Preview which areas of artwork will be flattened

Use the preview options in the Flattener Preview to highlight areas that are affected by flattening. You can use this color-coded information to adjust flattening options.

Note: The Flattener Preview is not intended for precise previewing of spot colors, overprints, and blending modes. Instead, use Overprint Preview mode for those purposes.
  1. Display the Flattener Preview palette (or dialog box):

    • In Illustrator, choose Window > Flattener Preview.

    • In Acrobat, choose Advanced > Print Production > Flattener Preview.

    • In InDesign, choose Window > Output > Flattener Preview.

  2. From the Highlight menu, choose the kind of areas you want to highlight. The availability of options depends on the content of the artwork.
  3. Select the flattening settings you want to use: Either choose a preset or, if available, set specific options.
    Note: (Illustrator) If the flattening settings aren’t visible, select Show Options from the palette menu to display them.
  4. If the artwork contains overprinted objects that interact with transparent objects, in Illustrator, select an option from the Overprints menu. You can preserve, simulate, or discard overprints. In Acrobat, choose Preserve Overprint to blend the color of transparent artwork with the background color to create an overprint effect.
  5. At any time, click Refresh to display a fresh preview version based on your settings. Depending on the complexity of the artwork, you may need to wait a few seconds for the preview image to appear. In InDesign, you can also choose Auto Refresh Highlight.
    In Illustrator and Acrobat, to magnify the preview, click in the preview area. To zoom out, Alt-click/Option-click in the preview area. To pan the preview, hold down the spacebar and drag in the preview area.
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