PDF

Flatten PDF

Flatten a PDF: bake filled form fields, comments and highlights into the page so they can’t be edited. Text stays selectable.

Drop the PDF to flatten

Make form answers and comments permanent.

How to use Flatten PDF

  1. Open the PDF

    Drop the PDF with form fields or comments.

  2. Choose what to flatten

    Switch form fields and comments on or off.

  3. Flatten and download

    Press Flatten PDF and download the result.

About this tool

A fillable PDF keeps its answers in form fields that anyone can change, and comments and highlights sit on top of the page as separate objects that some programs hide or move. Flattening bakes them into the page itself, so what you see is what everyone sees, and the answers can no longer be edited.

Use it after filling in a form that you are about to send, or before printing or archiving a marked-up document. Text drawn this way stays selectable and searchable, and the file does not turn into a picture.

The work is done in your browser; the PDF is not uploaded. Flattening is final for the new copy, so keep your original if you may need to edit the form again.

How do I flatten a PDF form?

Open the filled form here, leave “Form fields” switched on and choose Flatten. The answers become part of the page and the fields disappear.

Will flattening turn the PDF into an image?

No. The text stays text, so it can still be selected, searched and copied. Only the form fields and comment objects are merged into the page.

Can I undo flattening?

Not in the flattened file. Your original is unchanged, so keep it if you may need to edit the form again.

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  • Opens in its own window, like any app
  • Works without an internet connection
  • Starts instantly from your home screen or dock

Look for the install icon at the right end of your browser’s address bar, or open the browser menu and choose Install Interformat.