Text selection redaction lets you click and drag over specific words, sentences, or paragraphs in the document viewer to mark them for redaction. Your selection appears as a pending highlight that you review before permanently applying it.
Opening a PDF file for text redaction
To start redacting, open the file in the PDF viewer by clicking on it in the document browser. You can also select Prepare for Redaction from the file menu to jump straight into redaction mode. If the file isn't a PDF, Hintyr converts it automatically before opening.
Enabling redaction mode
With the file open, toggle the redaction tool in the toolbar. When redaction mode is active, the toolbar shows you're in redaction mode and the cursor switches to text selection by default. Click and drag over any text to mark it for redaction.
Selecting text to redact in a PDF
Click at the start of the text you want to redact and drag to the end. A colored overlay immediately highlights the selection as a pending redaction. Select as little as one word or as much as several paragraphs in a single drag. Each selection creates its own pending redaction annotation.
Make multiple selections across different parts of the document before applying any of them. All pending redactions appear in the annotation sidebar on the right, showing each one with its page number and a snippet of the selected text.
Reviewing and adjusting pending redactions
Before applying, undo your most recent selection with Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac). Redo with Ctrl+Shift+Z (or Cmd+Shift+Z on Mac). You can also remove individual pending redactions from the annotation sidebar by clicking the remove button next to each one.
Scroll through the document and verify each pending redaction before proceeding. The annotation sidebar summarizes every pending redaction across the entire document, so you can audit your selections without scrolling page by page.
Applying text redactions permanently
When you're satisfied with your selections, click Apply to permanently redact all pending annotations. A confirmation dialog asks you to verify before proceeding, since this permanently removes the selected content. After applying, redacted areas appear as solid black boxes.
To restore the document after applying redactions, see the reverting redactions guide. You can combine text selection with other methods like box drawing on the same document before applying.