Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
by Rick Borstein
December 27, 2010 Redaction is the permanent deletion of data from documents. In Acrobat X Pro, several new Redaction features were introduced: 1. Repeat Redaction Mark across Pages Useful for redacting headers and footers from documents 2. Right-click to apply Exemption Codes Add case codes and privacy codes as overlay text to redaction marks. 3. Ability to apply multiple Exemption Codes Multiple exemption codes may be listed as overlay text on a redaction mark 4. Partial Pattern Redaction Use this feature to mark part of a pattern for redaction. For example, you could mark part of a Social Security Number or Credit card number. Useful for cases where you need to identify individuals in part of a case without revealing personal identifying information. 5. Set Appearance of Redaction Marks You can now set the appearance of the Redaction marks during review. For example, you can mark items with a transparent red overlay if desired. 6. Overlay Text indicated in Comments List You can now view overlay text in the Comment list for quick review. So, you want to redact some documents. How do you get started? In this article I cover:
Redaction Preferences How to mark text and graphics for redaction Setting common redaction properties Adding Overlay Text and Exemption codes to a redaction Creating a report of redactions Applying redactions to permanently remove information Using an Action to automate the redaction workflow
Getting Ready
Redactions must be carefully applied and managed. Here are a few tips to get ready: 1. Copy your "to be redacted" documents into a new folder on your hard drive 2. OCR the documents if necessary 3. Review the documents to get a sense of what needs to be redacted: o Personal identifying information such as drivers license numbers, social security numbers, etc. o Names of spouses, minors or others not associated with the case o Trade secrets such as formulas, computer code, etc.
3. Enable the check box labeled "Copy Selected Text into Highlight, Crossout, and Underline comment pop-ups 4. Click OK When you select text using the Mark for Redaction tool, the text will automatically be copied into the sticky note:
The tool you will use for almost all of your work is the Mark for Redaction tool.
Context Sensitive
The Mark for Redaction Tool cursor changes depending the content to be redacted.
To Redact Text
1. Select the Mark for Redaction tool 2. When you hover over text, the Mark for Redaction tool becomes a text selection cursor. Select the text to mark it for redaction. Tip: Did you select too much? Hit CTRL-Z to undo the redaction.
Force an Area Redaction Sometimes it can be difficult to select text properly. You can force Acrobat to present the crosshair for an area redaction by holding down the CTRL key.
Tip for Redacting an Image You can select all of the pixels in an image for redaction by double-clicking on it with the crosshairs (+).
Previewing a Redaction
Using the Mark for Redaction tool, you may preview the redacted item. 1. Select the Mark for Redaction tool 2. Hover over a redaction mark to preview it
You may set a number of options such as Applied Redaction Color Overlay Text Text Color and Repeat
The Redaction Properties window is straightforward. Options below are referred by number:
1. Set the color of the redaction here. You may also choose no color as an option. 2. You may have overlay text on top of the redaction. 3. Choose typeface for overlay text 4. Set font size for overlay text 5. Auto-size scales the text to fit the width of the redacted area 6. Enable to repeat the text over the redacted area 7. Set alignment of overlay text 8. Set color of overlay text 9. Enable and type in the text string to appear on top of the redaction 10. Exemption Codes will be listed here. Note: You cannot type into this box, Enable it to apply an Exemption Code 11. Redaction Codes. Redaction codes pre-defined sets of text used to denote the reason or statute under which
the redaction was made. Acrobat Pro includes two pre-populated sets U.S. FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)and U.S. Privacy Act. You can also create and save your own sets. 12. Set the outline color for the Redaction Mark. Note: This only affects the appearance of the marked item, not the final appearance once redacted. 13. Set the fill color for the Redaction Mark Note: This only affects the appearance of the marked item, not the final appearance once redacted. 14. Set the Opacity of the Redaction Mark Note: This only affects the appearance of the marked item, not the final appearance once redacted.
Youll see some subtle animation around the edges. 3. Hit the DEL key to delete the redaction.
The judge has ordered you to place the reason for the redaction on top of the redaction mark to speed his or her review. You want to limit the number of challenges to your redactions by supplying the other side with the reason the information was redacted. You work in a government agency which has to make documents public. You may be required to place a code or other mark on top of the redaction to meet agency guidelines.
