Flattenizer Script for Adobe PDFs

Some years ago, Rick Borstein wrote a great article about how to flatten PDF comments. Adobe doesn't officially support this script. Running the script will essentially "burn" the comments into the PDF,  so they'll no longer be viewable in the comments pane, and they will be visible when the document is placed into InDesign.

At some point, Adobe removed the script from their site, but I keep seeing people ask for it on various Adobe forums. So here it is:

event.target.flattenPages();

I still use this regularly in Acrobat DC. I set it up as a custom command and added it to the Quick Tools bar. Apparently you can also do this same thing using a feature in Preflight, single fixups. But I think a one-click solution is easier.

Here are a couple of Adobe forum posts where people have been discussing this function:

Placing PDFs in InDesign
How to "flatten" a pdf in Adobe Acrobat X Pro

Using Paper Color to Help Distinguish Various Files

I’m currently working on a complex manual regarding a marine electrical system. This particular manual has many similarities to three other manuals I have done in the past, but it’s not exactly like any one of them. When I’m working on a project like this, I find it helpful to keep several of the previous documents open for reference. But since all the documents look so much alike, there have been times when I’ve lost track of which one was my “working” document, and I ended up editing the wrong one. But today I came up with a way to distinguish between the working document and the reference documents.

Read the entire article at InDesign Secrets.
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Work More Efficiently and Learn PDF Commenting with Me at LinkedIn Learning

For years, I have been watching Lynda courses to further my knowledge about Adobe software. They have helped me to pass numerous ACE exams, and have been a core part of my design and technology education.

After years of watching my friends and colleagues produce Lynda courses, I am finally able to join their ranks! Lynda has recently been producing more courses in the area of AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction), and my course is aimed at those folks.

My career is rather unique in that I sit squarely at the intersection of two industries: publishing and boatbuilding. I am just as comfortable discussing the intricacies of InDesign conditional text as I am with discussing air conditioning and plumbing on boats. This unusual crossover puts in in a great position to understand the unique needs of boat builders and boat owners, with regard to documentation.

The drafts of my manuals are always sent to my clients as PDFs, and I do my best to encourage my clients to adopt PDF commenting when they review the manuals that I send them. My goal is to help more people in the AEC filed to adopt PDF commenting. This course is my way of offering a vast number of people 1:1 training on how they can use PDF commenting in their engineering and construction workflows.

Even if you're not in the AEC industries, this course will still be great for you. The documents I show in the course are all technical manuals and engineering drawings, but the commenting methods will work on any type of PDF.

Adobe Acrobat DC: PDF Commenting for AEC by Kelly Vaughn

View the entire course here.

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