Document Redaction

Before you share documents with the public, you may need to hide private or sensitive information. This process is called redacting. You can redact any document uploaded to NextRequest. Only the redacted copy will be sent to the requester.

Create a Custom Redaction Reason

NextRequest comes with built-in redaction reasons, including "Customer Privilege" and "Privacy Information." You can also add your custom redaction reasons in the Admin panel. These custom reasons can be used in documents. You can edit or deactivate them at any time. If a reason is deactivated, it won't show in the list while redacting, but you can turn it back on later.

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 and click Redaction Reasons
   
   
   
3. Click the blue Create Redaction Reason button above the list of redaction reasons.
   
   
   
4. Add 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.
   
   
5. 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.
   
   
6. Click the blue Save button below the Description text field. 
   

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Redact a Single Section of a Document

To redact a document, you need to go through it and choose what to hide. You can select specific words, sections, or full pages that should not be seen by the public.

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:
   
   • Redaction Block (Box icon): Drag a redaction block/rectangle over the part of the page you want to redact
     • Click this box icon once (fills in dark gray) to apply this redaction type once
     • Click this box icon twice (fills in white) to continually apply this redaction type
       
       
       
   • Text Selection Redaction (Pen icon): Select text to redact
     
     
     
   • Redact Full Pages (Paper icon): Select to redact an entire page.
     
     
     
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. Then 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, US Phone Number, Email, US 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 the 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. It also lists the number of times it occurs on each page and the full redaction description.

You can 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 want someone to review your redactions before they are final, you can save them as a draft. In the draft, redacted areas will be greyed out so the text or image underneath is still visible. The redaction reason will not appear in the text, but it will show in the redaction log. Once the draft redactions are approved, you need to apply them again to a new copy of the document. Draft redactions cannot be changed unless you apply 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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