What is causing this to happen?
When you export your Print PDF for publishing, Atticus always ensures that your PDF is optimized and ready for print. This is the standard format that is recommended by printers and print-on-demand services. As a result, your PDF is flattened and the text may not be selectable, searchable or copyable. This normal and expected behavior to ensure that your book is ready for print and not a bug you’re experiencing.
What you might be seeing when running your document through AI.
Users commonly report one of more of the following messages when running their PDF through AI.
Text cannot be selected or highlighted - clicking or dragging your cursor over text has no effect.
Copied text comes out as scrambled letters rather than coherent words or sentences - copying and pasting random words or sentences appear garbled instead of what was originally on their page.
PDF search returns not results - using CTRL+F/CMD+F inside the PDF finds nothing in the PDF, even if the words are shown on the page.
Text extraction tools report corrupted data - apps or scripts that are extracted from the PDF return garbled or with errors.
What does “flattening” mean?
When a PDF is flattened, this means that all the individual layers and elements in the print version of your book are merged into a single, fixed layer. The best way to think of this is like a flat page in a book or an image, as this is what the print version of your book is created for.
Flattening your PDF also ensures your formatting, font and layout look exactly the way they did before you send your manuscript off to be printed.
What if I need selectable text?
We know that having searchable text can be helpful for Authors so we recommend one of two options. You can either export your book as an ePub in the formatting tab or an docx. To export your book as a docx, you’ll go to the “edit book details” section and select the “export docx” button.
We hope this helps! If you have any questions please feel free to email us as support@atticus.io