Flatten a PDF form
Make what you typed part of the page, so nobody opens the form and edits it.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF
One file per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: locking in a filled rental application before emailing it back
A property manager sends rental-application.pdf, a fillable form with 15 fields. Jordan Sample fills in 12 of them, name, phone, current address, employer and income among them, ticks two boxes, and wants nobody to retype an answer once it is sent.
- Drop rental-application.pdf on the box and press Flatten.
- Each field’s appearance is drawn first, so an answer another app saved only as a value is not lost; then the fields become part of the page.
- The 3 fields left empty become blank space on the page: nothing can be typed into them any more, only written by hand on a printout.
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Form fields | 15 | 0 |
| Changing “Jordan Sample” | Click the field and type | Not possible as a form |
| Selecting and copying the text | Yes | Yes, it is still text |
| File name | rental-application.pdf | rental-application-flat.pdf |
rental-application-flat.pdf shows the same answers and ticks in every reader, mail preview and printer. Keep the fillable original: once flattened, nothing can be added to the form.
How it works
- Drop the filled form onto the box.
- Press Flatten and save.
- In the downloaded PDF the fields are gone and their values are drawn on the page, which is what you want before sending it on.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a flattened PDF protected?
- No, and it is often sold as if it were. Flattening stops the fields being fields — nobody opens your form and types over an answer. The words are still text on the page, so they can be selected, copied and, with an editor, changed. If you need it locked, add a password with Protect PDF; if something must be gone, use Redact PDF.
- Why did my answers disappear in another reader before I flattened it?
- Because some tools fill a field's value without drawing its appearance, and a reader that does not build appearances itself shows an empty box. Flattening here draws each field first, then flattens, so what you see is what everyone sees.
- What happens to checkboxes and signatures?
- A ticked box stays ticked and becomes part of the page, and so does a signature typed or drawn into a signature field of the form. A signature drawn on top with a viewer’s pen or annotation tool is not a form field: it stays an annotation, looking the same but still selectable in an editor. A digital signature that cryptographically signs the document is a different thing: flattening changes the file, so such a signature will report that the document has been altered.
- It says there is nothing to flatten.
- Then the file has no form fields. If someone typed on it with a tool that stamps the text straight onto the page — Fill and sign here does that — the writing is already part of the page and there is nothing left to do.
- Can I still fill in a flattened form?
- No, the boxes are gone. Fill everything in first, and keep the original with its fields in case you need to change an answer and flatten it again.
- What happens to the fields I left empty?
- They flatten to nothing: the page shows the blank space, and nobody can type into it any more. If something has to be added later, write it on a printout or fill in the original again.
- Is my PDF uploaded?
- No. The file is read and rewritten in your browser. Free PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” line; Pro removes it, along with the limits of 20 MB per file and 5 runs per day.