What is it?
Flatten PDF makes everything that floats on top of a PDF page part of the page itself: typed form answers, tick boxes, comments, highlights, stamps and drawings. After flattening, the answers can’t be changed by accident, they don’t disappear in another viewer, and the file prints the same everywhere.
Who is it for?
People sending filled application forms to offices that reject “editable” PDFs, anyone whose filled answers vanish when the form is opened on another phone, teachers returning marked-up assignments, and offices archiving signed or approved documents.
How to use it
- Tap Choose a PDF.
- Under What to flatten, choose Forms and comments (keeps text sharp and selectable) or Whole page as image (every page becomes one picture, exactly as it prints).
- Tap Flatten PDF. You’ll see Flattening… and the page count, then Done!. Download the new file.
Which option to choose
- Forms and comments: for most filled forms and reviewed documents. The result is small and stays searchable.
- Whole page as image: when a portal still says the form is editable, or when answers look different in different apps. It is the safest, most universal result.
Worked example
You fill a leave form in Fill PDF Form, but the office says “please send a non-editable copy”. Open the filled file here, keep Forms and comments, and flatten: the answers now look the same but can no longer be typed over. Tap Try a sample to see a small filled form being flattened.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The file is opened and changed inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. Nothing is sent to us, and closing the page clears it.
Errors and how to fix them
- “This PDF is password-protected. Remove the password first”: open it once with Remove PDF Password (you need the password), then use the unlocked copy here.
- Answers disappeared after flattening: some forms show answers only in certain viewers. Use Whole page as image, which captures the page exactly as it is drawn on screen.
- The file got bigger: Whole page as image stores every page as a picture. Use Forms and comments for text documents, or shrink the result with Compress PDF.
- Text can no longer be selected: expected with Whole page as image. Choose Forms and comments if the receiver needs to copy text.
Open the tool: Flatten PDF
Still stuck?
Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.
Questions, or an error not listed here?
Tell us in the comments: what you were doing, the exact message you saw, and your device and browser. We read every comment and add new fixes to this article.