Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

i need help redacting in a pdf.

One can download and Install a PDF import extension for OpenOffice
https://extensions.openoffice.org/en/pr ... openoffice

This will open a PDF file in OpenOffice Draw, and allow minor edits to be made. Use it on a copy of your PDF file; it may or may not suit your purpose. If you wish to reformat a PDF (a major task) this is definitely not the application to use.

Generally speaking, you can not redact PDF. PDF is a virtual print out. Any software that is able to send data to a paper printer can also print to PDF.
You redact the original document with whatever application that was used to print out the document as PDF.
There is some rather sophisticated and expensive Adobe software to redact PDF.
The PDF extension mentioned by Rory may be good enough to fix typos or change some figures when the original document is lost.
Various PDF viewers that exist on all platforms including smart phones can add comments analog to sticky notes and they can fill out forms that are attached to some PDFs.

I'm having trouble redacting a pdf file. I have the extension but I can't find the file when I try to use the extension it will not let pull up the file anywhere. I try to copy and paste it to a place that I can pull it up but it will not let me paste a new file there. Then its like on the extension it says add what is there to add the file maybe. But the extension is allergic to pdfs.

OpenOffice is not the proper tool for PDF.
If you have the source file, then export as PDF when needed. If you need to work with PDF, then buy an Adobe product. There are few applications that can handle PDF but it is NOT a format intended to be edited at all.

See [Tutorial] How do I view or edit a PDF file with OpenOffice?

Please add [Solved] at the beginning of the title in your first post (top of the topic) with the *EDIT button if your issue has been fixed.

Your best bet is using a printer and xerox. Print the PDF out, and then either use black marker or a WhiteOut tape roller.
Xerox the now-redacted copy, and then scan the xerox as a document, then then go to File -> Export As -> Export As PDF.
But this is old school. So I'm gonna try if I can do it within OpenOffice itself.

Tested it out. Alternatively, change the Font Color from automatic to black, then Character Highlighting Color as black. Then export as PDF, as before. It was successfully redacted, and I could not read it on the PDF. To unredact on the Open Office copy, simply change it the text color back to Automatic (you can then unhighlight it by selecting Character Highlighting Color as No Fill). One note: you will not be able to redact Heading 1 through Heading 9 because the contents menu will show what it actually says. But Body Text or other regular text will not be visible on the PDF.

Also, the people above me apparently don't understand that you can export as PDF.

There's free tool named xournalpp (https://github.com/xournalpp/xournalpp)
It is able to save “hand style” notes over .pdf background. It can also integrate them with original contents.
It is designed for making editor notes over a document. Serious modifications of the contens are very limited, since pdf is not good working format for documents.

However, when I browse their site, I am afraid they do not provide ready to use Windows installer. There are gudelines for self made compilation. I use xournalpp with linux, as provided by the system distributor.

Xerox the now-redacted copy, and then scan the xerox as a document,

You work for the Department of Redundancy Department? Seems like a totally unnecessary step.

Jan_J wrote: ↑Mon Nov 03, 2025 9:01 am There's free tool named xournalpp (https://github.com/xournalpp/xournalpp)
(...)
However, when I browse their site, I am afraid they do not provide ready to use Windows installer. There are gudelines for self made compilation. I use xournalpp with linux, as provided by the system distributor.

FTR:
Portable version and installer are available for older version i.e. Xournal++ 1.2.7.

And yet the said website provides both the portable version 1.2.8 and the installer for Windows (AMD64, ARM64).
It seems I was struck blind yesterday. My bad!