Redacting in Sopycat doesn't just draw a black box over the words. It takes what is under the box out of the file, then reads the page again to make sure it's gone. If it can't be sure, it doesn't save.
What happens when you redact
When you save a redaction, Sopycat does all of this for each box:
- Removes the text under the box from the page.
- Blacks out the parts of any picture under the box, in the picture itself.
- Removes any comments and form fields under the box.
- Draws a black box in their place.
- Reads the page's text again and checks that nothing under the box is left.
The saved file keeps only what the document uses. Old versions of a page, and anything else nothing in the document points to, are left out, so the removed words are not still inside the file where a reader doesn't look.
If some text is still there, for example because the page was built in an unusual way, Sopycat turns that whole page into a picture of itself with the area painted black, and checks again. The log marks those pages Page flattened. A flattened page looks the same but its words can no longer be selected or searched.
If the page still can't be checked, nothing is saved and you'll see: "The words could not be removed from this file. Nothing was saved." Try again after making the document searchable (OCR), or redact the page as a picture.
When it works, you'll see "Redacted and checked: the words and picture data under the boxes are gone from the file."
Redact several PDFs at once
Sidebar › Tools › Redact a PDF
The Redact a PDF page has only the redaction tools. Drop the PDFs on it, or press Choose files…, and each one opens with Redact already picked. With two files or more, Find and redact in all searches every file on the list for the same words or pattern, and redacts what you tick in each one, as its own version. Save all to a folder then saves every file, named for example Report (redacted).pdf, with its redaction log beside it.
Redact by drawing boxes
Open a PDF › Mark up › Redact
- Open the PDF and choose Mark up, then Redact.
- Drag a box over everything you want removed. Add as many boxes as you need, on any page.
- Check each box. Until you save, you can move or resize a box, or remove it with its ×.
- Press Save. The boxes are applied and checked.
Find and redact words or patterns
Open a PDF › Find and redact (beside More)
Use this to remove every place a name, account number or email address appears, without hunting through the pages. You can also open it from the Mark up tab's Find words or patterns to redact… link.
- Type in Words to find, or pick one of the Ready-made patterns: Email addresses, Phone numbers, Social security numbers, Card numbers, Dates or IBANs.
- Tick Match case or Whole words if you need them.
- Press Find. Every place it appears is listed, page by page, and then under Elsewhere in the file: the file's properties, bookmarks, comments, form answers, attached files and link addresses.
- Untick any you want to keep. All and None tick or untick the whole list.
- Press Redact with the number of places, for example Redact 12 places.
Find and redact applies straight away, as a new version. If you have other edits waiting, they are saved first.
Outside the pages, the words are replaced with “[redacted]”, so a bookmark or a note keeps the rest of what it says. A text box or a stamp draws its own words, so it is removed whole, and so are an attached file and a link that contain the words. The log shows each of these with where it was, and the page as Whole file when it belongs to the whole document.
Find something more exact
Tick Pattern (regular expression) to search with a pattern instead of plain words. For example, the pattern \d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4} finds numbers written like 123-45-6789. If you don't know patterns, the ready-made ones cover the common cases.
Remove hidden information
Open a PDF › More › Remove hidden information…, or Find and redact › Check for hidden information…
A PDF can carry much more than its pages show. Sopycat checks the file and lists what it finds, kind by kind, with examples. Tick what should go and press Remove what is ticked. The file is saved as a new version and checked again, and the message says if anything could not be taken out.
| What it finds | What happens |
|---|---|
| Words under cover-ups: words with a box drawn over them, or set in the same colour as what is behind them | Each becomes a real redaction. The words leave the file and the page looks the same. It goes in the redaction log. |
| Areas marked for redaction in another program but never applied | Redacted now, with a black box. |
| Document properties: title, author, subject, keywords, the programs that made the file, its dates | Removed, including the copy written inside the file as XMP. |
| Details inside photos: camera, date, place, owner | Removed. The pictures stay exactly as they are. |
| Comments and markups, Form answers, Attached files, Bookmarks, Links out of the file | Removed. Form fields stay, empty. Links to places inside the file stay. |
| Scripts and automatic actions | Removed. A form that adds up its own totals stops doing so. |
| Hidden layers, Words outside the page, Page previews, Data other programs kept | Removed. |
| Earlier versions and leftovers kept inside the file | Always removed: Sopycat leaves them out whenever it saves. |
The kinds that change nothing anyone sees on a page start ticked. Comments, form answers, attached files, bookmarks and links start unticked, because people use them. After every redaction, the message says if the file still has properties, comments or attached files that can name people.
Redacting scanned documents
A scan is a picture of a page, so it has no words for Find and redact to search. Find and redact says which pages it could not search, and so does Redact all on the Redact a PDF page. You have two choices:
- Draw boxes on the Mark up tab. The picture under each box is blacked out in the file.
- Make the scan searchable first, then use Find and redact: More › Make it searchable (OCR)…. Text recognition is English only, and it can misread words, so look over the pages as well.
See what has been redacted
Open a PDF › More › Redaction log…
The log lists everything removed from the document, with the Page, When, By, what was Removed and How (taken out of the file, or page flattened). The menu shows how many entries there are, for example Redaction log (3)….
Press Save as CSV… to keep the log as a spreadsheet file. The log also goes out with every copy you make with Save a copy….
Share the redacted file
Open a PDF › More › Save a copy…
Save a copy writes the current version of the PDF, with its redaction log, to a folder you choose. Send that copy.
Your library still keeps the original, unredacted file and your earlier saves under Versions, so you can always go back. That means anyone who can open your library can open the unredacted version too. Only send the copy you saved, and think about who can reach your library if it's shared.
Before you send a redacted PDF
- Read every page of the saved copy. Check headers, footers, stamps and small print.
- Remember that names can also appear in the file's properties, comments, bookmarks and attachments. Find and redact searches them too, and Remove hidden information takes them out.
- Search the saved copy for the words you removed. They should not be found.
Didn't find it? Search every page, or ask us.