Purpose of Redaction in PaperOffice
Redaction is used to share documents securely with external parties: with Claude, ChatGPT, an authority, a lawyer, or a business partner. PaperOffice remains the System of Record and keeps the original. A copy is always redacted.
How to Redact a Document with AI
- Select the document in the document overview.
- Click “Actions”, then “Share & export”, then “Redact and create download link”.
- Choose a scenario. The scenario determines what is redacted and what remains visible.
- The AI finds the relevant passages and redacts them automatically. You do not need to mark anything by hand.
- Check the preview. Each redaction shows its category and reason.
- You then receive a short download link to the redacted copy. Copy it and paste it wherever it is needed, for example into Claude or ChatGPT.
The download link is valid for ten minutes and for a maximum of five downloads. The redacted file is not stored in the Workspace.
Available Scenarios
Thirteen scenarios are available, including:
- Medical Records: maximum protection, including health data under Article 9 GDPR.
- GDPR request (Art. 15): third-party data is redacted, the data of the requesting person remains visible.
- External sharing: private data is redacted, business data remains visible.
- Anonymous application, Personnel File / HR, Redact financial data, Redact contact data, Court proceedings, Whistleblower (HinSchG), Public publication, Scientific research, Internal audit.
- Custom: you select the categories yourself.
For medical records, select the scenario “Medical Records”.
Many Documents at Once: the Redact Agent
For batches, create a Redact Agent under “Document AI”. There you choose the scenario, exceptions that are never redacted, and terms that are always redacted. Then select the documents and start “Actions”, “Agents & workflows”, “Redact”, and “Automatically with Redact Agent”. The redacted copies are created as new documents with the suffix “redacted” in the name. The originals remain unchanged.
Distinction: the Free Tool “PDF Redaction”
The website also offers a free browser tool called “PDF Redaction”. There you mark the areas yourself by hand, without AI and without a scenario. Redaction in PaperOffice with a scenario, by contrast, is AI-supported and works automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my original changed? No. Only a copy is redacted; the original remains in PaperOffice.
Do I have to mark the areas myself? No. The AI redacts according to the selected scenario. You can check the result in the preview.
What does it cost? Redaction is a paid feature. You can find the current prices in your PaperOffice account.