Redax Getting Started Guide

What Is Redax?

Redax® is an Adobe® Acrobat® plug-in that removes (redacts) sensitive information from PDF (Portable Document Format) documents. Confidentiality is assured, because the redacted information cannot be recovered. In a secure, two-step process, Redax physically deletes text and images that you select and then creates a new, redacted document without them.

About This Guide

The Redax Getting Started Guide is a tutorial introduction to Redax. It walks you through a basic redaction of a sample file, which is included with Redax. You will learn how to:

1. Set Redax preferences
2. Evaluate a document
3. Mark up a document
4. Redact a document

You should go through the tutorial in the order shown. However, you do not have to complete it all at once. Just make sure to save your work when you finish an exercise, and you will be able to pick up with the next exercise whenever you’re ready to continue.

Before You Begin

Before you start the tutorial, make sure Redax is usable and that you can find the sample files used in the tutorial.

To make sure Redax is usable:

1. Start Acrobat.
2. Look for the Redax menu on the Acrobat menu bar:
   
   Adobe Acrobat X, XI & DC:
   

If you see the Redax menu, Redax is accessible. You can start the tutorial as soon as you locate the sample files.

If you do not see the Redax menu, Redax is either not installed or you need to take some extra steps to make it accessible. See the Redax Installation Guide for instructions. It is located on the CD or in the download package you received when you purchased Redax.

To find the sample files: sample_base.pdf and sample_find_list.txt

1. Look for the sample files in the samples subdirectory where you installed Redax. In Windows, the default location for the sample files is C:\Appligent\Redax\samples.
2. If you cannot find the sample files in their default location, search for the sample_find_list.txt.
3. If you still cannot locate the files, reinstall the software. See the Redax Installation Guide for instructions.

Conventions Used In This Guide

The following conventions are used in this guide:

Instructions for selecting menu items use a shorthand notation, example:

Select Redax > Reports > Redax Report To File

The above represents an instruction to select the Redax menu, then select Reports from the Redax menu, and finally select Redax Report To File from the Reports submenu.

Terms that might be new to you are shown in bold face:

mark up

Definitions for these terms are displayed in orange boxes:

For More Information

When you finish the tutorial, refer to the Redax User Guide for more detailed information about each step in the redaction process. For information about product updates and known issues, see the release notes (readme file). The user guide and release notes are both located in the default installation directory.

What Preferences Can You Set?

The first step in any redaction project is to set your Redax preferences. Three different types of preferences define default settings for:

• The appearance and properties of Redax boxes, which are used to mark up information to be redacted
• The appearance of redacted areas in a document
• The way Redax performs the redaction and other related processes

Defining Redax Box Preferences

A Redax box is a special type of annotation that you place around images and text to let Redax know what you want to redact. For example, this Redax box marks part of an image for redaction.

And this Redax box marks a paragraph for redaction.

In the following exercise, you will define preferences for the Redax boxes you create.

1. Select Redax > Redax Preferences > Redax Box Preferences. The Redax Box Preferences dialog box opens.
   
   
   

1. In the Author box, enter your name. Your name will not appear when in Redax boxes, nor will it appear in the redacted document, but you will see it when you display the properties of a Redax box.
2. Make sure the Category and Exemption boxes are blank.
3. In the Note box, enter the following to indicate the purpose of this project: “Tutorial with Sample.pdf” As with the author name, the note will not appear in Redax boxes, nor will it appear in the redacted document, but you will see it when you display the properties of a Redax box.
4. Change the Box Color to red, as follows:
   • Click in the Box Color rectangle. The Color selector is displayed.
   • Click the red box in the first column of the second row

   
   
   

1. Click OK. The Color selector closes and the Box Color is set to red. Redax boxes will be drawn in this color.
2. Click OK. Your Redax box preferences are saved and the Redax Box Preferences dialog box closes.

Defining Redaction Preferences

Redaction preferences define the appearance of redacted areas and exemption codes following redaction. In the following exercise, you will define your redaction preferences.

1. Select Redax > Redax Preferences > Redaction Preferences. The Redaction Preferences dialog box opens.
   
   
   

1. Change the Fill Color to green, as follows:
   • Click in the Fill Color rectangle. The Color selector is displayed.
   • Click the green box in the fourth column of the fourth row.
   • Click OK.

