How to Redact PDFs by Line, Paragraph, or Pattern
The Problem
Most PDF libraries see documents as glyph soup - individual characters positioned at x,y coordinates. Finding "the line that starts with SSN:" means reconstructing text from scattered glyphs, guessing word boundaries, and hoping the layout algorithm got it right.
That's why redaction is so hard. You can't select what you can't find.
Structured Document Model
- PDFDancer parses PDFs into words, lines, and paragraphs - not character coordinates
- Select content the way you think about it: "the line starting with SSN:" or "all lines matching this pattern"
- True redaction - content is permanently removed from the PDF, not just covered with a black box
Source PDF
API Calls
Full Code
Works instantly in guest mode - no API key required.
Why It Works
- Findable content: Select by line, paragraph, or regex - work with the document, not the PDF
- Permanent removal: Content is deleted from the PDF, not covered with a black box
- Batch processing: Apply the same selection logic across thousands of documents
- Compliance-ready: HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS - audit-safe output