Illustrator 2023 will not flatten artwork

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

I've rebooted and reinstalled the software, but cannot get it to flatten. 

[Monika Gause]

Please show the parts of your artwork you want to edit and tell us what exactly you are expecting.

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

Well, I just tried to attach the art and I got this: 

Correct the highlighted errors and try again. The attachment's risingphoenixkali logo solid flat.ai content type (application/postscript) does not match its file extension and has been removed.

[Ton Frederiks]

It may sound silly, but did you select something before you tried to flatten the artwork?

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

I don't believe so - I've tried to do this multiple times in a number of different approaches. But I get it, a simple glich I enabled could certainly be the culprit! 

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

I guess I should have said "yes and no." I've tried selecting everything as well to flatten.

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

My expectation was to collect individual layers/shapes together into one shape. I could have used the shape builder tool, but I was looking for a single click solution.

Following up on Tom Fredericks reply: I went back in a selected everything with the selection tool, then used the object drop menu, selecting Flatten Transparency. This grouped everything together nicely. 

The problem seems to have been me highlighting all the layers in the Layers drop down and then using the Layers drop down menu to select Flatten Artwork. This did nothing. Beginner probs.

[Monika Gause]

Flatten transparency might make your artwork more complex. And you don't get "one shape". You get a grouped mess most of the time.

Do your objects have different colors? Are there holes in shapes? Can you show it?

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

I was not able to post it here (see above), but yes, it has different colors. Overlapping circles to form the image, one color of circle being white to produce the outer edge. There are no holes in the shape.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

With different colors in it, you cannot combine it into one single shape. All you can do is group it.

Transparency flattening probably has created even more objects than you had before using it.

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

Yes, this is where I'm at now, with a grouped image. As I replied to Tom, I just went about this the wrong way. 

[Ton Frederiks]

I understand that you are not talking about flattening as in transparency flattening, but that you want a single object on a single layer that contains your artwork. Am I correct?

[Kenneth W.24176842q8ks]

This is correct, Tom. And I really went about this the wrong way from the start, I realize. 

[Ton Frederiks]

Good, Kenneth, we understand better what you meant and you understand better how Illustrator works.