   
   
   

1. Move the Transparency slider next to the Fill Color rectangle to 75%. This will make the redacted areas dark enough to find, but light enough to see through to confirm that the information marked for redaction has been deleted.
2. Change the Frame Color to the same green you used for the Fill Color.
3. Move the Transparency slider next to the Frame Color rectangle to 50%. This will create a darker border around the redacted areas, making it easier to see where the edges are.
4. Select the following Exemption Code options:
   • Position: Center
   • Entire Exemption Code on One Line
   • Text Color: Black
   • Font Size: 8 pt
5. Click OK. Your redaction preferences are saved and the Redax Preferences dialog box closes.

Defining Processing Option Preferences

Processing option preferences specify actions you want Redax to take when it processes your document. In the following exercise, you will define your processing option preferences.

1. Select Redax > Redax Preferences > Redax Options. The Redax Option Preferences dialog box opens.
   
   
   

1. Make sure the Allow redaction without exemption box is checked. If it is not checked, your Redax boxes will not redact unless an exemption code is assigned to the box.

   exemption code. A word, phrase or group of characters that indicates the reason an area of the document is to be redacted.

2. Leave the remaining options as they are. (If yours are different from the ones shown above, you do not need to change them. They are not required for this tutorial.)
3. Click OK. Your Redax option preferences are saved and the Redax Options dialog box closes.

Congratulations! You are finished setting preferences for this project.

What You Learned: A Summary

In the exercises in this chapter, you set your Redax preferences for this project:

• You defined a default author and note.
• You set the color of redaction areas and defined your exemption code preferences.
• You checked Preferences to be sure that you can redact without an exemption code.

What Else You Need to Know

Before you set preferences for your own projects, you should become familiar with all of the settings for the three Redax Preferences dialog boxes. These setting are described in detail in Setting Up for Redaction in the Redax User Guide.

Why Is an Evaluation Necessary?

PDF documents can vary considerably, depending on the type of content they contain and the way in which they were created. Because these variations can affect the redaction process, you should examine your documents before you mark them up for redaction.

Check Document Security

In order to redact any PDF document, the file cannot be encrypted. To check this, open the document you want to redact and select:

File > Properties ( X, XI and DC)

When the dialog window opens, choose the Security tab and make sure that the Security Method: is set to “No Security”.

Searching for Images

You can have Redax search your file for areas containing text, bitmap images, and vector images.  The following example looks at finding vector images in the Redax sample file.

When you mark a vector image for redaction, it is important to know the location of its constituent paths. That’s because each path you include in the mark up area will be redacted from start to end, even if you only mark up part of the path. You cannot see the paths when you look at a vector image, but you can have Redax find them for you.

In the following exercise, you will find all of the vector images, and their constituent paths, in the sample file.

1. 1. In Acrobat, open Sample.pdf.

      The following figure shows part of page 1 of the sample file.

      

1. 1. Create a copy of Sample.pdf, so that you can work with the copy and keep the original, unmarked file for future use:
      • Select File > Save As.
      • Make sure the directory that contains Sample.pdf is selected.
      • Enter the following file name for the copy:  MySample.pdf
      • Click Save. MySample.pdf is created and displayed.
   2. Select Redax > Find Areas > Find Path Areas.
      Redax draws boxes around all of the paths in the document and tells you how many annotations (boxes) have been created.
   3. Click OK to continue.
   4. Scroll through the document and look at the Redax boxes.

      You will see that some of the boxes, like those on the first four pages, are simply borders around text or graphics.

      

      Others, like the graph on page 5, are more complex.

      Note: The page number refers to the PDF page number, not the page number printed on the document.

      
      

1. 1. Now examine the image on page 18.
      It contains four Redax boxes, as shown below. One marks the path that makes up the border around the graphic. The other three mark the paths that constitute the pie chart.

       

      

1. Select File > Save. The Redax boxes marking paths in vector graphics are saved (you will remove them before you mark up the document for redaction).

Printing a Vector Image with its Paths

In the following exercise, you will print page 18 of MySample.pdf, including the Redax boxes that delineate the paths in the pie chart. You will use this printout later when you mark up the pie chart for redaction.

1. Make sure you are on page 18 of MySample.pdf (see Step 6, above).
2. Select File > Print.

   The Print dialog box opens.

3. In the Printer section, select a printer.
4. In the Print Range section, select “Current Page”.
5. In the Comments and Forms box, select “Document and Markups”.

   Any Redax boxes on the current page of the document should be visible in the Preview window.

