Enabling users to redact portions of a document

• US 7,536,635 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2005
• Issued: 05/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Turner, Douglas J., Racovolis, Dean Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hillery; Nathan
• Application Number:
  US11/114,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 715/511, 715/531, 715/530, 715/539, 715/540, 713/167, 707/203
• US Class Current: 715/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

Systems and methods for redacting portions of a document resulting in one or more versions of the document that show to readers the portions of the document that have been redacted. At least one of these one or more versions may have the content of the redacted portions encrypted and/or actually removed and replaced with a sort of filler (e.g., to resemble a blacked out portion of a paper copy). At least one other version may show to users the actual content that has been redacted. This latter version may be retained for users privy to the content (i.e., information) of the redacted portions, so that they know what content was redacted, whereas versions with the content removed or encrypted may be provided to those not privy to the content.

Claims

1. A system for redacting one or more portions of a document, the system comprising:

at least one computer processor programmed to implement;

a user interface enabling a user to select, from a first version of the document, a portion of the document, and to specify to redact the selected portion from the document;

a redaction controller to control, in response to the user specifying to redact the selected portions a modifying of the selected portion in a plurality of versions of the document, wherein at least one of the plurality of versions is the first version;

a save controller to save the first version of the document with the selected portion of the first version of the document being redacted; and

an access rights controller enabling a user to specify a first group of one or more users with access rights to view content of the selected portion and a second group of one or more users without access rights to view content of the selected portion, so that, for each user in the second group, when at least one of the one or more versions is displayed, content of the selected portion in the at least one version is not visible to the user and is shown as being redacted;

wherein the user interface is operative to enable the user to select, from the first version of the document, a plurality of redacted portions of the document, and to specify that the plurality of redacted portions be combined to form a single redacted portion, and

wherein the redaction controller is operative to combine the redacted portions in each of the plurality of versions to product a single redacted portion in each version.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the redaction controller is operative to control, in response to the user specifying to redact the selected portion, a modifying of the selected portion in another version of the plurality of versions of the document so that, for each user in the second group, when the other version of the document is displayed, content of the selected portion in the other version is visible to the user and is shown as being redacted.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the redaction controller is operative to control encrypting the selected portion in the plurality of versions of the document.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the redaction controller is operative to control removing the selected portion from the plurality of versions of the document and replacing the selected portion in the plurality of versions with filler.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface enables the user to specify to redact all occurrences of particular content in the document,

wherein the redaction controller is operative, in response to the user specifying to redact all occurrences of the particular content, to modify each portion of the plurality of versions of the document corresponding to the particular content so that, for each user in the second group, when the one of the plurality of versions of the document is displayed, content of each selected portion of the one the plurality of versions is not visible to the user and is shown as being redacted.

6. A computer program product comprising:

a computer storage medium; and

computer-readable signals, stored on the computer storage medium, that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, control the computer to perform a process of redacting one or more portions of a document, the process comprising acts of;

(A) enabling a user to select, from a first version of the document, a portion of the document, and to specify to redact the selected portion from the document;

(B) in response to the user specifying to redact the selected portion, modifying the selected portion in a plurality of versions of the document, wherein at least one of the a plurality of versions is the first version;

(C) saving the first version of the document with the selected portion of the first version of the document being redacted;

(D) enabling a user to specify a first group of one or more users with access rights to view content of the selected portion and a second group of one or more users without access rights to view content of the selected portion, so that, for each user in the second group, when at least one of the one or more versions of the document is displayed, content of the selected portion in the at least one version is not visible to the user and is shown as being redacted;

(E) enabling the user to select, from the first version of the document, a plurality of redacted portions of the document, and to specify that the plurality of redacted portions be combined to form a single redacted portion, and

(F) in response to the user specifying that be plurality of redacted portions be combined, combining the redacted portions in each of the one or more versions to produce a single redacted portion in each version.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, the process further comprising:

(E) in response to the user specifying to redact the selected portion, modifying the selected portion in another version of the plurality of versions of the document so that, for each of one or more users, when the other version of the document is displayed, content of the selected portion in the other version is visible to the user and is shown as being redacted.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the Act (B) comprises encrypting the selected portion in the plurality of versions of the document.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the Act (B) comprises removing the content of the selected portion from the plurality of versions of the document.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the user is enabled to specify to redact all occurrences of particular content in the document,

wherein the selected portion is selected as part of the user specifying to redact all occurrences of the particular content, and

wherein the act (B) comprises modifying each portion of the plurality of versions of the document corresponding to the particular content, including the selected portion, so that, for each user in the second group, when plurality of versions of the document is displayed, content of each selected portion of the plurality of versions is not visible to the user and is shown as being redacted.

11. A method of redacting one or more portions of a document, the method comprising computer-implemented acts of:

(A) selecting, from a first version of the document, a portion of the document; and

(B) specifying to redact the selected portion from the document, in response to which, in a plurality of versions of the document, the selected portion is modified, wherein at least one of the plurality of versions is the first version;

(C) specifying to save the first version of the document with the selected portion of the first version of the document being redacted;

(D) specifying a first group of one or more users with access rights to view content of the selected portion and a second group of one or more users without access rights to view content of the selected portion, such that, for each user in the second group, when at least one of the one or more versions of the document is displayed, content of the selected portion in the at least one version is not visible to the user and shown as being redacted;

(E) selecting, from the first version of the document, a plurality of redacted portions of the document; and

(F) specifying that the plurality of redacted portions be combined to form a single redacted portion, in response to which the redacted portions in each of the plurality of versions are combined to produce a single redacted portion in each version.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the Act (B) comprises encrypting the selected portion in the plurality of versions of the document.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the Act (B) comprises removing the content of the selected portion from the plurality of versions of the document.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the user is enabled to specify to redact all occurrences of particular content in the document,

wherein the selected portion is selected as part of the user specifying to redact all occurrences of the particular content, and

wherein the act (B) comprises modifying each portion in the plurality of versions of the document corresponding to the particular content, including the selected portion, so that for each user in the second group, when the plurality of versions of the document is displayed, content of each selected portion in the plurality of versions is not visible to the user and is shown as being redacted.