Nov 10, 2021
While using the built-in windows feature 'Microsoft Print to PDF' can reduce file size recent updates have meant that this is no longer as effective as it once was.
If further reduction is required the 'Selective Flattener' widget by UVSAR can be utilised in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Installation
To install the 'Selective Flattener' widget:
- Close all open Acrobat windows
- Navigate to your Acrobat JavaScript folder
- On 64-bit machines this would be /Program Files(x86)/Adobe/Acrobat ??/Acrobat/JavaScripts
- For most users this would be located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\Javascripts
- Extract the contents of the zip file attached to this article into the JavaScripts folder
- Open Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Press Ctrl+K to open the Preference window (or select preferences from the 'Edit' dropdown menu)
- In the JavaScript category ensure that "Enable menu items JavaScript execution privileges" is ticked
- Press Ok
![]() Windows Explorer - Installation Directory |
Adobe Acrobat Pro - Preference Window |
Usage
Once installed you should see the 'Flatten' option in the 'Edit' dropdown menu where you can choose to 'Flatten Everything', or when you select 'Flatten Forms and Comments' a window will appear where you can select what you want to flatten.![]() |
Flatten Forms and Comments - Options Window |
Source: UVSAR - Adobe Acrobat Widgets - https://www.uvsar.com/projects/acrobat/flattener/