Redacting Documents

Learn how to redact documents using the standard redaction tool

Before releasing documents to the public, you may need to redact them to move sensitive personal information and other text that is exempt from disclosure. You can redact any document that has been uploaded to NextRequest and release only the redacted copy to the requester.

This document covers everything you need to know about how to redact a document within NextRequest. Click one of the links below to jump directly to that section:

• How to create a custom redaction reason
• How to redact a single section of a document
• How to redact all instances of a searched term in a document
• How to redact all instances of a type of information
• How to create a redaction log for a document
• How to create a draft version of a redacted document for review

 

 

How to create a custom redaction reason

Note: Only Admins and Department Admins can input custom redaction reasons. Once a custom redaction reason has been input it can be used by any staff when redacting documents.

NextRequest includes several redaction reasons by default, including "Client Privilege" and "Privacy Information." Additional custom redaction reasons can be input in the Admin panel and then cited in documents. Custom redaction reasons that have been input can be edited and deactivated. Deactivated redaction reasons will not appear in the redaction reasons list within a document but can be re-activated at any point.

 

Steps for creating a custom redaction reason

1. Sign in to your account and click the ADMIN link in the upper right
2. Click the Redaction link in the Admin sub header, then click 'Redaction Reasons'
3. Click the CREATE REDACTION REASON button
4. Enter the redaction Name and Description (The name of the redaction reason will appear overlaid on the redacted part of the document, and the description of the redaction reasons will appear in the redaction log at the end of the document)
5. Click the SAVE button

 

 

How to redact a single section of a document

You can redact a document by going through the entire thing and manually selecting each piece of text, area, or page that you want to redact.

 

Steps for redacting a single section of a document

1. Sign in to your account and go to the request that the document has been uploaded to
2. Click the Redact icon () next to the document
3. Click the Redact button in the document header
4. Select a redaction option:
   • : select text to redact
   • : select page(s) to redact
   • : select rectangle to redact
5. Select a redaction option from the menu that appears
6. Click the Save button in the upper right
7. Click the Save to Request button to save the redacted document directly to the request. The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

 

 

How to redact all instances of a searched term in a document

You can redact all instances of a particular word or phrase in a document at once.

 

Steps for redacting all instances of a searched term in a document

1. Sign in to your account and go to the request that the document has been uploaded to
2. Click the Redact icon () next to the document
3. Click the Search button in the document header
4. Enter the word or phrase that you want to redact and click the Search icon ()
5. Click the Redact button () under the number of search results
6. Click the Redact All button
7. Click the Save button in the upper right
8. Click the Save to Request button to save the redacted document directly to the request. The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

 

 

How to redact all instances of a type of information

You can redact all instance of a particular type of information at once. The types of information you can do this for are: US Social Security Number, USA Phone Number, Email, USA Postal Code, and Date

 

Steps for redacting all instances of a type of information

1. Sign in to your account and go to the request that the document has been uploaded to
2. Click the Redact icon () next to the document
3. Click the Search button in the document header
4. Click the Triangle icon () on the lefthand side of the Search Document field
5. Select the information types that you want to search for:
   • US Social Security Number
   • USA Phone Number
   • Email
   • USA Postal Code
   • Date
6. Click the Search icon ()
7. Click the Redact button () under the number of search results
8. Click the Redact All button
9. Click Select a redaction reason and choose your desired reason
10. Click the Save button in the upper right
11. Click the Save to Request button to save the redacted document directly to the request. The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

 

How to create a redaction log for a document

When you save a redacted document, a redaction log will automatically be added to the end of the document. The redaction log lists each redaction reason, the number of times it occurs on each page, and the full redaction description.

If you would like to customize the redaction log so that it appears after each page, or is not included at all, you can do so by printing the redacted document from the Redaction Viewer instead of saving it. You will then need to upload the document to the request using the steps here.

Steps for printing a redaction log

1. Sign in to your account and go to the request that the document has been uploaded to
2. Click the Redact icon () next to the document
3. Make any redactions that you need to
4. Click the Print button () in the upper right
5. Click the MORE OPTIONS button in the lower left of the menu that appears
6. Select an option in the Redaction Reasons drop-down:
   • Do Not Print
   • After Each Page
   • At End of Document
7. Click the Print button

 

How to create a draft version of a redacted document for review

If you would like redactions on a document to be reviewed by somebody before they are finalized, you can save your redactions in a draft document for review. The redacted sections will be greyed, rather than blacked out so that the text or image underneath can still be viewed. The redaction reason will not be overlaid on the redacted text however it will be included in the redaction log. Once the draft redactions have been approved, you will need to reapply them to a new copy of the document. It is not possible to update the draft redactions in the document except by apply real redactions on top of them.

 

Steps for creating a draft version of a redacted document

1. Sign in to your account and go to the request that the document has been uploaded to
2. Click the Redact icon () next to the document
3. Make any redactions that you need to
4. Click the Print button () in the upper right
5. Click the MORE OPTIONS button in the lower left of the menu that appears
6. Check the box "Review Redacted Text"
7. (Optional) In the Redaction Reasons drop-down select either 'After Each Page' or 'At End of Document'
8. Click the Print button