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Flatten

Lock in filled forms and comments

Lock in filled forms and comments

Choose one PDF. You can also drop files anywhere on this page.

Files are processed on this device and never uploaded.

Lock in what is filled in and written on a PDF

Flattening turns form fields, comments and highlights into ordinary page content, so they can no longer be changed and look the same in every app. The PDF is flattened in this browser tab and never uploaded.

How to flatten a PDF

  1. Choose a PDF

    Pick the file or drop it on the page. Fill in and check the form before you flatten it: afterwards the answers can’t be edited.

  2. Flatten the file

    Press Flatten. There are no options to set.

  3. Download the copy

    You get a new PDF. Keep the original if you may need to change the answers later.

Answers and comments, made permanent

  • Filled-in fields and comments are drawn into the page as they look; the fields and the comments themselves are gone.
  • Links keep working, and bookmarks stay.
  • A comment that has no appearance of its own can’t be drawn; it is left as it was, and the result tells you how many were.
  • A form whose values include letters outside Western European ones, in a file that asks the viewer to redraw its fields, is refused instead of being drawn wrong.
  • A digital signature stops verifying, because the file changes.

Questions

Is my PDF uploaded when I flatten it?
No. It is flattened by code in your browser, on your device, and the page cannot send it anywhere.
What does flattening a PDF do?
It makes form answers, comments and highlights part of the page. They print and display the same everywhere, and nobody can edit them as fields or notes.
Can I still change the form after flattening?
No. That is the point of flattening. Keep the original file if you may need to.
Does flattening make text unsearchable?
No. The pages stay as they are; only fields and comments are drawn in. Text can still be selected and searched.

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