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How to Configure PDF Redaction Category Options
Who is this article for?
Please Review administrators configuring PDF redaction categories.
IT access will be required to implement these changes.
Please Review's PDF redaction categories provide a structured and organised way to categorise and manage sensitive information within documents, making it easier to identify and selectively redact confidential content. These categories enable users to maintain data privacy and compliance by systematically addressing data protection requirements during the review and approval process, ensuring that sensitive information remains hidden when documents are shared or published.
Important: From version 8.4 onwards, Please Review no longer supports Documentum D2 or CARA.
Configuring PDF Redaction Categorisation Options
You now can configure how redactions appear when downloading a PDF with comments.
Note: These categorisation options only take effect when 'Export redactions as PDF redaction marks' is selected in the 'select comments' dialog before downloading. If you leave the box unchecked to download 'burnt' redactions, these will always appear as opaque black boxes.
By default, the system has been set up with a template file which includes specific configurations for any redactions applied with the comment category of ‘EU70-PPD’ or ‘EU70-CCI’ (these are based on the redaction requirements of the European Medicines Agency policy seventy on the publication of clinical data for medicinal products for human use).
Enabling PDF Redaction Categorisation Using the Default Template
To enable this feature within a review, ensure you include ‘EU70-PPD’ and ‘EU70-CCI’ in the comment categories available for your reviews. Any open or accepted redactions with the above comment categories will use the template file to reflect their appearance in the document download.
Amending the ‘comment categories’ for a review can be carried out at a system level, workgroup level or using review types.
The default template has been based on the EU Policy 70 requirements for redaction, and redactions will appear as follows:
- Redaction with comment category ‘EU70-PPD’
- Redaction with comment category ‘EU70-CCI’
Enabling PDF Redaction Categorisation Using a Customised Template
The default template file is configurable, and all options available in Adobe Acrobat in relation to the appearance of redactions can be configured and applied on a comment category basis by amending the template file. Please see How to Review and Redact a PDF for more information.
Downloading a PDF with Comments (Redaction Categorisation)
When a participant downloads a PDF with comments, redactions will appear as follows:
Download with Comments (Default)
All redactions regardless of comment category will be applied using the default redaction style.
Download with Comments (Export Redactions as PDF Redaction Marks)
To download with comments (Export redactions as PDF redaction marks…) the participant selects to do so via the ‘select comments’ link before downloading the PDF with comments.
When using the Export redactions as PDF redaction marks, the appearance of redactions will be based on the comment category. If a comment category matches a comment category in the template file, then the appearance will match the configurations in the template file. Any redactions where the comment category is blank or does not match a comment category in the template file will appear using the default setting.
Note: when using the Export redactions as PDF redaction marks, the redactions are unapplied, so any content underneath is still visible, until the redactions are applied within Adobe Acrobat.