More free conversions, where you upload. The Fylane extension does the same work inside any upload form, on its own free share every day.Add to Chrome
How to flatten PDF
- Drop the PDF.
- Nothing to choose.
- Press Flatten and download.
What happens to your file
Every form field and annotation — typed answers, ticked boxes, signatures placed as stamps, highlights, sticky-note markers — gets its appearance drawn into the page content and the interactive layer is removed. The page looks exactly as it did, in every reader, and nothing on it can be altered.
Text elsewhere on the page stays selectable; only the fields and marks become ordinary page content.
Questions
When should I flatten?
Before sending a filled form somewhere that must not change it, or when a form looks empty in another reader — the answers were there but only as fields that reader could not draw.
Is this the same as protecting the PDF?
No. Flattening removes the fields; Protect PDF adds a password and permissions. Both together is the belt and braces.
Do it once, not on every form
Fixing a file here means downloading it and going back to the form. The Fylane extension does this work inside the form instead, on the file you already have.
And it keeps the result. The next application that asks for a résumé, a cover letter and a photo fills all three from one tap, each one refitted to what that site accepts.
Your files stay in the browser, encrypted, on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to keep them and nothing is sent anywhere to fill a form.
Related tools
Do this in code
curl -X POST https://api.fylane.dev/v1/jobs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $FYLANE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"file_id": "<file id>",
"operation": "pdf.flatten",
"options": {}
}'The same operation, pdf.flatten — Form fields and annotations drawn into the pages — no longer editable, everywhere the same. Upload first with the quickstart; every option is on the operations page. 500 free credits a month, then $5 per thousand.