Manually marking up documents
| Manual Excel Redaction | Document Preparation |
|---|---|
Document preparation
Before you begin
- Prior to review, we recommend executing the Unhide Excel Content mass action on the documents set for review.
- If skipped, Blackout will still prepare the Excel file when a reviewer places the first markup. The Unhide Excel Content button has been removed from the Document Viewer as this will now be an automatic action if the document is not prepared beforehand.
- Doing this will identify document preparation issues prior to review and avoid reviewers running into preparation errors while working with the file.
What to know
- When the first markup is placed on an Excel within the Relativity viewer, Blackout will automatically prepare the Excel file for markups if not completed prior to review.
- Document preparation is done behind the scenes and users no longer see or have to wait for the document preparation message.
- This is done so documents can be safely marked up to prevent historical information from being restored.
- Blackout waits to show the right click menu until after the document has been loaded and it is confirmed that the user should be able to use it on the document.
- Blackout waits to show the right click menu until after an Active Cell is Selected
| The document preparation step will: |
|---|
| Replace all calculated fields with their original calculated values |
| Replace all pivot tables with their original calculated values |
| Remove all change-history from documents |
| Unhide all hidden and very-hidden rows, columns, and sheets |
| Unmerge all merged cells |
| This step ensures that: |
|---|
| Data is not lost after content is removed from document |
| That all data is visible to reviewers |
| That content can’t be restored after markups are placed |
Redactions and highlights
What to know
- Enables users to markup documents directly without taking the file out of Relativity.
- Updates are performed live allowing quick review and markup of Excel documents.
- Maintains audits of all actions taken.
- Tracks the document markup status as markups are applied.
How to do it
- Navigate to the Excel document in the Relativity viewer.
- Switch the Native Markup Set to Primary or one that was created earlier.
- Select the cell, column, or row that will be marked up.
- Right-click to bring up the options menu.
- Hover over the Blackout menu.
- Hover over the Redact menu.
- Choose to place a Black, White, or Text redaction.
Repeat Last Action
- After a Redaction has been placed you may repeat the same redaction in a new cell by opening the right click menu again. You will see a new option appear that will have the name of the previous redaction placed. Clicking this option will place the same type of redaction you did previously in the new cell.
Note: You can also complete this action with a keyboard shortcut by pressing Ctrl+B
Document Status
- The document status will display in the bottom right corner of the viewer.
- When placing markups they are queued behind the scene. The user can continue working as Blackout saves the applied markups without interrupting the end user.
Document Status Descriptions
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
Applied  | |
Processing  | |
Failed  |
What else to consider
- If this is the first markup being placed on the document and the Unhide Excel Content mass operation or button has not been clicked, Blackout will automatically prepare the document.
CSV Redactions
As CSV files are text files, they are restricted to having only text redaction placed on them. CSVs can be included in spreadsheet projects either alone or alongside Excel files.
Support for manual text redaction but is limited to Relativity Server 2022. Prior to Relativity Server 2022, CSV files are not displayed in the viewer with table styling limiting the ability to identify where the user is clicking within the CSV. As a result, manual redaction is not available for Relativity 10.3 and Relativity Server 2021.
While manual redaction for CSV is not available on the viewer in Relativity 10.3 and Relativity Server 2021, you can redact CSV files using Blackout Spreadsheet Projects. CSV redactions will display in the Markup Review Pane when viewing redacted CSVs on the viewer in these versions and can be accepted and rejected.
In addition to project and manual support, we have also added CSV support for external redactions and propagation projects. All manual failure workflows behave identically to existing spreadsheet workflows for CSVs.
Handling CSV Delimiters and CSV Qualifiers
Blackout provides support for double quote and single quote qualifier characters.
The following delimiters are supported (presented in order of detection priority):
- Comma
- Tab
- Semicolon
- Colon
- Space
In the event none of the above delimiters are detected, Blackout treats the CSV as a single column CSV. Blackout will provide document warnings indicating which CSVs failed to match on a delimiter in order to assist with identifying which documents may require manual review.
