In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Flatten Form XObjects is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to resolve all form XObjects in the data stream of a PDF file and thus make all containing objects editable.
2. General
The Fixup Flatten Form XObjects can be used to resolve form XObjects within a file. This can sometimes drastically increase the file size, but it also allows the individual objects to be edited.
You can find this Fixup on the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Page Content in the area Category,
- activating the options Reduce and Optimize in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup can be used to resolve Form XObjects in a data stream of a PDF file. Use this Fixup, for example, if you want to split a Multipage document into individual pages and then remove overlapping vectors and images.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met:
- Form XObjects are located within the Fixup.
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup resolve Form XObjects
No further options are available.
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample resolve Form XObjects.pdf". The text in the file is a Form XObject.
After applying the Fixup, the file Sample resolve Form XObjects_End.pdf is created. In this file, the Form XObject has been resolved, making the text editable again. Visually, the file remains unchanged; however, the file size may increase significantly – especially in print files where the Bleed has been created by mirroring the content.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file without Form XObjects
Resolve Form XObjects
If you want to edit a Print Item that contains Form XObjects in the PDF Editor, you can resolve the Form XObjects directly there. This makes all content of the Print item fully editable.
Article update: Workflow 1.20.0 – 03/2025