Aspose.PDF FOSS
TypeScript
Developer Guide
Redaction

Redaction

Redaction

This page covers permanently removing content from a PDF page. Aspose.PDF FOSS for TypeScript offers two redaction workflows: a two-phase mark-then-apply flow you review before committing, and a one-call immediate flow. Both are available on Page for a single page and on Document for the whole document.

Marking and Applying Redactions

Page.AddRedact() marks a rectangular region with a /Redact annotation — the content underneath is untouched and still copy-selectable. Nothing is actually removed until Page.ApplyRedactions() runs: it destructively rewrites the content stream for every /Redact mark on the page, paints each mark’s overlay (its /IC fill and /OverlayText), removes the marks, and returns the number of redactions applied. Marks added after ApplyRedactions() is called stay unapplied.

page.AddRedact({
  rect: [220, 550, 460, 566],
  fill: [0, 0, 0],
  overlayText: '[REDACTED]',
  align: 'center',
  fontSize: 9,
  textColor: [1, 1, 1],
});

const applied = page.ApplyRedactions();
console.log('Redactions applied:', applied);

Redacting Immediately

Page.Redact() and Page.RedactText() combine marking and applying into a single call: they truly remove covered text and images, prune resources the removal leaves orphaned, and paint an opaque marker box over each region — with no separate ApplyRedactions() step and nothing left to review first. Page.Redact() takes an explicit list of Rect regions; Page.RedactText() finds and redacts every occurrence of a search string or RegExp, the same way Page.SearchAnnotationText() searches. Both accept a RedactOptions object controlling the marker color, whether to scrubMetadata, and whether to keepAnnotations that overlap a redacted region.

Because they remove content immediately with no review step, prefer AddRedact() + ApplyRedactions() when a mark should be inspectable before it is committed, and Redact() / RedactText() when the regions or search terms are already known to be safe to remove.

Redacting a Whole Document

The same two workflows exist on Document, scoped to every page at once: Document.MarkRedactText() marks every occurrence of a search term across all pages, Document.ApplyRedactions() applies every mark in the document, and Document.Redact() / Document.RedactText() redact a single page’s regions or a document-wide search term immediately, mirroring their Page equivalents.

Tips and Best Practices

  • Use AddRedact() + ApplyRedactions() when a redaction should be reviewable before it takes effect; use Redact() / RedactText() when the regions are already confirmed safe to remove immediately.
  • Add every AddRedact() mark for a page before calling ApplyRedactions() — marks added afterward are not included in that call and stay unapplied.
  • Pass scrubMetadata: true in RedactOptions / ApplyRedactionsOptions when the redacted content might also be present in document metadata (/Info or XMP).
  • RedactText() and MarkRedactText() search with the same matching rules as SearchAnnotationText() / Search, so a search string that fails to match there will also fail to redact.

Common Issues

IssueCauseFix
Redaction mark has no effectPage.ApplyRedactions() was never calledCall Page.AddRedact() for every mark first, then Page.ApplyRedactions() once
Content still recoverable after a markThe mark used AddRedact() (mark-only) without a following ApplyRedactions() callCall ApplyRedactions(), or use Redact() / RedactText() for one-call removal
Redacted text reappears in extracted document metadatascrubMetadata was not setPass { scrubMetadata: true } in the options object
ApplyRedactions() returns 0No /Redact marks existed on the page when it was calledConfirm AddRedact() (or MarkRedactText()) ran first and targeted the same page

FAQ

What is the difference between AddRedact and Redact?

AddRedact() only marks a region — the content is still present and copy-selectable until ApplyRedactions() runs. Redact() removes the content in the same call, with no separate apply step.

Can I redact by searching for text instead of specifying coordinates?

Yes. RedactText() finds and immediately redacts every occurrence of a search string or RegExp; MarkRedactText() does the same but only marks the matches, leaving them for a later ApplyRedactions() call.

Does redaction work across the whole document, or only one page at a time?

Both. Page.Redact() / Page.ApplyRedactions() and their siblings operate on one page; Document.Redact() / Document.ApplyRedactions() and their siblings operate across every page.

Are annotations near a redacted region removed too?

Only if you let them be. Pass keepAnnotations: true in the options object to preserve annotations that overlap a redacted region instead of removing them along with it.

API Reference Summary

Class/MethodDescription
Page.AddRedact()Mark a rectangular region with a /Redact annotation, without removing content yet
Page.ApplyRedactions()Destructively remove every marked region on the page and return the count applied
Page.Redact()Immediately remove content in the given regions, with no separate apply step
Page.RedactText()Find and immediately redact every occurrence of a search string or RegExp
Page.MarkRedactText()Find and mark (without applying) every occurrence of a search string or RegExp
Document.ApplyRedactions()Apply every /Redact mark across the whole document
Document.Redact() / Document.RedactText()Immediately redact regions on one page, or a search term across every page
Document.MarkRedactText()Mark every occurrence of a search term across every page

See Also