6. Click OK to print.
7. File the printout in a place where you can easily find it.
8. Select Redax > Remove Redax Boxes.

   All Redax boxes are removed from the document.

9. Select File > Save.

   MySample.pdf is saved.

Congratulations! You are finished evaluating MySample.pdf.

What You Learned: A Summary

In this chapter, you learned the importance of evaluating documents before you mark them up for redaction. First, you created a copy of the sample document, Sample.pdf, and called it MySample.pdf. Next, you examined the vector graphics in MySample.pdf and saw that they were made up of paths. Finally, you printed the graphic on page 18, because you will need to know where its paths are when you mark it for redaction.

What Else You Need to Know

Finding paths is just one part of a document evaluation. When you evaluate your own documents, you should also look for hidden text and inline character images.

• Hidden text is text that is hidden behind an image. You need to find any hidden text in your document in case it needs to be redacted.
• An inline character image is a picture of text, although it usually looks just like text that was typed. You need to be able distinguish inline character images from real text, because images cannot be marked for redaction in the same way that text can.

To find out how to examine your document for hidden text and inline character images, see Evaluating Your Document in the Redax User Guide.

Quiz

1. Why is it necessary to evaluate a document before you mark it up for redaction?
2. What is a vector image?
3. What is a path?
4. Why do you need to know the locations of the paths in a vector image before you mark it for redaction?

What Is Markup?

To let Redax know that you want to redact a specific piece of information, such as an image or a segment of text, you mark it by putting a Redax box around it. A Redax box is one type of Redax markup. Redax markup is different from Acrobat markup, which can be a Highlight, Underline, Cross Out (Strikethrough) or Acrobat Redaction.

Redax provides many methods for marking up documents. In the following sections, you will learn two of these methods, one for marking up images and the other for marking up text.

Marking Up Images

To mark an image for redaction, you must manually draw a Redax box around it with the Draw Box tool. In the following exercises, you will mark up two images in sample_base.pdf:

The only bitmap image in the document, is on page 3.

The vector image is on page 18, which you printed when you evaluated sample_base.pdf.

To mark the bitmap image on page 3

1. Open sample_base.pdf and go to page 3.

2. Examine the image to plan your markup. For this exercise, you will draw a Redax box around the center of the image, just to cover the burglar. When you redact the document, only the burglar will be removed from the image.

   

1. Select Redax > Draw Box to check the Draw Box tool. The pointer changes to a crosshair.

   Note: If the pointer doesn’t change to a crosshair, repeat this step. The Draw Box tool is like a toggle switch. It is either on or off. If it was on to begin with, selecting Redax > Draw Box would have turned it off.

    

2. Position the pointer where you want to begin drawing, press the left mouse button, and drag to draw your box.

   Release the mouse button when you are satisfied.

   The box changes to the color you specified in the Redax Menu > Redax Preferences > Redax Box Preferences > Box Color.

3. Select Redax > Show/Hide and then check the US FOIA box. Repeat to display the US Privacy palette. If US FOIA and US Privacy do not appear under the Show/Hide submenu, click on Display All Palettes and both palette windows will display.

   (In the sample screen below, the Redax box is red; yours may be a different color).

   exemption code palette. A set of available exemption codes. Two exemption code palettes are supplied with Redax, one for FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) exemption codes and the other for Privacy Act exemption codes. The supplied palettes can be modified and new palettes can be created.

    

   

1. In the US Privacy palette, click exemption code (b).

   The code appears in the top-left corner of the Redax box. Note that it is the same color as the Redax box.

   

1. Select File > Save to save your markup.

2. Double-click the Redax box to view its properties.

   Observe that the default Author, Note, and Box Color you defined in your Redax Box preferences are displayed.

   

1. When you are finished, click OK to close the Redax Box Properties dialog box.

To mark the vector image on page 18

1. Open sample_base.pdf and go to page 18.

2. Look at the paths on the printout you made of the image on page 18. The following figure shows those paths.

   

1. Figure out where you need to draw a Redax box to mark the pie chart for redaction, but none of the text surrounding it.

   Tip! It’s impossible to draw a Redax box around the whole pie chart without touching any text. But you don’t have to, because this is a vector image. Remember that marking an entire path—from start to finish—only requires that you include part of the path in your Redax box. So, you just have to draw the box so that it touches all three paths in the pie chart.

