Adobe Acrobat 9 - Problem using the Redaction tool
Hi,
I am having a problem using the redaction tool in Adobe Acrobat 9.
I am redacting personal information from hundreds of searchable PDF files. At first everything is fine. I am able to click next to text such as a name or address and it will allow me to highlight letter by letter and number by number. However, it seems to randomly select a time to change the type of cursor I am using to this sort of bulls eye shape and then all I can do is drag a box over the document instead of selecting individual words or sentences.
This would not be so bad, as I can still drag a box over the words and then mark it for redaction, but many of the words, such as a person's name, are used multiple times throughout the document and I like to be able to copy the name directly from the document and paste it into the "Search and redact" dialogue to save me time.
I have even made a very short video of the kind of cursor that it turns into. It is located here http://www.screencast.com/t/d6QHh71q
Can anyone tell me how to toggle back and forth from the kind of cursor that allows me to select individual letters/words to the type of cursor that is shown in the video?
Thanks!
Steve
I am having a problem using the redaction tool in Adobe Acrobat 9.
I am redacting personal information from hundreds of searchable PDF files. At first everything is fine. I am able to click next to text such as a name or address and it will allow me to highlight letter by letter and number by number. However, it seems to randomly select a time to change the type of cursor I am using to this sort of bulls eye shape and then all I can do is drag a box over the document instead of selecting individual words or sentences.
This would not be so bad, as I can still drag a box over the words and then mark it for redaction, but many of the words, such as a person's name, are used multiple times throughout the document and I like to be able to copy the name directly from the document and paste it into the "Search and redact" dialogue to save me time.
I have even made a very short video of the kind of cursor that it turns into. It is located here http://www.screencast.com/t/d6QHh71q
Can anyone tell me how to toggle back and forth from the kind of cursor that allows me to select individual letters/words to the type of cursor that is shown in the video?
Thanks!
Steve
Last Comment
ASKER
Hi
It was scanned as a Searchable PDF prior to us trying to redact it. When we first start the redaction process we can highlight individual letters, wordds, etc and then at some unknown point the cusor just changes to another format as in the video.
Thanks!
Steve
It was scanned as a Searchable PDF prior to us trying to redact it. When we first start the redaction process we can highlight individual letters, wordds, etc and then at some unknown point the cusor just changes to another format as in the video.
Thanks!
Steve
The cross-hair cursor means acrobat thinks your mouse is over an image, not text. Again, run OCR, don't try to set the scanner to create a searchable pdf, unless you scanned directly in to Acrobat, that'd be a different story. Still, rerun OCR.
ASKER
HI Glen,
I really appreciate your help!
One other question I have though is why does it work fine for 5 or 10 pages and then all of the sudden turn into the cursor that type of cursor? Also, what is that type of cursor called so that I can intelligently refer to it. And, lastly, I am afraid if I run it through Adobe's OCR that it may jumble words up and change words to say things they were not meant to say just because the original document may not have been as clear as possible - for instance a fax of a fax of a fax might not work out too well in an OCR. Currently I am using a Kodak _1320 with Omnipage Professional 16 to give me the searchable PDF. It also offers an OCR version as well, but it often changes words to things they do not really say.
I really appreciate your help!
One other question I have though is why does it work fine for 5 or 10 pages and then all of the sudden turn into the cursor that type of cursor? Also, what is that type of cursor called so that I can intelligently refer to it. And, lastly, I am afraid if I run it through Adobe's OCR that it may jumble words up and change words to say things they were not meant to say just because the original document may not have been as clear as possible - for instance a fax of a fax of a fax might not work out too well in an OCR. Currently I am using a Kodak _1320 with Omnipage Professional 16 to give me the searchable PDF. It also offers an OCR version as well, but it often changes words to things they do not really say.
1) The crosshair cursor is (probably) called the snapshot tool, it thinks you want to copy the selected region to the clipboard.
2) To understand why some pages work but not all please upload the PDF so I might test it on my end
3) OCR is definitely not 100% accurate, maybe 98%, so I understand your concern. That said, scanning at 300 or 600 dpi is often better than 72 or 96 dpi; The workaround may be to place the PDF into an InDesign document and edit the OCR'd text there (you can also edit in Acrobat using the Advanced Editing Toolbar Text Touchup tool.
2) To understand why some pages work but not all please upload the PDF so I might test it on my end
3) OCR is definitely not 100% accurate, maybe 98%, so I understand your concern. That said, scanning at 300 or 600 dpi is often better than 72 or 96 dpi; The workaround may be to place the PDF into an InDesign document and edit the OCR'd text there (you can also edit in Acrobat using the Advanced Editing Toolbar Text Touchup tool.
ASKER
Hi Glenn
I have attached a sample of one of the PDF's I work with.
I am using Adobe 9 Pro Extended for the redaction
Is there no way to toggle between the snapshot tool and other tools?
Thanks for all yourhelp!!
Steve
Sample-PDF-for-Redaction.pdf
I have attached a sample of one of the PDF's I work with.
I am using Adobe 9 Pro Extended for the redaction
Is there no way to toggle between the snapshot tool and other tools?
Thanks for all yourhelp!!
Steve
Sample-PDF-for-Redaction.pdf
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ASKER
Hi Glenn,
Yes, it will work normally for a while but as you work it will spontaneously "Change Cursors" and then never change back.
Yes, it will work normally for a while but as you work it will spontaneously "Change Cursors" and then never change back.
It could be a lot of things but here's one to look at . . .
With Adobe programs, Acrobat included you can enable keyboard shortcuts; Maybe your keyboard is sending keystrokes to acrobat that it thinks you want to select a different tool. To ensure your keyboard shortcuts are turned off, select the Edit menu > Preferences command. In the General Category, uncheck Use Single-Key Accelerators to Access Tools
With Adobe programs, Acrobat included you can enable keyboard shortcuts; Maybe your keyboard is sending keystrokes to acrobat that it thinks you want to select a different tool. To ensure your keyboard shortcuts are turned off, select the Edit menu > Preferences command. In the General Category, uncheck Use Single-Key Accelerators to Access Tools
ASKER
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for the tip. I did go there like you said and it was already unchecked.
I really appreciate your help though!
Steve
Thanks for the tip. I did go there like you said and it was already unchecked.
I really appreciate your help though!
Steve
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and Web services developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF). The family comprises Acrobat Reader (formerly Adobe Reader), Acrobat (formerly Acrobat Exchange) and Acrobat.com. The commercial proprietary Acrobat, available for Microsoft Windows and OS X only, can also create, edit, convert, digitally sign, encrypt, export and publish PDF files.
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