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A Complete Step-by-Step Guide on How to Redact in Adobe

PDF file format has become the most widely used format to view and share documents. It is also commonly used to fill out forms, and contracts, or sign documents. However, there is sometimes a need to redact sensitive information in the PDF before sharing or publishing it with others. Since Adobe Acrobat is one of the most popular PDF tools, there is a common question: how to redact in Adobe? Therefore, this article provides a step-by-step guide you can follow to redact in Adobe. So, let's head right to it!

Part 1. How to Redact in Adobe – A Step-by-Step Approach

To redact a document, you need a redaction tool that can permanently remove the text/graphics from your PDF document. This is what you can do easily with Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat incorporates plenty of features to view, edit, convert, and do plenty of other activities with PDF. Therefore, it also supports redacting selected text/images in the PDF.

So, follow the below steps to learn how to redact in Adobe:

Step 1. Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro and open the PDF you want to redact.

Step 2. Click Tools > Redact.

how to redact in adobe redact icon

Step 3. From the drop-down list of "Mark for Redaction", click "Text & Images".

how to redact in adobe redact text and images

Step 4. Select the text/image you want to redact and choose "Apply". Before clicking the Apply button, if you want to customize the propertites of the redaction, such as fill color and opacity, etc. you can double-click on the box to edit. After that, you can apply the redaction and save the PDF.

how to redact in adobe apply button

This way, Adobe provides a complete solution for how do I redact in Adobe. Using the above steps, you can easily redact and sanitize a PDF in Adobe.

Although Adobe seems to offer a complete solution to redact documents, there are a few cons associated with Adobe.

First, its redaction feature is only accessible with a paid Acrobat Pro subscription, which is very costly. It costs US$29.99/month or US$239.88/year. Secondly, it involves more number of steps, which can be overwhelming for some users.

In contrast, UPDF is another PDF redaction tool that offers a cost-effective and more advanced redaction feature. With UPDF, you get all Adobe similar PDF redaction capabilities, but the interface is a lot more user-friendly and streamlined.

This way, you can have a more seamless experience and get more accurate redactions. The next part talks in detail about UPDF, so keep reading to learn about the more powerful alternative of Adobe to redact PDFs.

Part 2. UPDF: The Free and More Powerful Alternative Way to Redact PDF

When the PDF file contains dozens of pages and there are many text/images to redact, Adobe Acrobat will take more time and effort due to its less intuitive interface. This is where UPDF shines with its more advanced redaction approach.

UPDF is an AI-driven PDF editor tool that offers a free and powerful way to redact PDFs. Its redaction feature allows users to manually redact specific text/images anywhere in the PDF. Furthermore, its "Search & Redact" feature allows users to search for a specific text on a specific page or on multiple pages and redact it immediately across all the selected pages. This way, you get a more advanced, streamlined, and time-saving way to redact text on multiple pages.

Below are the key redaction features offered by UPDF:

  • It allows you to seamlessly apply redaction to text and images manually.
  • Its Search & Redact can automatically apply redaction to selected text in single or multiple pages.
  • It allows you to customize the properties of the redaction mark.
  • It requires zero learning curve to do redaction due to its click-based interface.

In short, UPDF is a modernized and more powerful way to redact PDFs. Therefore, download UPDF and experience its top-notch redaction feature yourself.

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Follow the below steps to redact with UPDF:

Step 1. Download and launch UPDF. Tap "Open file" to select and open the PDF you want to redact.

Step 2. Click the "Redact PDF" icon from the left sidebar to enter the redaction mode.

Step 3. Click "Mark for Redaction" from the top menu bar, select the text/image you want to redact, and click the "Apply redactions" button from the small pop-up window.

how to redact in adobe redact icon updf

Step 4. To apply redaction on multiple pages, click "Search & Redact" and choose "Redact Pages" or "Redact Text".

how to redact in adobe redact pages

Step 5. Type the text to redact and tick the checkboxes to select places where you want to redact that text. Once done, click "Mark".

how to redact in adobe search text

Step 6. To change the redaction property, click "Properties" from the top and make the changes.

how to redact in adobe properties

That's it! This way, UPDF offers an outclass experience in redacting text and images in PDFs without any hassle. So, think no more. Download UPDF and get the best PDF redaction tool at your disposal.

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Watch the guide video below to learn how to protect PDF from data Leak.

Part 3. FAQs about Redactions in Adobe

Q1. Are redactions in Adobe permanent?

Yes, redactions in Adobe are permanent once you have saved the document after applying the redaction. When you have applied the redaction but not saved the file, Adobe gives you the option to delete the redactions. However, once the file is saved, the redactions become permanent.

Q2. How do I permanently redact a PDF for free?

UPDF is a PDF redaction tool that offers a free way to permanently redact a PDF. All you have to do is open the PDF with UPDF, go into the redaction mode, redact text and images, and apply the redaction permanently.

Q3. How do I black out text in a PDF without redaction it?

You can black out text in a PDF without redaction by placing a black-filled rectangle over the text, as follows:

  1. Open the PDF in UPDF.
  2. Choose the "Comment" mode.
  3. Select "Rectangle" and place it over the text.
  4. Customize the fill color.

Note: There are some differences between blackout and redaction.

Conclusion

Redaction is essential to protect sensitive information before sharing the PDF with others. Besides that, it is also useful to make the other person focus on the relevant content and prevent distractions. Therefore, this guide thoroughly discusses how to redact in Adobe. However, if you want a more advanced, free, and quick experience, then UPDF is the ideal alternative to Adobe. With UPDF, you can easily and autonomously redact specific text on multiple pages without any complicated steps. Therefore, we will wrap up by recommending you download UPDF and fulfill your redaction needs effortlessly.

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