Text redactions
What to know
Blackout provides two methods for placing text redactions:
- Replacing the entire cell content with different text
- Replacing just specific words inside a selected cell
- Depending on how the workspace has been configured, several different options may be available. The following items may differ:
- The case administrator sets the default text
- Additional options may be available in a dropdown defined by the case administrator
- If a user does not have permission to input custom text, only the default text and dropdown will be available
- After placing a text redaction, a placeholder will be displayed so the page does not refresh
- When the viewer is refreshed, the redaction will be displayed within the cell
- When inputting custom text, it is saved for each user individually so it can be used again
- When redacting multiple cells, an off-white highlight will be displayed in the corners of the selected area
- Specific cell content can also be redacted
Changing text redaction options
- Blackout administrators have access to the Blackout settings within the workspace.
- On the Blackout | Settings tab, additional terms that a reviewer can select from when placing a text redaction, and the default redaction text, can be defined.
How to do it
- Log into the workspace as a System Administrator or a user with access to the Blackout Settings tab.
- Navigate to Blackout > Settings.
- To change the default text for the workspace, update the Default Redaction Text field.
- The new default text will be saved automatically.
- This is represented by a small green checkbox
- To add new custom text that will display in the dropdown for reviewers, type in the new text and click 'Add'.
- To remove an option, click the red X.
What else to consider
- Custom options are a great way to ensure that users utilize the redaction text needed for a case without typing them in every time.
- Custom options can be combined with removing the Input Custom Redaction Text for a group. When doing so, the user will only be able to select the custom text options. This simplifies text redactions for end users.
Cell content redactions
What to know
Cell Content may alter the styling of the cell. Alterations are determined by multiple factors:
- Background colors, patterns and borders will be maintained
- Font, size, and font color will be maintained, however, only the very first font and color can be kept
- For example a cell has the first word as [Arial, Bold, 12px, and Red] and the second word as [Courier, Italic, 14px, and Blue], the [Arial, Bold, 12px, and Red] style will be kept for all text inside the cell
- Both styles can't currently be kept after modification so the first style is retained
How to redact cell content
- Select the cell with the content that will be redacted.
- Select the cell content option in the markup right-click menu.
- A text editor will be displayed for editing the content.
- Add the desired redaction text.
- Click Save.
- After placing a cell content redaction, a placeholder will be displayed so the page does not refresh
Note: The placeholder is added to increase performance and reduce the number of refreshes occuring during the redaction process as refreshing can cause increased resource usage.
Reverting markups
What to know
- Redacting documents with Blackout directly manipulates a copy of the original document and places those markups directly on the document.
- Reverting markups manually is a critical component of both reviewing markups made by automated projects and correcting mistakes made when redacting a document.
How to do it
- Select the cells that will be reverted.
- Right-click to open the Blackout menu and select Revert Markup.
- A message will be displayed that the markup is being reverted.
- After a brief delay, the document will reload and markups will be reverted to the original data.
Using the Blackout Markup Review Pane
What to know
- All options for redacting charts, comments, headers & footers, objects, and sheet names are now located within the Blackout Markup Review Pane, as shown below.
- The Blackout Markup Review Pane remembers the state the user was on and will automatically display if the user had the card open. For example, if a user is redacting comments and navigates to the next document, the Blackout Markup Review Pane will still be open to the comments menu.
- When using the Blackout Markup Review Pane to redact charts and objects, only the Black markup type is available.
Redacting charts
What to know
- There are two different ways to redact charts with Blackout:
- Replace the full chart with a black box redaction
- Redact the static text labels
How to do it
- In the lower left corner of the viewer, locate and open the Blackout Markup Review Pane using the
button. - Click the
button to open the sub-menu. - Click the Charts menu item.
- To redact full charts, click Redact.
- Clicking on the sheet name will navigate to the sheet where the chart resides
- To reduce the amount of reloading, the redaction won’t appear on the document right away
- Click Unredact to remove the full chart redaction.
