Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - Redaction tool not working

[joan_ie]

I continually have a problem with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC when I try to use the redaction tool. 

• I select the text I want to redact 
• I click 'Apply' 
• The pop-up which should appear (confirming redaction, etc.) appears as a blank box, and the entire programme basically freezes. I can do nothing else, except open my computer's Task Manager and click 'End Task' for Adobe Acrobat. 
  (See attached image.) 

This is a huge problem, since my role as an employee and my unit's function requires the ability to fully and securely redact on a daily basis.  

I am using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - Version 2021.005.20048 

Can anyone help? 

[Rock5FB2]

I also am having many problems with redaction. Many of the items I am trying to redact are not found. I try various subsets of the text string and sometimes they work and sometimes not. It would be far easier at this point to print, mark out with a market pen, and scan.

[Stacy22137019zc6v]

Any updates from Adobe?? I am having this issue as well and I have thousands of documents to redact and "sanitaize" by Friday. I can restart my computer which will make Adobe Pro redaction tool work for 1 to 10 documents before I get the blank screen. I am so frustrated. 

Adobe -Any updates here???????

[GEORGIOS22372996cfr3]

I tried the workaround but i couldn't save. When i tried below steps I managed to succesfully save the file.

"Go to Acrobat Reader Preferences > General. - Uncheck the box for "Show online storage when saving files"

Hope this helps.

[Sonuchisan]

One thing we ran into was various hang ups with a lot of the features in Adobe. We eventually stumbled multiple AcroCEF folders in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC" directory. Additionally, non-pro users had other issues like using "Fill& Sign" and had multiple AcroCEF files in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader". They would just be named AcroCEF_1, AcroCEF_2, and so forth. We deleted all the _# folders, relaunched reader and had the user attempt to redact. It worked for the Pro user AND all the Adobe Reader users who had problems and multiple AcroCEF folders.

Hope this helps!

[ChrisElectric]

This worked, just make sure to hit the folders for the products you use, Acrobat DC, Reader, etc.

[Scrambledeggs]

No, this didn't work for me.

[J22987479s4gk]

I am having exactly the same problem...I click apply, blank white box appears and everything freezes.  The only escape is Task Manager and 'End Task'.  I have used the redaction tool on a regular basis with no problem, but now I experience the same issue that other posts describe.  I have tried the suggested fixes with no success.  Adobe, please get your act together and fix all of these BUGS!

[Mary Erin240139733ncf]

I too had the same problem and have tried almost all the fixes here.  Nothing worked.  Then, after I ended the task from Task Manager, I hit "More Details" in the Task Manager and saw that Acrobat and its related programs were still running.  I ended them all and then relaunched Acrobat again.  I was able to redact!

[Zarko5E84]

I have the same problem for months now.

Acrobat Pro - Version 2022.001.20169 | 64-bit
Running on Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19044.2364]

[softwarel98104662]

For my company it's wasnt specifically related to just inserting .doc it was a little bit of everything. The blank white screen after authenticating, followed by the error that some features in adobe are unaviable, to redacting, to merging, to fill in sign. After working with Adobe the fix seemed way to simple but it did the trick for us! 

Adobe Support had me go to 
C:\Program Files\Adobe
Right Click Adobe DC
Click Properties
Click Security Tab
Click Advance
Remove both SID permission profiles starting with the letter "S" in our case it was 
S-1-15-3-1024-3635283841-2530182609-996808640-1887759898-3848208603-3313616867-983405619-2501854204
S-1-15-2-1980882837-3654086619-1222525990-3753702683-3075969641-4188866857-51130414

According to Adobe, these SID's are meant to be be removed after the install/update is completed. However for what ever reason for versions after the September release the SID's are remaining in the profiles and when launching Adobe it's defaulting to the Adobe SID's instead of the Entitled User. Adobe is working with Microsoft on this issue.

[jana_111]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!  This did the trick for me, too!  Also, I'm not great with troubleshooting and/or repair, but with your perfectly detailed instructions I did it myself & got it on the first try.  You just saved me hours of workaround.

[Expert Tuition]

One way I was able to solve this was to use the action wizard. I used the 'search and remove text'command, which lets you set phrases you want to remove followed by the 'apply redactions' command - this is where I was running into the bug previously, when trying to apply the redactions, however via this method I had no issues.

P.S. In my particular use case I had one repeated phrase I was trying to redact across multiple files. If your situation requires you to redact different phrases, it would require you to input them in the settings under the 'search and remove' command. 

[Ronna5C3F]

All this is just dandy, well and good, when one has time to play with workarounds.  I'm on a time-sensitive, 2-day deadline with 327 pages needing redacts and hundreds of other documents to collect, preview, edit, and, from and with them, write more than 40 court-required responses for, and haven't the time to figure out how to make a program do what the program -- I PAID for -- is supposed to do!  Please get me a fast, working answer ASAP! 

[Matthew29447798xgo7]

I've been stuck with this for weeks, the following solution has fixed the problem:

Navigate to Acrobat>Edit>Preferences>Security (Enhanced)>disable "Protected Mode at Startup", "Protected View" and "Enhanced Security">OK>close and reopen Acrobat.

Hope it's not too late for you.

[johnw88300904]

Thank you so much - this has driven me MAD - you are a superstar for this

[ChristopherJLewis1]

Fantastic - this worked for me - like many others I have wasted hours trying to get the redaction tool to work.  Thanks Matthew

[Zarko5E84]

This solution unfortunately does not work for me (and our whole organization).

[AkanchhaS]

Hi @Matthew29447798xgo7 

Thank you for sharing your findings with us. 

Acrobat and Reader official update 23.003.20215 is now available. This update will be automatically pushed to all existing installations of Acrobat and Reader. You may manually trigger the update early by opening the application and going to Help > Check for Updates>reboot Acrobat.

More information about this release is here: Release Notes | Adobe Acrobat, Reader

[Jael22094795smwv]

The update has not solved the problem for me. Changing the security preferences worked but seems risky. Would appreciate an alternative solution.

[Pepsi-Josh]

This worked for me as well, latest update does not help.

[AkanchhaS]

Hi @Pepsi-Josh 

Could you please confirm the Acrobat version you were experiencing this issue? We need the following details for further investigation:

1- OS version

2- Acrobat version

3- Is this a file-specific issue?

Thanks,

Akanchha

[Badger D'Ecosse]

We have the same issue on at least one PC (redact is not commonly used, so it may exist undiscovered elsewhere)
Messing with the security settings as suggested above has resolved (not before trying many other options including uninstalling and reinstalling)

1. Acrobat Version (latest)
(Continuous Release | Version 2023.003.20269 | 63-bit, Version File Version: 23.003.20269.0, AGM Version 7.001.00000 | 64-bit, CoolType Version 8.003.00001 | 64-bit, Core Version 23.768 | 64-bit, JP2K Version 4.000.00000.52671 | 64-bit)

2. OS - MS Win 11 Pro Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621

3. Definitely not file specific.

Frustratingly, on my own sytem (exactly the same Acrobat version AND OS version), using the same file, the redact tool works fine, without the need to disable security settings.

I am keen to re-enable those settings as soon as possible for my user.

[Mari.22]

Hello Adobe...Just wondering when the redaction tool is going to be fixed? Its now November 2023 and I am experiencing the same problems as others with this tool which is very frustrating especially when paying for this feature.

[Eulipian!]

You sir are completely winning!  It's amazing how hard Adobe works to break everything and yet retains "industry standard" status.  This solution was effective in repairing yet another Acrobat bug.....for now.....

[defaultdkgkm9dmnj21]

Fabulous! This worked for me! Thank you