Buzz
PDF files are widely used to showcase professionalism. As a result, hiding or deleting information or metadata from PDF files can be essential. You can effortlessly select and remove data entries from PDF files using Adobe Acrobat. Additionally, Adobe Acrobat's Redaction tool will assist you in this process. Deleted data is typically displayed in a black or colored frame. Hidden information, such as metadata—including author names, keywords, and copyright details—must be removed separately. Adobe Acrobat requires a monthly subscription: $12.99 USD (approximately 300,000 VND) for Adobe Acrobat Standard and $14.99 USD (approximately 350,000 VND) for Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Steps
Remove Individual Data Entries
Open Adobe Acrobat. This program features a triangle icon with circles at the corners on a dark red background. Click the icon to launch Adobe Acrobat. You can find Adobe Acrobat in the Start menu on Windows or the Applications folder in Mac's Finder.
Open the file. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat:
- Click File in the menu bar at the top right.
- Select Open from the dropdown menu under "File".
- Choose the PDF file you want to open and click Open.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the PDF file, select Open With..., and choose Adobe Acrobat.
Click on the information you want to remove. The screen will display editing options. You can select text fields, images, or other information.
Press Delete to remove the information.
- To delete specific text within a field, click to place the cursor, highlight the text, and press Delete or ← Backspace.
Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Save. This permanently removes the selected information from the document. The filename will be appended with "_Redacted".
- To avoid overwriting the original document, choose Save As and save the file to a different folder or with a new name.
Delete Pages
Open Adobe Acrobat. You may have saved the program on your desktop, but you might still need to search for it on your computer. The easiest way is to use the search bar. On Windows, the search bar is located at the bottom left; on Mac, it’s at the top right.
Open the file. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat:
- Click File in the menu bar at the top right.
- Select Open from the dropdown menu under "File".
- Choose the PDF file you want to open and click Open.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the PDF file, select Open With..., and choose Adobe Acrobat.
Click the Pages icon. This is the icon of two stacked pages displayed above the toolbar on the left side of the page.
Click on the pages you want to delete. You’ll see a list of pages displayed in the left column. Click on each page to select it. To select multiple pages, hold the Ctrl key and select all the pages you wish to delete.
Click the trash bin icon located above the page list column on the left side of the screen.
Click Ok in the displayed window. This confirms that you want to permanently delete the selected pages.
Click File in the menu at the top of the screen.
Click Save. This permanently removes the selected content from the document. The filename will be appended with "_Redacted".
- To avoid overwriting the original document, click Save As and save the file to a different folder or with a new name.
Content Redaction
Open Adobe Acrobat. You may have saved the program on your desktop, but you might still need to search for it on your computer. The easiest way is to use the search bar. On Windows, the search bar is located at the bottom left of the screen; on Mac, it’s at the top right.
Open the file. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat:
- Click File in the menu bar at the top right.
- Select Open from the dropdown menu under "File".
- Choose the PDF file you want to open and click Open.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the PDF file, select Open With..., and choose Adobe Acrobat.
Click Tools in the second menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Redact with the pink highlighter icon displayed under "Protect & Standardize" in the Tools menu.
Select the information you want to edit. This can be any part of the document, including images. Follow these steps to choose the content to edit:
- Double-click to select a word or image.
- Click and drag to select a line, paragraph, or any section of the document.
- To select multiple items, hold the Ctrl key while selecting additional content.
- If you want the redaction mark to appear on other pages—such as the same position at the top or bottom of each page—right-click and select “Repeat Mark Across Pages”.
Click Apply in the second toolbar displayed at the top of the screen.
Click Ok to confirm that you want to redact the selected content.
- If you want to remove hidden information from the document, click Yes in the dialog box.
Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Save. This permanently removes the selected information from the document. The filename will be appended with "_Redacted".
- To avoid overwriting the original document, choose Save As and save the file to a different folder or with a new name.
Content Redaction Using Search Tools
Open Adobe Acrobat. You may have saved the program on your desktop, but you might still need to search for it on your computer. The easiest way is to use the search bar. On Windows, the search bar is located at the bottom left of the screen; on Mac, it’s at the top right.
Open the file. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat:
- Click File in the menu bar at the top right.
- Select Open from the dropdown menu under "File".
- Choose the PDF file you want to open and click Open.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the PDF file, select Open With..., and choose Adobe Acrobat.
Click Tools in the second menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Redact with the pink highlighter icon displayed under "Protect & Standardize" in the Tools menu.
Click Mark for Redaction in the second menu bar.
Click Find text to open the menu bar that allows you to search for the text you want to edit.
Select "In the current document" or "All PDF Documents In". To search within the open document, click the circle next to "In the current document". To search across multiple PDF documents, click "All PDF Documents In" and use the selection box below to choose the folder containing the PDFs you want to redact.
Choose "Single word or phrase", "Multiple words or phrase", or "Patterns". Click the circle next to the search options and follow one of these steps:
- Single word or phrase: Enter the word or phrase in the search bar below the options.
- Multiple words or phrase: Click Select Words and enter the words or phrases you want to redact in the bar at the top of the menu. Click Add to include additional words or phrases. Select Ok when you’re done adding words and phrases to remove.
- Patterns: Use the selection box to choose a pattern. You can use patterns to remove phone numbers, credit card numbers, ID numbers, dates, or email addresses.
Click Search & Remove Text. This will search for matching results in the document.
Check the box next to all the results you want to redact. All search results will appear in the left-hand menu. Click the box next to each result you want to redact.
- You can also click Check All above the list to select everything.
Click Mark Checked Results for Redaction. This action marks all selected results for redaction.
Click Apply in the second toolbar displayed at the top of the screen.
Click Ok to confirm that you want to redact the selected information.
- If you want to remove hidden information from the document, click Yes in the dialog box.
Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Save. This permanently removes the selected information from the document. The filename will be appended with "_Redacted".
- To avoid overwriting the original document, choose Save As and save the file to a different folder or with a new name.
Remove Hidden Information
Open Adobe Acrobat. You may have saved the program on your desktop, but you might still need to search for it on your computer. The easiest way is to use the search bar. On Windows, the search bar is located at the bottom left of the screen; on Mac, it’s at the top right.
Open the file. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat:
- Click File in the menu bar at the top right.
- Select Open from the dropdown menu under "File".
- Choose the PDF file you want to open and click Open.
- Alternatively, you can right-click the PDF file, select Open With..., and choose Adobe Acrobat.
Click Tools in the second menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Redact with the pink highlighter icon displayed under "Protect & Standardize" in the Tools menu.
Select Remove Hidden Information in the second toolbar under the "Hidden Information" section.
Select all the information you want to remove. The information displayed here includes metadata, comments, or file attachments. Check the boxes next to the items you want to delete in the left-hand menu.
- By clicking the + next to each main and sub-item in this dialog box, you can see which items will be removed. Marked items will be deleted after completing the steps in this method.
Click Remove displayed above the list of information you can mark on the left side of the screen.
Click Ok in the dialog box that appears when you click "Remove".
Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click Save. This permanently removes the selected information from the document. The filename will be appended with "_Redacted".
- To avoid overwriting the original document, choose Save As and save the file to a different folder or with a new name.
Warning
- Redaction permanently deletes information; therefore, if you want to review the content, save the document as a new file with a different name.
What You Need
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