- To redact chart labels, simply click the name of the chart and choose the values to redact.
Redacting Comments
What to know
- Comments can be redacted quickly across the entire document.
- Redactions placed on comments will display in the hidden items comment viewer after the document is reloaded.
- Comments can be redacted en-masse through the use of Spreadsheet Projects.
How to do it
- In the lower left corner of the viewer, locate and open the Blackout Markup Review Pane using the button.
- Click the button to open the sub-menu.
- Click the Comments menu item.
- Clicking on the cell location will navigate to the cell where the comment is located.
- Click the comment text to manipulate the text of the comment.
- Replace the sensitive information with the desired redaction text.
Threaded Comments
Blackout supports placing redactions on threaded comments. Please note that there are limitations listed below:
Spreadsheet Projects
- Threaded comments that are redacted via a rule do not also redact the author of the comment unless the matched text is the author's name.
- Document warnings are recorded when a rule matches a comment author's name. Blackout cannot redact the corresponding comment text.
- The "Replace comment text" setting will also replace the author of every comment with "Author Redacted."
Manual Redactions
- Any manual redaction will redact every comment in the thread with the redacted text specified by the reviewer.
- The author will always be replaced with "Author Redacted."
Note: Reject the markup entry from the Markup Review menu item to remove the redaction.
Redacting headers and footers
What to know
- Headers and footers are displayed in a single list including additional details like Sheet Name, Location, Original Text, and Redacted Text.
- Headers and footers can appear in 3 different locations:
1. The default header and footer
2. Even page headers and footers
3. Odd page headers and footer
- The only way to identify headers and footers within Relativity is with Blackout.
How to do it
- In the lower left corner of the viewer, locate and open the Blackout Markup Review Pane using the button.
- Click the button to open the sub-menu.
- Click the Headers and Footers menu item.
- Click Redact to redact a header or footer in the list.
- Add the desired redaction text in the text editor.
- The text on the document will be redacted, but will not be reflected in the viewer. To view the redaction, the marked up version of the document must be downloaded.
Note: Reject the markup entry from the Markup Review menu item to remove the redaction.
Redacting objects
What to know
- Excel documents may contain a variety of objects from embedded objects to WordArt. Some of the most common types of objects include:
- WordArt
- SmartArt
- Embedded documents (Email, PowerPoint), images, equations, text boxes, and shapes
- Objects that are redacted can only be redacted with the Black markup type
How to do it
- In the lower left corner of the viewer, locate and open the Blackout Markup Review Pane using the button.
- Click the button to open the sub-menu.
- Click the Objects menu item.
- Click on the sheet name to view the sheet where the object is located.
- Click Redact to redact any object in the list. Refresh the viewer to see the newly redacted object(s).
Redacting Sheet Names
What to know
Sheet names have the following restrictions:
- Two sheets may not have the same name
- The name may not exceed 31 characters
- The name may not have the special characters , /, *, ?, :, [, and ]
- The sheet name may not be word 'History'
- Blackout will prepend non-unique redactions with the sheet index (e.g. 2_Redacted).
How to do it
- In the lower left corner of the viewer, locate and open the Blackout Markup Review Pane using the button.
- Click the button to open the sub-menu.
- Click the Sheet Names menu item.
- Click Redact in the row of the sheet name to redact.
- Type in the desired redaction text.
- Click Redact Sheet Name to save. Refresh the viewer to see the newly redacted sheet name(s).
Note: Reject the markup entry from the Markup Review menu item to remove the redaction.
Audits
What to know
- Only certain manual markup actions are audited.
- Relativity does not have a concept of manual native markups; as such, these audits are created and stored in Blackout.
How to do it
- Log into Relativity as a system administrator or a user who has access to the Blackout Audits tab.
- Navigate to Blackout | Audits.
- To get a quick view, page through the results.
- To filter and search for specific results, click the Download Audit CSV button.