"] so the cover sheet stays clean.
- The watermarked workbook uploads to a client SharePoint portal and a link is sent via Outlook.