Document Redaction

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.

Create a Custom Redaction Reason

NextRequest includes several redaction reasons by default, including "Customer 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.

Important 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.

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Select the Admin drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the portal.
   
3. Click Redaction Reasons on the Admin drop-down menu.
   
4. Click the blue Create Redaction Reason button above the list of redaction reasons.
   
5. Create a Name.
   
   
   Note: This is a required field, indicated by the asterisk next to the field's title. The name of the redaction reason will appear overlaid on the redacted part of the document.
6. Add a Description.
   
   
   Note: This is a required field, indicated by the asterisk next to the field's title. The description of the redaction reasons will appear in the redaction log at the end of the document.
7. Click the blue Save button below the Description text field. 
   

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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.

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on All Requests in the upper-left corner of the portal.
   
3. Select the request number in the Request column.
   
4. Select the Documents tab.
   
5. Place the cursor over the document and click the ellipsis button (icon with three dots).
   
6. Select Redact file (wrench icon) from the drop-down menu.
   
7. Select a redaction option:
   
   • Filled Rectangle: Creates a filled block over a chosen section of text to redact.
     
   • Text Selection Redaction: Creates a redaction block over the highlighted text.
     
   • Redact Full Pages: Select page(s) to redact.
     
8. Click the blue Save button (disk icon) in the upper-right corner of the document.
   
9. Click the blue Save to Request button in the pop-up window to save the redacted document directly to the request.
   
   
   Note: The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

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Redact All Instances of a Searched Term in a Document

You can bulk-redact all instances of a particular word or phrase in a document.

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on All Requests in the upper-left-hand corner of the portal.
   
3. Select the request number in the Request column.
   
4. Select the Documents tab.
   
5. Place the cursor over the document and click the ellipsis button (icon with three dots).
   
   
6. On the drop-down menu, select Redact file (wrench).
   
7. Click the Search button in the upper-left corner of the document header, type the word or phrase that you want to redact, and hit Enter.
   
8. Click the Redact button under the number of search results.
   
9. Select the Redact All button.
   
10. Click the blue Save button in the upper-right corner of the document.
    
11. Click the blue Save to Request button in the pop-up window to save the redacted document directly to the request.
    
    
    Note: The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

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Redact All Instances of a Type of Information

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

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on All Requests in the upper-left-hand corner of the portal.
   
3. Select the request number in the Request column.
   
4. Select the Documents tab.
   
5. Place the cursor over the document and click the ellipsis button (icon with three dots).
   
   
6. Select Redact file (wrench icon) from the drop-down menu.
   
7. Click on the Search button (magnifying glass icon) in the document header.
   
8. Select the triangle icon on the left side of the Search Document field and choose the information types you want to search for.
   
9. Click the Search button (magnifying glass icon).
   
10. Click Redact button under the number of search results.
    
11. Select the Redact All button.
    
12. Choose a Redaction Reason from the Select a Redaction Reason drop-down menu.
    
13. Click the blue Save button (disk icon) in the upper-right corner of the document.
    
14. Click the blue Save to Request button on the pop-up window to save the redacted document directly to the request.
    
    
    Note: The redacted document will be saved under the same file name with the word 'redacted' added at the end.

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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.

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on All Requests in the upper-left corner of the portal.
   
3. Select the request number in the Request column.
   
4. Select the Documents tab.
   
5. Place the cursor over the document and click the ellipsis button (icon with three dots).
   
   
6. Select Redact file (wrench icon) from the drop-down menu.
   
7. Make any redactions that you need.
   
8. Click the Print button (printer icon) in the upper-right corner of the document.
   
9. Click the More Options button in the lower-left corner of the pop-up print window.
   
10. Select an option in the Redaction Reasons drop-down menu.
    
    • Do Not Print: Redaction reasons do not print.
    • After Each Page: Prints the redaction reasons after each page.
    • At End of Document: Prints the redaction reasons at the end of the document.
11. Click the blue Print button in the lower-right corner of the pop-up window.
    

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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 must reapply them to a new copy of the document. It is impossible to update the draft redactions in the document except by applying real redactions on top of them.

Instructions

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on All Requests in the upper-left corner of the portal.
   
3. Select the request number in the Request column.
   
4. Select the Documents tab.
   
5. Place the cursor over the document and click the ellipsis button (icon with three dots).
   
   
6. Select Redact file (wrench icon) from the drop-down menu.
   
7. Make any redactions that you need.
   
8. Click the Print button (printer icon) in the upper-right corner of the document.
   
9. Click More Options in the lower-left corner of the pop-up window.
   
10. Check the box for Review Redacted Text.
    
11. (Optional) In the Redaction Reasons drop-down menu, select either After Each Page or At End of Document.
    
    
    • After Each Page: Prints the redaction reasons after each page.
    • At End of Document: Prints the redaction reasons at the end of the document.
12. Click the blue Print button in the lower-right corner of the pop-up window.
    

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