How to Search and Remove Text in PDFs

This article will tell you how to search & remove text in PDFs with Foxit PDF Editor (Pro Only).

You can find and remove content either in a single PDF file or in multiple PDF files under a specified folder that contain searchable text with the Search & Redact command.

1.        Select Protect > Mark for Redaction > Search and Redact. (Or click the Search or replace  icon in the upper right corner of the application window, and choose Search & Redact.) Then specify what you want to redact in the Search panel. Please do one of the following:

• ◇ To search and redact an exact word or phrase, select Match exact word or phrase. Then type the text you wish to find and redact into the search dialogue box.

• ◇ You can search and redact multiple words or phrases at the same time. Select Multiple words or phrase, and click Select Words…. In the pop-up dialog box, enter the word or phrase you want to search and redact, and click Add. Repeat until you add all the words/phrases you want to search for. Or you can click Import to import a text file with the list of words or phrases to search for. For the words you have added, click Export to export them to a text file.

• ◇ To search and redact a predefined redaction profile, select Redaction Profiles and then select an existing redaction profile you want to use.

• ◇  To search and redact patterns (such as phone numbers and credit card numbers), select Looks like search pattern. Then select the pattern you want to search from the Select your pattern drop-down list, and choose the specific country or region from the Country/Region drop-down list.

2.        Click Search.

3.        Check the results you want to redact, and choose Mark whole word(s) for redaction to mark all characters of the word(s) you search, or choose Mark partial word(s) for redaction to mark the specified characters of the word(s).

If you choose Mark partial word(s) for redaction, the Settings dialog box pops up and allows you to specify the characters you want to mark. To change your character settings, click the Settings button in the Search panel.

4.        Click the button Mark Checked Results for Redaction at the bottom of the search dialogue box.

5.        Click the Apply Redactions button. Or Choose Protect > Mark for Redaction > Apply Redactions.

Note: This operation cannot be undone and the selected content will be removed permanently when you select Apply Redactions. It is recommended that you save a backup copy of this document before you apply the redaction.