Can you flatten a PDF?

[TinaDevinsDesign]

Hi everyone.

I've been selling digital downloads as PDFs with editing capabilities turned off.
I was adding new stuff to my shop tonight and I opened up the file in Ai to find that the file was still editable. All my motifs in my patterns were fully editable.

I nearly died! I have deactivated my listings for the time being.
Is it possible to flatten the pdf?

Or would it be sufficient to add a password so it can't be opened in Ai but can be viewed in Acrobat Reader?

Thank you

[Former_Member]

Hi Tina!

Why are you selling them as PDFs? Do they need to be resizable to any size? You could try saving the PDF as a read only file (after saving, right click on the file, go to properties, check "Read only") but I'm not sure if that'll prevent it from being edited in Illustrator. Another alternative would be to save your digital downloads as VERY large PNGs so that they're mostly resizable.

Good luck!

[TinaDevinsDesign]

Hi Laura

I sell digital scrapbooking papers, there's 12 files in a pack. I thought the file would be smaller as a PDF. Also if I saved 12 pngs - Etsy only allows 5 files per listing. I know you can store the files elsewhere e.g. Crafthub but they charge for this and I'm trying to keep my prices down.

Thanks for answering. I will try this

Tina

[TinaDevinsDesign]

OK I did this and it doesn't prevent it from being editable.
I flattened and merged layers and still the icons are editable.

I brought my files into PS and rasterized them, then brought them back into Illustrator to make the PDF - but the file size is too big.
I know Ai isn't supposed to be for raster images.

I think I'm going to leave my digital papers as jpgs and just zip the folder.

But I have paper toys/gift boxes that I would rather keep in PDF format.


I was told to use EPS - can someone tell me does this ensure non-editability and can it be converted to PDF?
Sorry about my ignorance. I'm self taught with Illustrator and used Ps before this.

Thank you

[SwiejkoForPrint]

But can't you just flatten them in PS and save in PS as PDF as you want?
I'm selling them as JPG, and sending them via email, because they are too big for instant download.

[TinaDevinsDesign]

Hi Agnieszka

I got some help and this is what I did:

I saved each file as a jpg and made them into a PDF using Bridge.
(I'm using CS5. Photoshop CS3 and CS6 allow you to compile a PDF in Photoshop.)

Thanks Claudine who helped me!

[Former_Member]

It's a shame Illustrator has no way to save a PDF that isn't editable, I just tested and yes even unchecking preserve editing capabilities lets you open and edit in Illustrator. Saving it as a high res image then making a PDF in Photoshop seems the best choice, just a shame you lose that vector quality

[SwiejkoForPrint]

there is always a way out, just don't panic ;)

[Former_Member]

you can always ZIP them! That's what I have done in the past. I don't know if it is because I have winrar installed or not but I can right click on the file (in the folder and I have the option to zip it). If you need to download winrar it is a free download. Hope this helps!

[Former_Member]

Glad to help anytime Tina!!