The original stays intact
Annotations and redactions live on layers of their own. The file placed in the repository is never rewritten, however many reviewers pass through it.
Comment. Redact.The original never moves.
Remote work multiplied the annotated copies and the documents shared in a hurry. In Constellio, annotations live on their own layer and redaction genuinely removes the text, while the original stays untouched in the repository.
- Annotations on a separate layer
- Permanent redaction, not a mask
- Sharing in Microsoft Teams
HOW IT WORKS
Annotate. Redact. Release.
Three layers, one document.
Nothing you add changes the source file. Comments, highlights, and redactions stack on top of it, and you choose what the recipient actually sees.
- 01 Annotate
Comment without altering anything.
Highlight a passage, pin a comment, answer a colleague. It all lands on an annotation layer: the source document is untouched, and everyone sees the same notes.
- Highlights, comments, and replies
- Separate layer, original intact
- PDF, Office, and images
- 02 Redact
Take out what must not leave.
Select a name, a number, a whole paragraph, and state the reason. Redaction does not lay a black rectangle over it: it removes the text from the file before flattening it.
- A reason recorded for every item
- Text removed, not merely hidden
- Batch redaction across pages
- 03 Release
Share the right version, not the raw file.
The released version carries the redactions without the internal notes. It shares into Microsoft Teams or answers a request, while the original stays in the record.
- Internal annotations stripped
- Sharing in Microsoft Teams
- Released version kept in the record
The original is kept intact in the repository: the released version is saved as a version of its own.
THREE LAYERS, ONE DOCUMENT
Stack what you need.
Release only the rest.
Follow an investigation report that has to leave the organization. Each step switches on one more layer, and the last one shows exactly what the recipient will receive.
- 01The original
The source file, as it arrived.
It lands in the repository and will not move again. Everything that follows sits on top of it: no annotated copy will ever replace this one.
- Kept intact in the repository
- A single reference copy
- PDF, Office, and images
- 02Annotations
The team’s notes, on a layer of their own.
Highlights, comments, and replies are added above the document. Everyone sees who wrote what, and the source file stays exactly as it was on day one.
- Attributed highlights and comments
- Threads and replies
- A layer you can switch off at any time
- 03Redaction
What must not leave is taken out.
Every redacted item carries its reason: personal information, a third party’s identity, a section of the Act. The redaction layer can be reviewed and corrected before it is applied.
- One reason per redacted item
- Review before applying
- Every redaction logged
- 04Released version
This is exactly what goes out.
The redaction is applied permanently, the internal notes disappear, and the released version is saved in the record beside the original.
- Redaction flattened into the file
- Internal annotations stripped
- Released version kept in the record
HighlightCommentRedactReleaseINV-2026-07
Internal investigation reportHuman resources › Investigations
INV-2026-07Internal investigation report
1
SNSophie Nadeau14:06
The complainant’s name has to come out before release.
2 replies · openTo confirm with legal
5 items redacted
What the recipient receives
INV-2026-07 - released version.pdf
- Redaction applied permanently
- Internal annotations stripped
- Original kept intact in the repository
Layers
- OriginalPDF · 12 pages
- Annotations4 comments
- Redaction5 items
- Released versionready to send
Original never modified
PRACTICAL USE CASES
Remote,
and under control.
Two situations where the annotated copy going out by email costs the most: a scattered team reviewing a document, and an access-to-information request that has to be answered without saying too much.
For remote work
One copy, commented on by everyone.
No more “v3-final-comments-SN” circulating as an attachment. Everyone annotates the same governed copy, from their desk or from Microsoft Teams, and the original does not move.
See the Microsoft 365 integration
For access to information
Answer without saying too much.
Every removed item carries its reason, the review happens before anything is applied, and the released version stays in the record. If the decision is challenged, the history answers for you.
Talk to us about your requestsWhat redaction takes out
- Names and contact details
- Social insurance numbers
- Addresses
- Medical records
- Third-party identities
- Signatures
A reason recorded for every item
REDACTION THAT HOLDS
A black rectangle
is not a redaction.
Hiding text and removing text are not the same thing. Most tools draw an opaque shape on top; the text stays in the file and comes back with a copy-paste. Constellio removes the text layer before flattening the document.
Sharing in Microsoft Teams
Open the document from a conversation, annotate it, redact it, then send the released version back to the same thread, with no attachment left lying around.
See the Microsoft 365 integrationRetention and traceability
Original, annotated version, and released version sit together in the record, each with its date, its author, and its reason, under the same retention schedule.
KEY FIGURES
Fewer copies.
Fewer leaks.
The annotated copy sent as an attachment is the most ordinary security incident there is. When annotation and redaction happen on the governed copy, there is nothing left to send.
Figures published by Constellio01
0
Reduction in search time
02
0
Reduction in search costs
03
0
Reduction in security incidents
Why choose Constellio
Security
Your documents stay in the repository, and confidential information is removed rather than merely covered up.
Time saved
The right document is found in a few clicks, with its annotations and its released version in the same place.
Collaboration
Several reviewers work on the same copy at the same time, from Constellio or from Microsoft Teams.
Compliance
Every redaction carries its reason and its author: the decision documents itself.
Organizations that run on Constellio
YOUR NEXT RELEASE
Unlock the potential
of your content.
Book a demo and watch one of your own documents go from annotated original to released version, redaction included, in a few minutes.
Or write to contact@constellio.com. Open source at its core, hosted your way.
