Redact PDF

How to redact a PDF

1. 1

   Open your PDF Pick the PDF to redact by dropping it on the upload area or clicking there to browse. The first page opens, with a thumbnail for each page of the file.

2. 2

   Draw the zones Press and drag over each area to hide. The zone appears with a red border; it must be more than 5 pixels wide and high to count.

3. 3

   Go through the pages Click the thumbnail of a page to open that page. A red badge on a thumbnail shows how many zones that page holds.

4. 4

   Choose the fill color Black is the default. Use Color in the toolbar to pick another; it applies to every zone of the file.

5. 5

   Apply and download Press "Redact and download". A message confirms how many zones were redacted, and the _redacted copy downloads.

What is removed and what stays in the file

Inside each zone, the text is removed from the page, not just covered, and a filled rectangle is drawn in its place. Drawings that are part of the page are the exception: a shape is removed only when a zone covers all of it. A shape that reaches past the zone, such as text converted to outlines or a logo, stays whole in the file, under the fill. A drawing added as a comment is removed like any other comment, as soon as a zone overlaps it. Text outside the zones stays selectable, with one catch: a character is removed as soon as a zone overlaps the box around it, which is taller than the character itself. In single-spaced text, a zone can therefore take letters from the line above or below.

A form field, a comment or a link that a zone overlaps, even in part, is removed from the file, with the value typed in the field, the replies to the comment and the address of the link. A field that appears in several places, such as a name repeated on every page, keeps its value where no zone covers it. The rest of the file is not cleaned: document properties such as the title and author are not changed, bookmarks keep their titles, and files attached to the document stay. If any of these items repeats what you are hiding, it is still in the file. In a tagged PDF, which carries accessibility tags for screen readers, the text those tags give for what a zone covers is removed too, except in rare cases, so a search or a copy no longer finds it there. A digital signature in the file is no longer valid after redaction.

Each zone stays visible as a filled rectangle, so readers can see where something was taken out, which is the usual practice for redacted documents.

Check the redacted copy before you share it

You see your zones before applying, not the final result. A quick look at the downloaded file catches a zone that was drawn too small or a page you skipped:

1. 1. Open the _redacted file and try to select or copy the page text where each zone was: nothing should be picked up. Then search the file for a word you redacted, and check that the lines just above and below each zone are still complete.
2. 2. Use your reader's search to look for a name or a number you removed.
3. 3. Look at the document properties, the bookmarks, comments and attachments panels and any form fields for the same information.
4. 4. Keep your original file somewhere safe if you may need the full text later. It is not modified.

Tips for a clean redaction

• • Draw each zone just over the words you hide, not beyond: a larger zone is more likely to take letters from the words and lines next to them.
• • A name on the first page often appears again in headers, signature blocks or appendices: redact every occurrence.
• • Before applying, remove a zone with the cross that appears on it or the trash icon in the Zones on this page list, or press Clear all.
• • Change file returns to the upload screen and discards the zones you drew, so apply them first.