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How to flatten a signature in Adobe Acrobat. Filed under: Paperless| Tags: Adobe Acrobat. However, you may be wondering “how do I ‘flatten’ the signature image, so someone can’t simply lift my signature off a document.”. Follow the instructions on the Adobe blog for installing the javascript file. Aug 20, 2015 Flattening the document is the only way I can think to avoid this. I can do this manually, but I would like to incorporate this into my AcroScripts. How do you flatten a document with AcroScript or if someone out there has another solution for my situation I'm.
Acrobat supports flattening, but it is not included in the default menus. A JavaScript program is needed to enable the feature. Follow these steps to enable the feature:
- Exit from Acrobat if it is open.
- Find the flatten.zip file.Note: The zip file is included in the Submittal Exchange Knowledgebase. Search the Knowledgebase at https://www.submittalexchange.com/help/KB.aspx for Flattening tool.
- Open the zip file.
- Save the flatten.js file to the JavaScripts folder in the Acrobat directory on your computer.
- If you have Acrobat 7.0, the directory is C:/Program Files/Adobe/Acrobat 7.0/Acrobat/Javascripts/.
- If you have a different version of Acrobat, the version number will change as needed.
- Restart Acrobat.
- There will now be a new menu item on the Document menu in Acrobat, Flatten PDF. Select Flatten PDF when you have a PDF open. All the comments and markups are flattened into the content of the file, so they cannot be changed or removed. Note: This should only be done after you are 100% complete with your markups.
- After you have flattened a PDF, select Save.Notes:
- PDFs are flattened by default, when uploaded to Submittal Exchange.
- We have tested the Flatten PDF feature in both Acrobat 7.0 and 8.0. It should also in theory work for older versions as well (for example, 6.0), however that version has not been tested.
Flattening is the process of moving editable information— form field data and comments— into the main document layer so that it cannot be edited or changed.
At left, below is an illustration of editable form and comments elements. After flattening (right), the appearance of the elements remains, but they are no lonager editable.
Many folks simply print the document to the Adobe PDF print driver to flatten a document. However, that process takes several steps and eliminates bookmarks and other information.
Why would I need to Flatten a document?
Here are a few reasons that you might want to flatten a document:
- To ensure that comments are printed
- To prevent someone from changing the text inside a PDF form
- To lock your stamp on the document
To make the flattening process easier, you can use a FREE Acrobat X Action to flatten your document.
Acrobat X Flatten Action
The Acrobat X File Name Stamper Action automates the process of flattening the document. Just open your Actions Panel and click!
How do I get the Acrobat X Action?
You can get the Action over on the Actions Exchange on AcrobatUsers.com,
Alternately, you can download it direct below.
The PDF document you download below includes:
- Installation and use instructions
- Action (embedded in the PDF)
Enjoy!
Flatten_Doc.pdf (753K) Hint: Right-click and Choose Save Target As . . . to save to your desktop You will need Acrobat X Pro to run the Action |