> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.apryse.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.apryse.com/salesforce/forms/flatten-forms.md).

# Flatten PDF forms using Javascript

Learn about annotation or form flattening in PDF documents. Understand how to flatten annotations and forms, and the options available for flattening annotations when getting, downloading, or viewing

Annotation or form flattening refers to the operation that changes annotations (such as markup, widgets, 3D models, etc.) into a static area that is part of the PDF document, just like the other text and images in the document.

Forms share a relationship with annotations because the visual display of a form is a widget annotation. The process of flattening annotations therefore can optionally flatten forms as well. By flattening and merging existing annotation appearances with page content, the original annotations are deleted from the PDF pages.

Note that it is not possible to undo the flatten operation. An alternative approach to annotation or form flattening is to set the annotation to `ReadOnly`. The `ReadOnly` property on the [Annotation class](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Annotations.Annotation.html) enables this modification. If it's read only then it can't be edited or deleted.

To flatten annotations, you can perform this when [getting the PDF file data](https://docs.apryse.com) or while [downloading the PDF file locally](https://docs.apryse.com). There is also the option to [flatten select annotations](/web/annotation/flatten-annotations.md#flatten-select-annotations).

## Get PDF data with flattened annotations

Use the [getFileData](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getFileData__anchor) method and the `flatten` option for the annotations to be flattened in the document output when getting the data for uploading to a server.

{% hint style="info" %}
**flatten option**

A flag that is only useful when the xfdfString option is used. If true all the annotations in the saved document will be flattened.
{% endhint %}

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v8.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { documentViewer, annotationManager } = instance.Core;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  const doc = documentViewer.getDocument();
  const xfdfString = await annotationManager.exportAnnotations();
  const options = { xfdfString, flatten: true };
  const data = await doc.getFileData(options);
  const arr = new Uint8Array(data);
  const blob = new Blob([arr], { type: 'application/pdf' });
  // upload blob to your server
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/WebViewerInstance.html) [Core](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [AnnotationManager.exportAnnotations](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.AnnotationManager.html#exportAnnotations__anchor) [Document.getFileData](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getFileData__anchor)
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v6.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { docViewer, annotManager } = instance;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  const doc = docViewer.getDocument();
  const xfdfString = await annotManager.exportAnnotations();
  const options = { xfdfString, flatten: true };
  const data = await doc.getFileData(options);
  const arr = new Uint8Array(data);
  const blob = new Blob([arr], { type: 'application/pdf' });
  // upload blob to your server
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/WebViewerInstance.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [AnnotationManager.exportAnnotations](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.AnnotationManager.html#exportAnnotations__anchor) [Document.getFileData](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getFileData__anchor)
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Download PDF locally with flattened annotations

Use the [downloadPdf](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/UI.html#downloadPdf__anchor) method and the `flatten` option for the annotations to be flattened in the document output when downloading the PDF locally.

{% hint style="info" %}
**flatten option**

Whether or not to flatten all the annotations in the downloaded document. Only useful if fullAPI is enabled and either \`xfdfString\` or \`includeAnnotations\` is used.
{% endhint %}

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v8.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', () => {
  // download pdf with all annotations flattened
  instance.UI.downloadPdf({
    includeAnnotations: true,
    flatten: true,
  });
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance.UI.downloadPdf](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/UI.html#downloadPdf__anchor)
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v6.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', () => {
  // download pdf with all annotations flattened
  instance.downloadPdf({
    includeAnnotations: true,
    flatten: true,
  });
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance.downloadPdf](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/UI.html#downloadPdf__anchor)
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Flatten annotations in the viewer

Use [flattenAnnotations](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.PDFDoc.html#flattenAnnotations) method to flatten all annotations into a document.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v8.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { documentViewer, PDFNet, annotationManager } = instance.Core;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  await PDFNet.initialize();
  const doc = await documentViewer.getDocument().getPDFDoc();

  // export annotations from the document
  const annots = await annotationManager.exportAnnotations();

  // Run PDFNet methods with memory management
  await PDFNet.runWithCleanup(async () => {

    // lock the document before a write operation
    // runWithCleanup will auto unlock when complete
    doc.lock(); 

    // import annotations to PDFNet
    const fdf_doc = await PDFNet.FDFDoc.createFromXFDF(annots);
    await doc.fdfUpdate(fdf_doc);

    // flatten all annotations in the document
    await doc.flattenAnnotations();

    // or optionally only flatten forms
    // await doc.flattenAnnotations(true);

    // clear the original annotations
    annotationManager.deleteAnnotations(annotationManager.getAnnotationsList());

    // optionally only clear widget annotations if forms were only flattened
    // const widgetAnnots = annots.filter(a => a instanceof Annotations.WidgetAnnotation);
    // annotationManager.deleteAnnotations(widgetAnnots);
  });

  // clear the cache (rendered) data with the newly updated document
  documentViewer.refreshAll();

  // Update viewer to render with the new document
  documentViewer.updateView();

