A careful path
from open to export.

01 / Workflow

Using the app

1. Open your PDFs

   Add files with the file picker or drop area. Open multiple PDFs and review candidates for free. Free export: 1 PDF, up to 10 pages. Remove extra files before export or activate a license. An active license removes those batch and page limits; your device’s memory still limits practical document size.

   Password-protected or unreadable files cannot be processed. Remove the password with a trusted local tool, then add the PDF again.

2. Add words and choose rules

   Enter one word or phrase per line and choose Apply word list. Use at least two characters per entry. Matching ignores case and repeated spaces, including line breaks, and uses word boundaries. Names, addresses, project names, and other free-form information need your word list or manual boxes.

   Choose the format rules below. Dates start switched off. The workspace shows Dates: off; choose it to return to the date setting. This rule matches all dates, not just dates of birth. You can collapse the file and rule settings without clearing your work. Select your output resolution, and choose Flatten all pages if you want every page rebuilt as an image.

3. Review each candidate

   Approve or reject every suggestion. The group buttons affect all files and pages with the same rule or exact word-list entry, including earlier decisions. Manual boxes are excluded. Read the scope and change counts; changes across files or changes to existing decisions require confirmation. Cancel leaves decisions unchanged. Check low-confidence suggestions as carefully as other matches. Use View document to read and scroll. Choose Draw redactions before dragging to add a manual box. Select a manual box and press Delete to remove it. Moving to another file or page returns to View document and cancels an unfinished drag.

   Use Next pending to find an undecided candidate, or Next page to check to find a flagged page. Inspect pages flagged for manual review and choose Mark as checked. A low-confidence text layer needs your eyes too. A checked mark records your action; it does not prove that everything sensitive has been found.

4. Export, then inspect

   Decide every candidate and check every flagged page before choosing Export ZIP. Approved regions are painted over and the affected pages are baked into images. Files that fail the residual check are excluded from the ZIP.

   Open the exported PDFs and review them visually before sharing. Keep your original files separately. Check the ZIP, PDF, and review-record file names for sensitive information.

Keyboard shortcuts

Open Keyboard shortcuts in the review area to turn Review keyboard shortcuts on or off for this tab. With focus inside that area, A approves one candidate, R rejects it (keeps the content), J/K move between candidates, and Delete removes a selected manual box. Inputs, dialogs, modifier keys, repeated keys, and export activity block these shortcuts. Adding a new box requires dragging.

02 / Suggestions, not decisions

Supported format rules

These rules target selected US and Canadian formats. They can miss content and produce false matches. All examples below are synthetic and illustrate shapes only.

Formatting and surrounding text matter. A checksum is only a numeric check, not evidence that a number belongs to a real account or person. Review all suggestions and look for omissions.

03 / What needs your eyes

Limits & manual review

Pages with redactions become images, so their text cannot be selected or searched. Pages with visible annotations or form fields are also baked into images; visible field values and comments may become part of the page image, so inspect and cover them where needed. Other pages can retain their text unless you choose to flatten all pages.

Names and other free-form information are not identified automatically: add them to your word list. Review every page and the exported document. The tool does not establish legal suitability for any particular document or use case.

04 / What you download

Your export bundle

<original-name>-redacted.pdf

A processed PDF for each file that passes the residual check. A numeric suffix avoids duplicate output names.

review-log.csv

Candidate decisions, page checks, masked text, and file-level residual results. See the column reference below.

review-summary.html

A printable summary of approved and rejected counts, checked pages, residual results, tool version, and export settings.

Read the last export, then inspect the files

Last export result lists included PDFs and output names, excluded files and their reason, baked page counts for successful files, processing time, and the settings used. A residual-check failure means that check ran and failed; an export failure means safe output could not be completed and no passing check is available. Failed PDFs are excluded, while the CSV and HTML records remain.

Changing files, rules, words, decisions, page checks, or output settings clears the displayed result. Export again for the current review state.

What the residual check tells you

The check examines extractable output text for approved source strings and unexpected matches from enabled rules and the word list. It also checks for remaining metadata, attachments, annotations, form fields, and document JavaScript. A failure excludes that PDF from the ZIP; the summary records the failure.

The check does not inspect image pixels. A passed result cannot tell you whether you missed sensitive content while reviewing. Inspect the exported PDF yourself.

File names can be sensitive. Original file names are included in the records and used for output names. Matched text is masked rather than recorded in full, but records still contain file names, positions, and decisions. Check before sharing any part of the bundle.

05 / The decision trail

Reading the CSV

Candidate rows record individual suggestions. A page_check row records a manually checked page. A file_check row provides a file-level result when there are no candidate or page-check rows. Fields that do not apply are blank.

06 / Local by design

Local & offline use

PDFs, word lists, and results stay in this browser tab’s memory. Closing or reloading the tab clears your working session; download what you need first. Only settings and license status are stored in your browser.

Load the app once and wait for “Ready to work offline.” Turn off Wi-Fi, then try a synthetic document. You can also open developer tools, select Network, clear existing requests, and watch as you process it. Initial app assets load from this site; document contents are not uploaded.

License activation sends your key and a fixed app instance name to Lemon Squeezy. Periodic rechecks send the key and instance ID. PDF contents, word lists, and outputs are not sent. A saved active license remains available offline. Purchasing is not open during this pre-launch stage.

07 / If something goes wrong

Help & problem reports

If a PDF cannot be read, check that it is a valid, unencrypted PDF. If export fails, keep the original, review the on-screen result, and try again. A file excluded after a residual failure should be investigated before use.

Support contact details will be published here at launch. To prepare a report, note your browser and version, operating system, the steps taken, and the exact error message. Reproduce the issue using a synthetic document only.