    

   

1. To draw the Redax box, perform steps 3–9 in the previous exercise, to mark the bitmap image.

   Note: The process of drawing a Redax box is the same for bitmap and vector images. The only difference is in where you draw the box. For bitmap images, the box must cover the area you want to redact. For vector images, it only has to touch each path you want to include in the redacted area, however, you should try to make the Redax box large enough to contain the exemption code(s).

    

Marking Up Text Using a Redaction List File

The quickest way to mark up text is to use a redaction list file. Use the Find Using List editor to create a list of words and phrases to be redacted, along with any exemption codes to replace the redacted text. When a redaction list file is applied to a document, all of the matching words and phrases in the document are marked with Redax boxes.

A sample redaction list created in the Find Using List editor dialog is shown below. Exemption codes are in the left column and words or phrases to be redacted appear in the right column.

In the following exercises, you will use sample_find_list.txt to mark up text in sample_base.pdf

To mark up text using the sample redaction list file

1. In Acrobat, open sample_base.pdf.

   

1. Select Redax > Find Using List.

2. Click on the Import File button.

3. In the dialog box that opens, browse to the location where the sample files reside and select sample_find_list.txt, and then click OK. The default location is C:\Appligent\Redax\Samples.

   The sample list file is loaded into the Find Using List editor dialog.

4. Click the Find button.

   Redax searches through sample_base.pdf and adds Redax boxes to all of the areas that match the words and phrases in the list file. When it’s finished, it displays a dialog box with the number of new annotations.

5. Click Done to close the dialog box.

The following figure shows some of the Redax boxes on the first page of sample_base.pdf:

Congratulations! You are finished marking up sample_base.pdf.

What You Learned: A Summary

In this section, you learned what Redax markup is and how it is different from Acrobat markup. You also tried two Redax markup methods on the sample file. With the first method, you marked up a bitmap image and a vector image using the Draw Box tool. With the second method, you marked up text using a redaction list file.

What Else You Need to Know

There are many ways to mark up a document for redaction, and you can use whatever combination of methods suits your needs. The Draw Box tool, which you used to mark up images in this tutorial, can also be used to mark up text. In addition, you can:

• Use Acrobat highlighting tools (Highlight, Underline, Cross Out/Strikethrough) or Acrobat Redaction to mark up text
• Mark an entire page or range of pages
• Mark text that matches pre-defined patterns such as Social Security numbers, dates, email addresses and more
• Mark text that matches regular expressions
• Create a template and apply it to documents to mark up information that’s in the same location as it is in the template

These markup methods are described in detail in Marking Up Your Redax Document in the Redax User Guide.

When you are finished marking up a document, you should review it thoroughly to make sure the markup is correct. Redax supplies a number of tools to help you. For example, you can scroll among the pages that contain Redax boxes, skipping those that don’t. You can also create a Redax report, which catalogs every Redax box in the document. If you find a Redax box that isn’t right, you can modify it or delete it. The different ways to review and adjust your markup are covered in Reviewing Redax Markup in the Redax User Guide.

Quiz

1. What is Redax markup?
2. What is Acrobat markup?
3. What is a bitmap image?
4. How is the procedure for marking up a vector image different from the procedure for marking up a bitmap image?
5. How do you display the properties of a Redax box?

Redaction: The Final Phase

When you are satisfied with the markup in your document, you are ready to redact it. In the following sections, you will redact MySample.pdf, and then remove any annotations that might be in the document to ensure that all sensitive information is deleted.

Performing the Redaction

Redacting a document is a simple and straightforward process.

1. In Acrobat, open MySample.pdf.

2. Select Redax > Redact Document.

   The text and images you marked up are removed, and a new, redacted document is created without them. The redacted document, r_MySample.pdf, appears in a new window.

3. Examine the redacted document.

   Text that was marked for redaction is replaced with a colored box, according to the Redax box preferences you set. In the example, the redacted areas are green, and exemption codes are black and centered in the areas, as defined in your Redaction preferences.

   

   The burglar has been removed from the bitmap image on page 3:

   

   The entire pie chart on page 18 has been deleted.

   

1. Select File > Save to save the redacted document.
   The Save As dialog box is displayed.

2. Accept the default values and click Save.

   The redacted document is saved as r_MySample.pdf and placed in the directory where MySample.pdf file resides.

Removing All Annotations

Before you distribute your document, you should take the extra precaution of removing all annotations to delete any notes or comments that might contain confidential information. Removing annotations also deletes all Redax boxes if you have chosen to leave them in the document.

