Blackout 4.3 is introducing long-awaited support for CSVs!
Below, Blackout Product Manager Marko Iwanik answers three key questions for users about the upcoming release!
TIM: Why was CSV support a priority, and what does adding this capability allow Blackout users to start doing immediately?
MARKO: Customers have asked for the support of several different file types. We chose to prioritize CSVs because of how pervasively they need to be reviewed (one of the most commonly reviewed documents after emails, word docs, and spreadsheets), and how similar they are to other spreadsheet documents - file types Blackout already excels at handling. There probably isn't a single active customer who hasn't asked for CSV support!
We frequently hear about the following challenges with redacting CSVs:
They are commonly produced natively, requiring manual redaction outside of Relativity
Large CSVs image poorly and are hard to review for redactions within Relativity after imaging
Manual review can be cumbersome when not supported in the ways that similar documents (Excels) are
With Blackout 4.3, CSV files can finally be redacted in Relativity! We've added support for redacting them manually in the document viewer in Relativity Server 2022, reviewed for quality in the Markup Review Pane in all Relativity versions, and included in spreadsheet projects in all versions.
TIM: What else makes this a substantial release? What other features would you like to draw attention to and why?
Blackout 4.3 addresses some key bugs the community has encountered, most notably issues with producing extracted text for PDFs when running Production Preparation projects.
MARKO: We have also addressed some usability concerns in the document viewer. This includes making cell content redaction placement more defensive against targeting multiple cells and modifying revert when reverting inversely redacted cells to better align with user expectations.
A friendly information banner has been added to the Markup Review Pane to inform users if new markups have been applied by someone else or by a project when working on the document. This provides a friendly suggestion to refresh the Blackout panes to display the latest work product.
Finally, we've updated the behavior of the default fallback text so that it is now customizable at the spreadsheet project level and not just in Blackout settings!
TIM: Looking ahead, what should Blackout users prioritize doing in the second half of the year?
I definitely still recommend becoming Blackout Certified. MARKO: Tell us how CSV is going! We know they aren't the most commonly encountered file type, but one that shows up, in a small capacity, in most cases. It will definitely broaden the use cases where Blackout's the right tool for the job!
We're also noticing a lot of Image work being done in Relativity. We'd love to know more about how to make those workflows easier, so email me and tell me how!
TIM: Thanks, Marko!
Read the full release notes here. ➜
As always, let us know what you think of Blackout 4.3, and reach out if you want to talk about any specific ideas you have about what might improve your experience using Blackout.