How it works
How PDF Redaction Studio Desktop runs on your computer: the built-in Studio app, opening PDFs from your file manager, where documents are stored and what goes online.
Studio Desktop is PDF Redaction Studio packaged as an app. The installer contains the whole Studio web app. When you start Desktop, it runs Studio on a small web server inside the app, reachable only from your own computer, and shows it in the app window. The document library, background queue, editor and export work exactly as described in How Studio works. This page covers what is different on the desktop.
The app on your computer
- Studio is built in. The app doesn't load studio.pdf-redaction.com. Its version is the version of the app you installed, and it changes when the app updates, see Install.
- You sign in when the app starts. E-mail sign-in happens in the app window. Google and Microsoft sign-in open your web browser and hand back to the app when you are done. Your account, workspaces and plan are the same as on the website.
- One window. Only one copy of the app runs at a time. Links to other websites, such as these docs, open in your default browser.
Opening a PDF from your file manager
When you choose Redact PDF in Windows Explorer, Open With in Finder or your Linux file manager, or drop a PDF on the Dock icon, the file takes a shorter path than one you drop on the dashboard:
- Your system hands the file to the app. If the app isn't running, it starts first. If you aren't signed in yet, the file waits until you are.
- The app reads the file from disk and adds a copy to the Default project of your active workspace. The file on your disk is never changed.
- If the PDF has a password, the app asks for it.
- The document opens straight in the editor, which scans it while you watch, instead of waiting in the background queue.
PDFs you drop on the dashboard or add with Open New Document go through the background queue, as in Studio. The menus for each system are listed in Quick start.
Where your documents are stored
The document library lives in the app's own data folder, not in a web browser:
| System | App data folder |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Pdf Redaction Studio |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Pdf Redaction Studio |
| Linux | ~/.config/Pdf Redaction Studio |
The app has its own library, separate from Studio in your browser. A document added in the app doesn't appear in Studio on the web, and the other way round, until you sync it to the cloud and open it on the other side. The AI models are downloaded into the same folder the first time you process a document, and stay there for later documents.
Redacted PDFs you save are written to your Downloads folder as redacted-<original name>.pdf.
What goes online
Desktop needs an internet connection: it checks your account and page allowance with pdf-redaction.com while it works.
| What | When | Sent to |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in | When the app starts | pdf-redaction.com |
| Credit check and usage record (file name, page number) | Before and during processing | Your pdf-redaction.com workspace |
| Page text and word positions | Each page, in Cloud PII mode only | PDF Redaction detection API |
| AI models | First processed document | Downloaded once, then cached |
| Original PDF and redactions | Only when you choose Sync to cloud | pdf-redaction.com |
OCR, face detection, rule-based detection, Local NER and building the redacted file run on your computer. Turn on Local NER in the detection settings to keep page text on your computer too.
Next steps
Quick start
Start using PDF Redaction Studio Desktop: sign in, open PDFs from Explorer, Finder or your Linux file manager, process them in the background and save the redacted copy.
Troubleshooting
Fixes for PDF Redaction Studio Desktop: macOS won't open the app, sign-in doesn't return to the app, Redact PDF menu missing, and where to find the log files.