filetity

PDF FORM -> LOCKED · Local tool

Flatten PDF

Make a PDF uneditable: form values, annotations and layers all fixed in place.

Last updated

  1. 01 / Your device

    the file stays here

  2. 02 / Browser memory

    the work runs locally

  3. 03 / Back to you

    saved on this device

When you would use this

Situations, not settings.

A filled form that must not be edited
Flattening writes the answers into the page so the fields are no longer fields.
A form whose values disappear in another viewer
Field contents can render in one reader and vanish in another. Flattened, they are simply part of the page.
Archiving something as it was submitted
A flattened copy is a record rather than a document that can still be changed.

How it works / no cloud

A conversion engine, not an upload form.

Two ways, and the page says what each costs. The precise one draws each field's current value into the page and removes the field, so an editable box becomes ordinary page content while the text stays text you can select and search. Appearances are rebuilt first, so a value a previous filler stored without drawing still comes through. The wider one redraws every page and rebuilds the PDF from those pictures, which is the only way to make an annotation, a highlight, a stamp or a layer permanent, and it costs you the text: nothing is selectable afterwards and the file usually gets bigger. The redrawing runs in a Web Worker, so the page stays usable while it works. Both happen in your browser.

  • Offline ready
  • Installable app
  • No file limit queue

Straight answers

No accordion. Nothing hidden.

Is it free?
Yes, with no watermark and no page limit.
Does it need an account?
No. There is no account system.
Is my file processed on my device?
Yes. The file is read by your browser and never uploaded. There is no server to send it to.
What formats are supported?
Any PDF in. PDF out, with the fields gone and, if you pick the wider route, every annotation and layer fixed in place too.
What are the limits?
Flattening the fields needs a PDF that has them; without them the page offers to redraw the pages instead. Redrawing turns text into pixels, so nothing is selectable, searchable or readable by a screen reader afterwards, and the file usually grows. Neither can be undone from the result, so keep the original.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes, on any modern mobile browser. Large files are limited by the memory the phone gives the browser.
Does it work offline?
Yes, after you have used it once. Your browser keeps what the tool needs, so it then works with no network connection.
Does it flatten annotations and layers, or only form fields?
Both, by two different routes, and they are not interchangeable. Flattening the fields is precise: the values become page content, the fields disappear, and the text stays text you can select, search and copy. It cannot touch an annotation, a highlight, a stamp or a layer, because those are not fields. For those, the page redraws every sheet and rebuilds the PDF from the pictures, which fixes absolutely everything in place. The cost is worth knowing before you press it: the text becomes pixels, so nothing is selectable or readable by a screen reader afterwards, and the file usually gets bigger rather than smaller.
What does flattening a PDF actually mean?
A filled form stores your answers in editable field objects that sit on top of the page. Flattening draws those answers into the page and deletes the fields, so the result is one ordinary document. The words look identical; the difference is that they can no longer be clicked into and changed.
Why would I want to?
So the recipient cannot alter what you sent, and so it renders the same everywhere. Editable fields are drawn by the reader, and readers disagree, which is why a form can look right on your machine and empty on theirs. Flattened text is just text.
Can I undo it?
No. The fields are gone. Keep the unflattened original if there is any chance you will need to change an answer.
Does it flatten annotations and highlights too?
It flattens form fields. Comments, highlights and sticky notes are annotations rather than fields and are left as they are.
Why does it say the form is XFA?
Because it is an XFA form, an older Adobe technology that stores the form as XML inside the PDF. The engine here cannot read those fields, and most PDF readers cannot fill them either. The refusal happens as soon as the file is opened, before any flattening. Open it in Adobe Acrobat, or print it and fill it by hand.

How this one works

Keep working locally

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