Acrobat -- Convert Comments To Redactions

Direct purchase using PayPal ($40 only per license)!
Update (26/04/2018): The demo version will now also convert Square comments, so you can redact non-textual objects as well.

Update (06/02/2014): A free DEMO version of this script is now available here. This version will convert the last 3 highlight comments in the file to Redactions, and then apply them.

One of the best features of Acrobat Pro is the Redaction tool. It provides the only safe way of removing information from a PDF file. However, this feature is unfortunately missing from Acrobat Standard.
But did you know that it's technically possible to create AND apply redactions in Acrobat Standard? There's just no direct access to this hidden feature through the application's menus. Until now, that is!

Using this new tool I've developed you can bring this feature into your Acrobat Standard and convert your regular comments into Redaction markups, and then apply them, all with a single click!
You can select between converting all the comments in the file, just the highlights, or just the currently selected ones.

So instead of spending a lot of money on an upgrade, make the most of the application you have and add this handy tool to it!

Let's have a look at an example (the screenshots below were taken in Acrobat Pro, but the same applies for Acrobat Standard). I've marked up the parts of this page I want to remove. Notice I created comments of various kinds: a square comment (in red at the top), some highlights (in yellow), and a strike-through (in red at the bottom).

(click to enlarge)

I selected to convert all the comments, and the results are:

(click to enlarge)

Now I've clicked on Yes, and the redaction markups are applied. The selected data and graphics are gone!

(click to enlarge)

IMPORTANT: Applying the redaction markups is NOT REVERSIBLE! The only way to get back the redacted information after doing so is to close the file without saving it.

ALSO IMPORTANT: This script is only compatible with Acrobat 9 or higher.


If you have any questions about this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Batch Redact Credit Card Numbers

Direct purchase using PayPal ($30 only)!
Works exactly like my Batch Redact Social Security Numbers script, only with Credit Card numbers.

The script will redact the following patterns:

• 999999999999
• 9999 9999 9999
• 9999-9999-9999 (or with any other punctuation marks)

If you have any questions regarding this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Batch Redact Social Security Numbers

Direct purchase using PayPal ($30 only per license)!

Note: I have also created a version of this tool for redacting Canadian Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), which can be purchased here, as well as a version that redacts British National Insurance Numbers (NI or NINO), which can be purchased here.
If your country uses a different format, contact me for a custom-made version. All the scripts cost the same, $30 only per license.

Social Security Numbers are sensitive information that should often be removed permanently from PDF files.
The only secure way of doing that is with the Redaction tool, which has an option for selecting SSN's. However, this option can't be used in a batch process, so if you want to apply this to multiple files you will need to do them one by one.

With this tool you can easily remove SSN's from multiple files with a single click, using a Batch Process (aka Action, in Acrobat X).
It offers a choice between just marking the suspected SSN's (to be reviewed manually and applied later) or marking AND deleting them at the same time.

As an extra bonus, it comes will a handy menu item to Search and Redact SSN's with a single click, not having to go through Acrobat's built-in menus, which can come in handy if you do it often.
You can use these menu items even in Acrobat Standard, where batch processing is not possible.

The script will redact the following patterns:

• 999999999
• 999 99 9999
• 999-99-9999 (or with any other punctuation marks)

A PDF with several SSN's in it (the text was taken from the Wikipedia page about Social Security Numbers).

The script can be run in a "Mark and Ask" mode, in which the user is prompted whether or not to apply the redactions.

The highlighted SSN's created by the script (in the manual mode):

The result of running the batch process in "Mark and Redact" option: The SSN's are permanently removed.

If you have any questions regarding this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Remove Everything Outside the Trim/Crop/Bleed/Art Box

Direct purchase using PayPal ($40 only)!
Updated: you can now choose to use the Trim Box, Crop Box, Art Box or Bleed Box.
With this script you can remove everything in your PDF outside of the Trim box with a single click. You then have a PDF that can be used online, or distributed to clients digitally. No need to create another version.

Before:

After:

For more information about this tool you can contact me directly.