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Flatten PDF
Turn the fields of a filled-in PDF form into ordinary page content, so the answers can no longer be changed. The PDF is flattened in your browser and is never uploaded.
Runs on your device: your file is not uploaded
Drag and drop here
PDFOne PDF, up to 50 MB
What Flatten PDF does
A fillable PDF keeps each answer in a field that sits on top of the page. Flatten PDF draws every field onto its page as it looks, answer included, then removes the field. What is left is a normal page with nothing to type in.
That matters when you send a completed form that should not be altered, when a printer leaves the boxes empty, or when a phone or email preview shows the form blank.
Pages are not turned into pictures, so text stays sharp and searchable. Flattening cannot be undone, so keep the original in case an answer needs correcting.
Is this the right tool?
Good for
- Sending a completed application, tax form or contract that should arrive exactly as you filled it in.
- Fixing a form that prints with empty boxes or looks blank in an email preview.
- Making highlights, typed text and stamps permanent before you archive a reviewed document.
Not the right tool for
- Filling in the form or correcting an answer. Do that first, then flatten.Edit PDF
- Controlling who can open the document. That takes a password.Protect PDF
- Removing sensitive details for good. Flattening keeps everything visible.Redact PDF
How to flatten a PDF form
Choose your PDF
Select Choose a PDF, drop the file anywhere on the page, or paste a copied file: one PDF, up to 50 MB.
Check what was found
In this PDF counts the Form fields and, when there are any, the Comments and markup.
Pick what to flatten
When the PDF has both, choose Form fields only, or Form fields, comments and markup to make highlights, typed text, drawings and stamps part of the page too.
Flatten and download
Select Flatten PDF, then Download PDF. Change options goes back with the same file; Start over clears it.
Worked example
A rental application that arrives the way you filled it in
Say you typed your details into a rental application. It looks complete on your computer, but the letting agent says the copy you emailed opens with empty fields.
Choose the PDF. In this PDF lists 23 form fields, so the answers are in the file. Select Flatten PDF.
Download the copy whose name ends in -flattened and send that one: the answers are now printed on the page. Keep the original in case the agent asks for a correction.
Tips for a better result
- Read the form through before you flatten. Afterward, a wrong answer can only be fixed in the original.
- Hidden fields are removed without being drawn, so nothing you could not see ends up on the page.
- Sticky notes, attachments and links are never flattened, because nothing of them is printed on the page.
Flatten PDF: questions and answers
Can I undo flattening or make the form fillable again?
No. The fields are removed from the flattened copy, so there is nothing left to switch back on. Go back to the original, which is not changed, or add new fields in Edit PDF.
Why does my filled-in form look blank on a phone or when printed?
Some apps do not draw form fields, and some forms store an answer without a finished picture of it. Flatten PDF draws each answer onto the page itself; where the picture is missing, the answer is redrawn in a standard font.
What happens to comments, highlights and stamps?
They stay as they are unless you choose Form fields, comments and markup, which makes highlights, typed text, drawings, shapes and stamps part of the page. A note attached to one of them is not printed, so it is removed with it.
Can I flatten a digitally signed PDF?
You can, but the signature does not survive: its picture stays on the page and the certificate behind it is removed. You are warned before you start. Keep the signed original as your proof.
Does flattening make a PDF impossible to edit?
It removes the easy way: nobody can click a field and type a different answer. A PDF editor can still change page content, as in any PDF. For proof that nothing was altered, ask for a digital signature.