How to flatten a PDF
- Choose a PDF. The tool tells you how many form fields, comments, and links it contains.
- Pick Flatten to bake forms and markup into the page, Remove to delete annotations, or Rasterize to turn pages into pictures.
- Choose the options for that mode.
- Press the button to download the new file.
Filled in a form with Fill PDF Form? Flatten it here to lock the answers. To block editing with a password, useProtect & Unlock PDF.
Questions
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Flattening happens inside this browser tab and the file never leaves your device.
What does flattening a PDF do?
It turns form fields and annotations, such as typed answers, highlights, and stamps, into ordinary page content. They look the same but nobody can change them in a PDF reader.
What is the difference between flattening and rasterizing?
Flattening keeps text selectable and the file small. Rasterizing draws every page as a picture, which also removes hidden text and layers, but the text can no longer be selected or searched.
How do I remove comments or links without flattening?
Choose "Remove annotations", then tick what to delete: links, comments and markup, or form fields. They are deleted outright and not drawn into the page.
Is a flattened PDF secure?
It stops casual edits, but it is not a password. Anyone with a PDF editor can still change the page content. Use Protect PDF to restrict editing, or Redact PDF to remove sensitive text for good.
Credits
Built on pdf-lib (MIT) and PDF.js (Apache-2.0). OneTooling is not affiliated with these projects.