Supported Formats

SAR Portal supports a wide range of document formats for upload, AI analysis, and redaction: 32 file types in 7 categories.

Fully Supported Formats

These formats support upload, AI analysis, and redaction (except WebP images, which are not redacted automatically):

PDF Documents

Best for: Reports, contracts, correspondence, exported records

Microsoft Word

Best for: Letters, policies, contracts, memos, templates

Microsoft Excel

Best for: Data exports, spreadsheets, reports, logs, templates

Microsoft PowerPoint

Best for: Presentations, briefing decks, training material, slide exports

Images

Best for: Scanned documents, screenshots, ID verification

Redaction works on text, including OCR text in images. Faces in photos are not redacted.

Email Files

Best for: Correspondence, DSAR communications, email trails, Outlook exports

Text-Based Formats

These formats support text extraction and text-based redaction. The redacted file keeps its original format and extension:

Best for: System exports, configuration files, data dumps, log files, API responses

Complete Format Reference

Format-Specific Considerations

PDF Files

Searchable PDFs (text-based)

• Fastest processing
• Best accuracy
• Text directly extractable

Scanned PDFs (image-based)

• Requires OCR processing
• Accuracy depends on scan quality
• Higher processing time

Tips for best results:

• Use high-resolution scans (300 DPI+)
• Ensure text is legible
• Avoid skewed or rotated pages
• Use contrast for clarity

Word Documents

Compatibility

• Best support for .docx (modern format)
• Template formats (.dotx, .dotm) fully supported
• Macro-enabled formats (.docm, .dotm) supported
• Complex formatting generally preserved

What’s Extracted and Redacted

• Body text
• Headers and footers
• Tables
• Comments and track changes
• Metadata (stripped in redacted output)

Excel Files

Processing

• All worksheets processed
• Cell values extracted
• Formulas preserved in unredacted cells
• Hidden rows/columns included
• Cell comments included

Redaction

• Cell-level redaction
• Original formulas preserved in unredacted cells
• Formatting maintained
• Metadata stripped from output

Images

OCR Processing

• Advanced OCR text extraction
• Multiple languages supported
• Handwriting has limited support
• Quality significantly affects accuracy

Best Practices

• Use high resolution images
• Ensure good lighting and contrast
• Avoid compression artifacts
• Straighten skewed images

Email Files

EML Processing

• Parsed using MIME standard
• Headers (From, To, CC, Subject, Date) extracted
• Plain text and HTML body extracted
• Attachments imported as separate case files, or only listed by name, depending on Include email attachments
• Redacted output rendered as PDF

MSG Processing

• Automatically converted to EML at upload
• The conversion keeps From, To, CC, BCC, Subject, the sent date, the text and HTML body, and attachments (attached .msg emails are converted too). Other Outlook properties are not carried over
• Processed identically to EML after conversion

Text-Based Formats

Format-Aware Redaction

• JSON: Values redacted while preserving keys and structure
• XML: Element content redacted while preserving tags
• CSV: Cell values redacted while preserving structure
• Other text: Standard find-and-replace redaction

Encoding

• UTF-8 with BOM detection
• The original encoding (and BOM, if present) is kept in the redacted file

Unsupported Formats

The following formats are not currently supported for redaction:

File Size Limits

Handling Large Files

If a file exceeds limits:

1. Split into smaller sections
2. Compress images (maintain quality)
3. Remove unnecessary content
4. Contact support for special cases

Upload Validation

All uploads are validated:

Security Checks

• Deep file type verification (actual content, not just extension)
• Content type validation
• Size compliance check

Rejection Reasons

“Invalid file type”

• Extension doesn’t match content
• File is corrupted
• Unsupported format

“File too large”

• Exceeds the 100 MB limit (10 MB on trial)
• Compress or split the file

“Trial accounts are limited to 10 files per case”

• A trial case can hold up to 10 files
• Upgrade to a paid plan to remove this limit

Recommendations by Use Case

Access Requests (Article 15)

• PDF for formatted documents
• Excel for data exports
• Images for ID verification
• Email (.eml/.msg) for correspondence

Erasure Requests (Article 17)

• Excel/CSV for structured data identification
• JSON/XML for system data exports
• Email for communication records

Redaction Priority

• PDF for best visual redaction quality
• Word for editable documents
• Excel for tabular data
• Email for correspondence chains
• Text formats for system-generated data