I’m wondering if the flattened ones can still be bypassed with vector software. If the pdf’s don’t have security: open with illustrator or inkscape, delete black shapes, font get left behind as outlines, resave as pdf, OCR with acrobat. Hey presto… Searchable documents again.
Yeah, I remember my first year, before I learned you need to uncheck a box to make sure the pdf can’t be unflattened…
I’m wondering if the flattened ones can still be bypassed with vector software. If the pdf’s don’t have security: open with illustrator or inkscape, delete black shapes, font get left behind as outlines, resave as pdf, OCR with acrobat. Hey presto… Searchable documents again.