Flatten a PDF before you send it
Bake form answers into the page and remove editable annotations.
Flatten PDF now — free →Flattening turns interactive form fields into permanent page content so answers cannot be cleared or changed accidentally. Bindery can also remove remaining annotations such as comments, notes and links, producing a cleaner final-delivery copy.
Flattening is useful for completed applications, signed visual approvals and archival handoffs, but it is not encryption and does not erase arbitrary page text. Bindery runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded, so there is nothing to delete from a server afterwards.
How it works
- Drop the PDF and open Flatten
- Choose whether to flatten form fields and remove annotations
- Create the final copy and verify that the fields are no longer editable
Questions people ask
What happens to filled form answers?
Their current appearance is written into the page and the interactive fields are removed, so the visible answers remain but cannot be edited as form controls.
Does flattening remove comments and links?
It can. Enable annotation removal to strip remaining annotation objects, including comments, notes and links.
Is flattening the same as redaction?
No. Flattening finalizes interactive elements; redaction removes sensitive page regions and their underlying text layer.