To select all the Redaction marks in the Comments list: 1. Select the first comment in the list 2. Scroll to the bottom of the list 3. Hold down shift and select the last comment
Single text strings Multiple text strings Patterns such as Social Security numbers
2. You can search in the front most (current) document or point to a whole folder of documents. 3. Set the search scope for single or multiple words, or patterns 4. Enter text to search for (only available for Single word option) 5. Determine whether you will search for whole words or if capitalization matters
2. In the Search window, click Arrange Windows if necessary 3. In the Where would you like to search area, select In the current document or to browse to folder of files to perform cross-document search. 4. in the Search for area, choose Single Word or Phrase 5. Enter your text in the search field 6. Click the Search and Redact button
1. Clicking Check All will add a mark to all the words found 2. You can also individually check any of the results. If you click on the result, you can preview the word in the PDF 3. Click Mark Checked Results for Redaction to mark the words found
2. In the Search window, click Arrange Windows if necessary 3. In the Where would you like to search area, select In the current document or to browse to folder of files to perform cross-document search. 4. in the Search for area, choose Multiple Words or Phrase 5. The Words and Phrases to Search and Redact window opens - Enter each word you wish to search for and click Add (Optional) Import a list of words 6. Click OK Acrobat will search through the document(s) and place a redaction mark on all words found
Phone Numbers Credit Card Numbers Social Security Numbers Email Addresses Dates
Need to Create Your Own Patterns? See Creating and Using Custom Redaction Patterns Heres how to use patterns to find this type of information
2. In the Search window, click Arrange Windows if necessary 3. In the Where would you like to search area, select In the current document or to browse to folder of files to perform cross-document search. 4. In the Search for area, choose Patterns 5. Select the type of information you want to find:
6. Click the Search and Redact button 7. The Search Window opens A- Click to begin a new search B- Click to save the search results to PDF or CSV C- Click to Check All or Uncheck All results D -Select a search item to view the found result in the document window E -Click to enable marking part of the word for redaction (see below) F- Modify settings for partial word redaction
Right-click on the item and choose Open Pop-up Note Double-click on the item
Click the Comments Panel and twirl open the Comments List section.
To create a summarized document: 1. Open the document containing your redaction marks. (You need to run this step before you apply redactions.) 2. Click the Comments Panel and twirl open the Comments List section.
3. Click the fly out menu at the upper right of the Comments List and choose Create Comment Summary
4. The Summarize Options window will appear. I suggest choosing the second option:
5. Click the Create PDF Comment Summary button. 6. Acrobat will create a new PDF which summarizes the comments (redaction marks) on the document
Applying Redactions in Acrobat permanently removes the information from the document once you save it. To apply redactions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Open the Tools Panel Twirl open the Protection section Select Apply Redactions A warning window appears. Click OK
5. The Redactions are applied. Next, you will see another warning message prompting you to examine the document for metadata. Click the Yes button.
6. The Examine Document panel opens. Examine Document finds hidden information such as metadata, hidden text, comments, etc. that could lead to an accidental disclosure. Note that the hidden OCR text layer can be removed, too. Click the Remove button.
7. Choose File> Save Acrobat will rename your file automatically when you go to save it:
Prompts you to locate the documents you wish to redact Converts them to PDF (for supported file types like Word, Excel, etc.) OCRs the document (if desired) Prompts user to redact the document Applies the redactions Removes metadata Reduces the file size of the document Changes the file to an Acrobat 5 level file (PDF 1.4) which is compatible with court filing systems Renames the file with the _redacted.pdf suffix Saves the redacted documents in a folder of your choosing
Installation information Embedded Action Instructions on how to use the Action Customizing information
Final Thoughts
Keep in the mind the following when taking on projects that require redaction: 1. DO NOT FORGET TO APPLY REDACTIONS! Simply marking text and graphics does not actually remove it. 2. Use Actions to help automate the redaction process. You can: o Prompt the user to manually redact pages o Perform Word List redaction o Apply Redactions 3. Search and Redact will only find text in searchable documents. OCR documents first. Even so, since OCR is an imperfect process, carefully review scanned documents. 4. Carefully review all documents prior to submission in discovery. A two-person review team will catch many more errors than a single person. 5. Know your court rules and judges orders regarding redaction. Ask the clerk of the court for clarification if you need more information. 6. Dont Skip the Examine Document Step Naive users may elect to cover up information in electronic sources and mistakenly believe it is redacted. The Examine Document function can detect and fix these issues.