If the Redax boxes are not removed during redaction, take the following steps to remove them.

1. Accept the default values and click Save.

   The redacted document is saved as r_MySample.pdf and placed in the directory where MySample.pdf file resides.

2. Click OK.

   Redax deletes all annotations from the document.

   

1. Select File > Save As.

2. Select a directory location for the file.

3. Give the file a new name: r_Final_MySample.pdf.

4. Click Save.

   The document is ready for distribution.

Congratulations! You have completed a basic redaction.

What You Learned: A Summary

In this section, you redacted the marked up sample document to produce a new, redacted file called r_MySample.pdf. In that file, you saw what redacted text and images look like. To prepare the redacted file for distribution, you removed all annotations, including the Redax boxes inserted during markup, and saved the document under a new name, r_Final_MySample.pdf.

What Else You Need to Know

There is one more redaction method you should be aware of, and that is the redaction of Acrobat markup (Highlights, Underlines, Cross Outs/Strikethroughs). You can redact the Acrobat markups directly instead of converting first to Redax boxes.

When you redact your own documents, you should check them carefully to ensure that everything you wanted to redact was redacted. To check text redactions, you can export the text from the original document and the redacted document, and then compare the results.

These topics are discussed in Redacting Your Document in the Redax User Guide.

Quiz

1. Does the redacted document contain any of the text or images you marked up for redaction?
2. Why should you remove annotations from a redacted document before you distribute it?

What You Learned

In this tutorial, you became acquainted with the following items on the Redax menu:

• Redax Preferences
• Find Areas > Find Path Areas
• Draw Box
• Find Using List
• Redact Document
• Remove All Annotations

You also walked through the basic steps involved in redacting any PDF document:

1. Set Redax preferences
2. Evaluate the document
3. Mark up the document
4. Redact the document

During the walk through, you learned about:

• Redax Preferences settings for:
  • Redax boxes
  • Redactions
  • Options
• Vector and bitmap images
• Redaction list files
• Converting Acrobat highlights to Redax boxes
• Exemption codes and exemption code palettes
• The new redaction file, with an r_ prefix
• Removing annotations from redacted files

Where To Go from Here

If you want to get some more practice with Redax before you begin a real-world redaction project, try these exercises:

• Go through the tutorial again, but this time add some of the tasks discussed in the “What Else You Should Know” sections in each chapter.
• Go through the tutorial again, but use one of your own PDF documents as a sample. You will, of course, have to make some substitutions, as the tutorial is specific to the sample file supplied with Redax.

As you go through each exercise in the tutorial, consult the Redax User Guide for additional options and information, including:

• Introduction to Redax provides an overview of Redax and what it offers.
• Redax Workspace describes all of the Redax menu options. It also tells you how to access shortcut toolbar buttons and work with exemption code palettes.
• Setting Up for Redaction explains all of the options available via Redax Preferences. It also shows you how to create your own redaction list files, and edit the existing exemption code palettes or create your own. This chapter includes the following sub-chapters:
  • Setting Redax Preferences
  • Using Redaction List Files
  • Using Pattern Files
  • Using Regular Expressions
  • Using Exemption Code Palettes
  • Using Redaction Categories
• Evaluating Your Document tells you about everything you should check in your document before you mark it up for redaction: inline character images (covered in this tutorial), hidden text, and vector images.
• Marking Up Your Redax Document explains how to use the many markup methods available to you in Redax: manually drawing Redax boxes (covered in this tutorial), marking up an entire page, marking up a range of pages, marking text based on a predefined redaction list (covered in this tutorial), marking text that matches a pattern, marking bracketed text, using the Acrobat text selection tool, converting Acrobat markup (covered in this tutorial), and using a Redax template. This chapter includes the following sub-chapters:
  • Applying Redax Markup Directly
  • Applying and Converting Acrobat Markup
  • Using a Redax Template
• Reviewing Redax Markup explains how to check your markup and modify it if you uncover any problems.
• Redacting Your Document describes the two methods for redacting a document. It also tells you how to check your redaction and prepare the redacted document for distribution. This chapter includes the following sub-chapters:
  • Checking the Redacted Document
  • Preparing the Document for Distribution
• Troubleshooting & Support explains what you should do if you have a problem.
• Exemption Code Palettes defines the exemption codes on the default FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and Privacy Act exemption code palettes.
• Appendix A: Regular Expressions includes some simple examples, a basic syntax for regular expressions, background information and links to additional resources.