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A
Alireza25263340legv
Participant
November 16, 2022
Question

Flattening PDF files

  • November 16, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 2258 views

Hi,

I am an HVAC designer and I generate the files that I submit to the city for building permits as PDF file.

 

The examiner sent me a letter asking me to "flatten" the files and she explained that you should print on paper and scan them as PDFs! Any better and more efficient idea?

 

Thanks in advance.

Alireza.

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
November 16, 2022

"Flattening" can mean up to three different things in the PDF world, so the answer to your question will depend on what's the goal of doing this. Printing the files and then re-scanning them is the worst possible solution, by the way. Not to mention it's a very wasteful one.

    A
    Alireza25263340legvAuthor
    Participant
    November 17, 2022

    Thanks. I reached out to the examiner! Let's see what is her answer! And I'll post it here and I hope you can give me a better solution. 🙏

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    November 16, 2022

    That was the answer. Telling you that you didn't post in the best forum, and your question was moved to a more suitable forum (Acrobat). Let's hope someone has some suggestions.

      A
      Alireza25263340legvAuthor
      Participant
      November 17, 2022

      Oh, Thanks for explaining.

      kglad
      Community Expert
      kgladCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 16, 2022

      <moved from enterprise and teams>

      A
      Alireza25263340legvAuthor
      Participant
      November 16, 2022

      Hi Kglad,

      Is it me or your answer is not showing here?

      Alireza.

      Luke Jennings3
      Community Expert
      Luke Jennings3Community Expert
      Community Expert
      November 17, 2022

      I would politely and as diplomatically as possible inform the building permit examiner that they need to download and install Acrobat Reader (free), and use only that to view pdfs, as they are probably using a browser or some other unsuitable pdf viewer.

      https://get.adobe.com/reader/

      That said, your pdf may have originated from a CAD program and has many layers that the examiner can't see, or you have made annotations which they also can't see. You could use an Acrobat preflight profile to flatten the pdf, but the error is really on their end (Tools> Print Production> Preflight> Fixups).

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