Bake form values and annotations into the page

A filled-in form is still a form: the values sit in interactive fields that any viewer can change, and some viewers helpfully clear them when printing. Flattening turns those values into ordinary page content.

It's the step you want before emailing a completed application, and it also stops a recipient's reader from re-prompting them to fill in what you've already filled in. It's equally useful for a document you've signed: flattening means the signature is part of the page rather than an object a viewer could select and move.

You choose what to flatten: form fields, annotations such as highlights, stamps, drawings and text boxes, or both. Links are left alone and stay clickable. Annotations that carry no stored appearance, which a few older tools produce, cannot be drawn by anyone, so they are left as they were and the tool tells you how many.

What this does — and what it doesn't

  • Flattening is one-way. The fields are gone afterwards and the values can't be edited without redoing the document, so keep the unflattened copy if you might need to change it.
  • Flattening makes content permanent — it does not encrypt or protect the file. Anyone can still read it.
  • Any digital signature in the file stops being valid once the file is changed. Flatten before signing, not after.

Next steps

Sign PDF

Draw, type, or upload a signature and place it on any page.

Protect PDF

Encrypt a PDF with a password, using AES-256 (Acrobat 9 variant).

Edit PDF Metadata

Change the title and author, or strip metadata before sharing.

Compress PDF

Shrink a PDF with a side-by-side quality preview and a size target.

Flatten PDF — frequently asked questions

Why would I flatten a PDF?
So the values you typed stay put. Interactive form fields can be edited by anyone who opens the file, and some readers drop them when printing. Flattening converts them into normal page content.
Can I undo flattening later?
Not from the flattened file — the interactive fields no longer exist in it. Keep your original if you might need to change the values.
Does flattening make the file smaller?
Don't count on it. The fields and their dictionary are removed, but what each field looked like is kept and drawn into the page, so the size usually changes very little. If size is what you're after, use Compress.
Can I process many PDFs at once?
Yes. Switch on "Process many files" to flatten forms and annotations in up to 60 PDFs (300 MB in total) and download a ZIP. Files with nothing to flatten are included unchanged.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. Every operation runs in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly — the file never leaves your device. You can verify it: load the page, disconnect from the internet, and the tool still works. There is no upload endpoint to send it to.

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