  // Refresh searchable and selectable text data with the new document
  documentViewer.getDocument().refreshTextData();
});
```

{% endcode %}

[Core](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [Document.getPDFDoc](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getPDFDoc__anchor) [PDFDoc.flattenAnnotations](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.PDFDoc.html#flattenAnnotations)
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v6.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { docViewer, PDFNet, annotManager } = instance;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  await PDFNet.initialize();
  const doc = await docViewer.getDocument().getPDFDoc();

  // export annotations from the document
  const annots = await annotManager.exportAnnotations();

  // Run PDFNet methods with memory management
  await PDFNet.runWithCleanup(async () => {

    // lock the document before a write operation
    // runWithCleanup will auto unlock when complete
    doc.lock(); 

    // import annotations to PDFNet
    const fdf_doc = await PDFNet.FDFDoc.createFromXFDF(annots);
    await doc.fdfUpdate(fdf_doc);

    // flatten all annotations in the document
    await doc.flattenAnnotations();

    // or optionally only flatten forms
    // await doc.flattenAnnotations(true);

    // clear the original annotations
    annotManager.deleteAnnotations(annotManager.getAnnotationsList());

    // optionally only clear widget annotations if forms were only flattened
    //const widgetAnnots = annots.filter(a => a instanceof Annotations.WidgetAnnotation);
    //annotManager.deleteAnnotations(widgetAnnots);
  });

  // clear the cache (rendered) data with the newly updated document
  docViewer.refreshAll();

  // Update viewer to render with the new document
  docViewer.updateView();

  // Refresh searchable and selectable text data with the new document
  docViewer.getDocument().refreshTextData();
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/WebViewerInstance.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [Document.getPDFDoc](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getPDFDoc__anchor) [PDFDoc.flattenAnnotations](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.PDFDoc.html#flattenAnnotations)
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## Flatten select annotations

Use the [flatten](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.Annot.html#flatten__anchor) method on annotation objects to flatten select annotations into the document.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v8.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { documentViewer, PDFNet, annotManager } = instance.Core;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  await PDFNet.initialize();
  const doc = await documentViewer.getDocument().getPDFDoc();

  // export annotations from the document
  const annots = await annotManager.exportAnnotations();

  // Run PDFNet methods with memory management
  await PDFNet.runWithCleanup(async () => {

    // lock the document before a write operation
    // runWithCleanup will auto unlock when complete
    doc.lock();

    // import annotations to PDFNet
    const fdf_doc = await PDFNet.FDFDoc.createFromXFDF(annots);
    await doc.fdfUpdate(fdf_doc);

    const page = await doc.getPage(1);
    const annotation = await page.getAnnot(0);
    await annotation.flatten(page); //flatten this annotation

    // clear the original annotations
    annotManager.deleteAnnotations(annotManager.getAnnotationsList());

    // import annotations from PDFNet
    const fdfDoc = await doc.fdfExtract(PDFNet.PDFDoc.ExtractFlag.e_both);
    const xfdf = await fdfDoc.saveAsXFDFAsString();
    annotManager.importAnnotations(xfdf);
  });

  // clear the cache (rendered) data with the newly updated document
  documentViewer.refreshAll();

  // Update viewer to render with the new document
  documentViewer.updateView();

  // Refresh searchable and selectable text data with the new document
  documentViewer.getDocument().refreshTextData();
});
```

{% endcode %}

[Core](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [Document.getPDFDoc](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getPDFDoc__anchor) [PDFDoc.getPage](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.PDFDoc.html#getPage__anchor) [Page.getAnnot](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.Page.html#getAnnot__anchor) [Annot.flatten](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.Annot.html#flatten__anchor)
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript (SDK v6.0+)" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
WebViewer({
  fullAPI: true,
  // other constructor options
}

// config.js
const { docViewer, PDFNet, annotManager } = instance;

document.getElementById('myBtn').addEventListener('click', async () => {
  await PDFNet.initialize();
  const doc = await docViewer.getDocument().getPDFDoc();

  // export annotations from the document
  const annots = await annotManager.exportAnnotations();

  // Run PDFNet methods with memory management
  await PDFNet.runWithCleanup(async () => {

    // lock the document before a write operation
    // runWithCleanup will auto unlock when complete
    doc.lock();

    // import annotations to PDFNet
    const fdf_doc = await PDFNet.FDFDoc.createFromXFDF(annots);
    await doc.fdfUpdate(fdf_doc);

    const page = await doc.getPage(1);
    const annotation = await page.getAnnot(0);
    await annotation.flatten(page); //flatten this annotation

    // clear the original annotations
    annotManager.deleteAnnotations(annotManager.getAnnotationsList());

    // import annotations from PDFNet
    const fdfDoc = await doc.fdfExtract(PDFNet.PDFDoc.ExtractFlag.e_both);
    const xfdf = await fdfDoc.saveAsXFDFAsString();
    annotManager.importAnnotations(xfdf);
  });

  // clear the cache (rendered) data with the newly updated document
  docViewer.refreshAll();

  // Update viewer to render with the new document
  docViewer.updateView();

  // Refresh searchable and selectable text data with the new document
  docViewer.getDocument().refreshTextData();
});
```

{% endcode %}

[WebViewerInstance](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/WebViewerInstance.html) [DocumentViewer.getDocument](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.DocumentViewer.html#getDocument__anchor) [Document.getPDFDoc](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.Document.html#getPDFDoc__anchor) [PDFDoc.getPage](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.PDFDoc.html#getPage__anchor) [Page.getAnnot](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.Page.html#getAnnot__anchor) [Annot.flatten](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/web/Core.PDFNet.Annot.html#flatten__anchor)
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}


---

# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.apryse.com/salesforce/forms/flatten-forms.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

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