Spreadsheet Redaction - Workflow Guide

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This article covers the workflow in three ways: a quick visual guide, a video walkthrough, and a comprehensive step-by-step breakdown.

This workflow walks you through redacting spreadsheet data using Blackout, Reveal's built-in redaction tool

What You'll Need

Before you begin, confirm that you have:

  • Redaction privileges granted by your project administrator

  • Team access to view redacted documents

Quick Visual Guide

Steps to apply redactions in a spreadsheet using Reveal's tools and features.

Video Walkthrough

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Step

Description of Step

Link to Useful Articles

  1. Open the Spreadsheet Viewer

Open the spreadsheet document and ensure it is displayed in Reveal’s native spreadsheet viewer. The spreadsheet viewer enables the Blackout redaction tools designed specifically for spreadsheet data. If the spreadsheet viewer icon is not available, it means the spreadsheet view index must be run before redactions can be applied.

Apply Redactions
Blackout: Redacting in Spreadsheet Viewer

  1. Apply Spreadsheet Redactions

Use the Blackout redaction tools to apply redactions directly to spreadsheet cells. Redactions can be applied to individual cells, selected ranges, entire rows, or entire columns. Embedded images can also be temporarily hidden to allow redactions to be applied to the underlying data.

Apply Redactions
Blackout: Redacting in Spreadsheet Viewer

  1. Create Partial Cell Redactions

When only part of a cell’s contents needs to be redacted, open the cell editor to apply a partial redaction. This allows reviewers to highlight and redact specific text within the cell rather than redacting the entire cell. Partial redactions are indicated with a perforated border around the cell.

Apply Redactions
Blackout: Redacting in Spreadsheet Viewer

  1. Review and Manage Redactions

Use the Document Explorer to review, organize, and manage all redactions applied to the spreadsheet. Redactions can be filtered by label, profile, user, or sheet location. From this panel, reviewers can navigate to redaction locations, search for terms to redact, and modify or delete existing redactions.

Manage Redactions

Apply Redactions
Blackout: Redacting in Spreadsheet Viewer

  1. Preview and Save Redactions

Before finalizing the document, preview the redactions to confirm how they will appear in production. The preview mode displays the redacted document exactly as it will be produced for the receiving party. Once verified, save the redactions or navigate to the next document to continue the review workflow.

Manage Redactions

Apply Redactions
Blackout: Redacting in Spreadsheet Viewer

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