flattening
n.
A conservation treatment to remove curls, creases, or cockles from a document to return it to its original, flat condition.
ComputingThe process of removing information about the structure or formatting of a file, especially transforming hierarchical data into a linear sequence of elements.
Notes
Flattening1 generally involves relaxing the document by introducing moisture through humidification. Documents may be flatted under weights or using a suction table. - Flattening2 implies that the data is stored in plain (seven bit) ASCII without embedded formatting codes.
