0 requests since your file/works offlineYour desk

Flatten a PDF so the answers stay put

Turn filled form fields into ordinary page content, so they print and display the same everywhere and nobody can change them by accident.

Tool · runs in this tab · free
Drop a PDF anywhere on this page

Or choose one. It is read in this tab, processed in a Web Worker, and never uploaded.

Read in this tab. Never uploaded.

How this runs

Nothing loads until you add a file. Then the engine starts in a Web Worker in this tab.

This jobwaiting
Requests since your file0
Other origins contacted0
Enginepdf-lib, Web Worker
Reported by this page. Check it yourself: switch off your network and run the tool again.

When to flatten

Flattening is useful when a portal or a recipient’s viewer drops form values, when a form “forgets” entries after saving, or when you want a final copy that cannot be edited by changing a field.

Each field’s visible appearance is drawn into the page and the field is removed. The text is still selectable. The XFA layer of a hybrid form is removed too, since it would otherwise show empty fields in Acrobat.

Keep an unflattened copy if you might need to change an answer later.

Steps

  1. Add the filled PDF.
  2. Choose whether to remove comments and markup too.
  3. Flatten.
  4. Download.

Limits, stated plainly

  • Signature fields that were never signed become empty boxes.
Already have Preview or Edge? Printing to PDF (Print → Save as PDF) also flattens, but it re-renders every page and can drop links.

Engine: pdf-lib in a Web Worker. Your file is not uploaded; check it yourself.