Top 9 benefits of Redaction in Word and its Best alternatives

Redaction is the process of removing confidential or sensitive information from a document before it is made public. Redaction in Word can be challenging, and mistakes can occur during the process.

There are ways you can perform redaction in Word.

Blacklining a document.

Removing words and phrases.

Redacting by creating an image.

In this post I will show you how to redact your pdf file in Word and a good alternative which you can use for your redaction needs. But first, you should understand why you should use Redaction in Word, especially with legal documents. What are the potential benefits?

There are numerous advantages to redacting information in Word documents.

9 benefits why you should use redaction in word

Protect the privacy of individuals and organizations

Do you have sensitive information that even your employees should not be privy to? Then you must use the Word redaction. Redaction in Word safeguards your privacy and the privacy of your company.

Prevent identity theft

Removing or hiding confidential text makes it hard for criminals to access it. Criminals can steal your private information. They can later use it to blackmail you, destroy your reputation, or do illegal things. You, thus, need to use Redaction in Word to prevent possible fraud and other crimes.

Make it difficult to forge redacted documents

Redaction makes it difficult for others to forge your documents. People may wish to falsify your documents. This puts your original document at risk. One can produce a similar copy and use it to contradict your original document.

Protects trade secrets

Using redaction in words protects your company's confidential information. Redacting allows you to conceal sensitive information about your company that you do not want others to see. You can share your documents without worrying about revealing your trade secrets.

Increases document safety

Redacted documents are less likely to be used for malicious purposes. It makes the documents more secure and less likely to be leaked.

Improve the clarity of a document

Documents that have been redacted are simple to read. Redacting documents entails removing and shrinking your original documents. The redacted document becomes easier to read and understand.

Less document misunderstanding or confusion

A long document with many pages is more likely to contain errors. Document errors can lead to document misunderstanding and confusion. However, this will not be the case if you use the Word redaction. Redacted documents are less likely to cause such misunderstanding and confusion.

Redacted documents are more professional and presentable

Redacting a document entails removing words and phrases no longer relevant to the document. Redaction in Word can be done also in legal documents.You will need to redact documents if you work in a professional field such as law, real estate, hospitals, or even government. If you didn't know, redacting a document helps to present a professional and presentable document.

Ensure compliance with laws and regulations

Document redaction ensures that you comply with the law. However, you should exercise caution when selecting redaction software. The redaction software should meet HIPAA, GDPR, and other regulations. With such a tool, you will completely comply with all laws and regulations.

Now I have given you enough reasons to redact your document. Having the benefits, let's get to know how you'll perform redaction in Word.

How to redact a Word document

Redacting a word document necessitates expert assistance, which can be beneficial. Redacting a Word document aids in the concealment of text or images. The practice makes it impossible for third parties to see the redacted text.

They cannot discover your hidden text, no matter their software or techniques. Let's go over how to redact in a Word document.

Redact your text in no time

Before using your Microsoft Word to redact your document, ensure you have installed Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016.

Open up your Microsoft Word and open the document you want to redact.

On your dashboard, on the left hand, select the category written "info".
This opens up a tab with "Protect Document", "Inspect Document", and "Manage Document" sections.
Click on "Inspect Document", which will open a new dialogue with "Check Accessibility" and "Check Compatibility". Select the "check" that you wish to inspect.
Another window opens up. Here you can select hiding personal information, comments, revisions, versions, etc.
Next, click the Inspect document. Once the inspection is complete, click Remove All to remove all your selected text or elements from your document.

Remember that redacting Microsoft Word documents is permanent and cannot be reversed. As a result, it is best to make a copy of your original document before redaction.

This is method one. You can also remove text from your pdf documents manually.

How to Remove text manually

To redact text, manually click "Ctrl+H" on your device to open up the "Find and Replace" dialogue. You will find fields such as "Find What" and Replace With".
Insert the Word or phrases you want to redact in the "Find What" field. Insert the words you want to replace with on the "Replace With" field.
Now click "Replace All". Finally, confirm if your original words are replaced.

Using images on your text

You can save your text or phrase as images. This is best used when you want to redact a significant amount of data in your Word document. No one will be able to edit your pdf document. They will only be able to view it. How do you do this?

Open the Microsoft Word document that you want to redact.
Select your text to be redacted.
Having highlighted your text, click the arrow beside the "Highlight" icon. You will see a dialogue with many color options.
Choose the black color. The action will make the text invisible, especially with the black.

Save your file as a PDF by clicking on "File". Choose "Save As" and select "PDF".
Finally, click save to create a new document from the original one.

After that, you should convert your PDF Word file to an image. You will require an additional tool, such as HiPDF. The tool will complete your process quickly and efficiently. You can also do this online without downloading the application. The process will convert your PDF file to an image that no one can view.

It's useful to know how to perform redaction in Word to redact sensitive information. However, I assure you there is a better or more secure redaction method for your pdf documents. The method described below is the most secure way to redact your pdf files. You will be less concerned about sensitive information leaking to the public.

The most secure way to redact a Word document

Using ineffective redaction methods can result in the leakage of sensitive information. To allay your fears, the use of data redaction software is the best and most secure way to redact pdf files. Why?

Saves you time and money.

Reduces your storage space from which unredacted data is stored.

Can be used to redact content on a larger data set.

Improves the quality of your data.

Improves your data security.

Keeps you in compliance with HIPAA and GDPR.

It's efficient and effective.

Best for PDF Redaction

Getting a perfect data redaction tool can be daunting and is quite a hassle. When choosing a data redaction tool, check on the features, effectiveness, and efficiency of the tool.

A good redaction tool should be;

Straightforward.

Able to redact images and text.

Offers flexible redaction options.

Compatible with all types of files.

Easy import and export document upload.

Secure.

Affordable.

If you want to know a tool with the features above, it's Redactable data redaction software.

What is Redactable?

We at Redactable have made redaction of documents an easy process.
‍You can redact in four easy steps which are:

Upload a document on the platform.
Use Redaction wizard to find information.
Select and redact text.
Download and use.

‍

Our integrated Auto-Redaction Technology backed by years of research in both Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) fields makes the redaction process easy on large pieces of text information.

Why NLP?

Promotes better analysis.

Offers streamlined processes.

Improves your user experience with our tool.

Allows you to perform higher-level tasks.

Increases our software efficiency. This means efficient services leading to increased productivity.

Improves how fast we respond to your questions and concerns. The reason behind the magnificent customer care support.

Why OCR?

We have integrated our software with OCR to increase your experience with Redactable.

High productivity.

Lowers cost of reduction.

Increased storage space.

Promotes a high level of accuracy.

Promotes extensive software security.

Improves your customer service experience.

Makes the document editable.

Eases your document search.

Helps when disaster hits.

Other features that will make your life easy…..

One-click redaction. Our software tool redacts your text in seconds. Takes an average of 2.5 minutes to redact a 10-page document.

Easy to use. You don't need to be a techie to use the software.

Automatic generated redaction certificates.

Have all your documents on the cloud. Get access to your redacted document anywhere and at any time.

Permanently redact your confidential data using Redactable.

Easy export and import of your document upload from our native integrations. You can upload your documents directly to Redactable from Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, and Dropbox.