Session

PerfectIt is a professional proofreading and consistency-checking tool used by translators, editors, writers, and organisations in more than 70 countries. It’s available as an add-in for Microsoft Word (Windows and Mac) and PowerPoint (Windows).

PerfectIt does not use AI and does not replace human editing. Instead, it automates repetitive mechanical checks so you can focus on the work that requires professional judgement and creativity. For language professionals working to tight deadlines, especially on long or complex documents, it can save hours of manual review.

In this practical workshop, you’ll learn how to use PerfectIt to save time and improve consistency.

Topics include:

• Consistency checks: Find inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, and spacing that standard spellcheckers often miss, such as healthcare/health-care/health care or optimize/optimise.
• Acronyms and abbreviations: Check whether acronyms have definitions, are defined the first time they appear, or are defined more than once or in multiple ways. Generate a list of acronyms and abbreviations used.
• Lists and headings: Ensure consistent capitalisation and punctuation across bullet points, numbered lists, and headings.
• House styles: Check adherence to client, company, or industry style rules, including built-in style guides such as The Chicago Manual of Style, Microsoft Writing Style, American Legal Style, UN and WHO Styles, and Australian Government Style. We will also look at how custom style sheets can be created and managed for different clients and projects.

You will first see a demonstration of PerfectIt, to get an idea of what the program is and what it can do. Then you will have a go at using PerfectIt on a test document to find inconsistencies within a document. Next, you will try using some of the built-in style sheets, to see how they greatly increase the power of the program. Having mastered the basics, you will try some different ways of modifying the style sheets. Finally, we will discuss the differences between the Windows and Mac versions of PerfectIt, including practical workflows for Mac users.

Please bring your own laptop to the workshop. You do not need to buy PerfectIt to attend the workshop, but you will need a working version of the program on your laptop. You can download PerfectIt and use it as a trial for 2 weeks, so please install it a few days before the workshop on 5 September. The handout for the workshop* will include instructions on how to do this.

For more information, see www.PerfectIt.com

All IJET-34 participants will receive a 30% discount code for individual annual subscriptions.

*The handout will be made available on the IJET website shortly before the conference.