SSE user guide
Review records and prepare a release
Collect records, save review decisions, prepare a response, and download the approved package.
Work from the requested items to the collected records, then prepare the response. A package contains the copies explicitly approved for release.
1. Collect records against requested items
From a request overview, choose Review records and respond. In Records, use Add item to describe each part of the request. Search the prepared repository with Search samples, select a result, and use Collect this record and Collect selected record.
You can also choose a PDF or text file and select Collect file. Associate it with the item it answers. Search results are not collected automatically. Public search uses synthetic files; it does not search your computer or municipal systems.
Check file types and OCR for upload limits and the planned document, image, spreadsheet, and email formats.
2. Inspect each record and save a decision
In Review, open the original and choose Make a decision. The options are release in full, release with redactions, withhold, or not responsive. Enter the reason. Redaction and withholding also require a specific authority supplied by the reviewer.
PDF redaction
Choose Release with redactions, display the page, and mark the regions to remove. Keyboard region controls provide an alternative to dragging. Save the decision and inspect the release copy.
Text redaction
Enter the exact phrases to remove, one per line. A phrase that is absent produces an error. Save the decision and inspect the resulting text.
PDF release copies are rebuilt from page images with the masks burned in, so their original searchable text is not retained. The original remains separate. Inspect every output: SSE does not automatically find all sensitive material or decide which exemptions apply.
3. Answer every requested item
Open Response. Give each item an outcome and explanation, then select Save item outcome. The outcome must agree with the record decisions. For example, a full grant requires records approved for release; a withholding cannot include released records for that item.
The response page identifies incomplete review. Finish each requested item and each collected record before creating a package.
4. Review the fee estimate and response letter
Use Save complete estimate to record the itemized estimate. If the estimate is nonzero, record the requester’s decision with Record fee decision. Acceptance applies to that estimate; a changed estimate needs review again. The demo does not charge or collect money.
Edit the Response letter so it includes the requested items and saved explanations. Replace the delivery-arrangements placeholder. In a practice session, describe the fictional download rather than promising an actual delivery. Approve the letter and select Save response.
Changes to records, outcomes, or fees can invalidate approval. Review the updated response before approving it again.
5. Create the package and record delivery separately
Inspect the release copies, confirm the package approval, and select Create approved package. Use Download latest approved package to get a ZIP containing the response, manifest, and approved files.
Creating a package does not send it. Record actual delivery records delivery evidence supplied by staff after delivery through another process. The public demo accepts fictional evidence only and sends nothing.
Closure in History requires an approved production and recorded delivery. The history and exports guide explains what each download contains.