ALWAYS state the VERSION of Illustrator you are using. No less than SIX DIFFERENT VERSIONS of Illustrator are daily represented in this forum. The functionality differs in certain areas across all of those versions.

function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}

Is there a way to easily convert Illustrator's guide marks and control handles to artwork?

Yes. Draw them. Use Symbols, Brushes, Custom Arrowheads, and/or Graphic Styles to store the treatment as a one-click setting. Most expedient method DEPENDS ON VERSION.

JET

What would "flatten" mean, in this context?

I can write a quick javascript for you, but I'd need to know how would you want the anchor points and control lines and points represented. Blue, rectangles for the anchors, circles for the control points, and a thin line -- how big? How thin?

I need to know because the script adds them as actual objects to your image. (So you might want them to be created on a new layer as well.)

Okay. I'm running short on time here, but I'll take a look at it to-nite.

Shouldn't be too hard.

Well I was at work

The script is a bit too long to comfortably put inside this message, and it seems you still can't attach files, so download it from my site: www.jongware.com/binaries/drawArtHandles.zip

Select one or more objects, and it'll make a layer called "Visible Art" (or use the existing one) and draw all of the handles, anchors, bounding boxes, and whatnot onto it. It 'supports' (i.e., draws handles) text, groups, and simple paths. Everything else -- bitmaps, symbols, graphic effects ... -- gets the I'm Ignoring You treatment.

(I noticed a small bug: sometimes Illustrator doesn't want to cooperate, and refuses to set the color for the "bounding box" frame. What's up with that? I don't know -- everything else seems to be in order.)

Here is what it looks like -- now doesn't that look like you've got all handles selected at the same time?