One of my longstanding and favorite clients recently suggested that their translators and editors start using PerfectIt, an editing tool that works within MS Word. After trying it, I found its features very helpful for certain types of translations. This is not an affiliate deal, but I think into-English translators should consider adding PerfectIt to their arsenal of editing tools.
PerfectIt is not really a spelling and grammar checker, but rather an enforcer of consistency, and of consistent style and formatting. I may find it more helpful than many people do, because I don’t have the best internal consistency-checker. I’m the person who’s always scrolling back through the document, wondering if I used CEO or Chief Executive Officer back in the previous section. PerfectIt is great for just these kinds of things. Once installed, it works within MS Word, via a button on the navigation ribbon. After launching PerfectIt, the look and feel are pretty similar to MS Word’s own spelling and grammar checker. The tool cycles through a variety of checks, finds any problems, and asks you whether you want to fix them or leave them.
As an example, I used PerfectIt last night to check a 5,000 word translation. I had translated this file in Trados–which has some built in QA checks. Then I had spelling and grammar-checked it in MS Word. Still, PerfectIt found many areas for improvement, such as:
- Words that I hyphenated in some places but not others (underutilized under-utilized)
- Words where I had used two different spellings that are both correct, but inconsistent (gray, grey)
- Expressions that I capitalized in some places but not others (the Government’s agenda, the government’s agenda)
- Bullet items that ended in inconsistent punctuation; PerfectIt asks you whether you want to end bullet items with no punctuation, a comma, or a semicolon, and then it enforces that rule
- Inconsistent capitalization in section headings (Initial Caps versus ALL CAPS)
- Acronyms that I defined more than once instead of only in the first instance
- Various other inconsistencies that are hard to find in Word unless you enjoy macros and regular expressions: numbers below 10 not spelled out, improper thousands separators in numbers converted from European format, etc.
The checking process for a 5,000 word document took about 10 minutes.
Of course the hitch is that your document must be in MS Word, because PerfectIt does not work as a standalone program or as a plugin (plug-in? plug in?) to any other program. You could (sort of) hack a similar process together using Word macros and regular expressions, or make an extensive QA checklist and run it manually. But I do think PerfectIt is worth a look for most translations. There’s a 14-day free trial, and the paid version is US $99.
Readers, any feedback on PerfectIt or other editing tools?
And the good thing about the price is that you actually buy it for US$ 99, this is not a subscription payable each year. I also like it a lot!
Oooh, good point! I didn’t even think of that: hooray for non-SAAS pricing models.
Hi Corinne, I have been using PerfectIt for a while to fine-tune my own work and to revise non-native English. It catches many things that the Word spelling and grammar check won’t. Plus there are some useful built-in templates for different purposes, eg. U.K. versus US English (these are the options I use most but you can also customise templates and purchase additional ones). So if you are working for journals with different house styles, say, you can customise a template. A useful extra at a good price.
Sue
Thanks, Sue! Yes, great point, I didn’t even touch on the topic of templates and style guides, and PerfectIt does those too.
I’m another PerfectIt fan and second Sue on how useful the templates are!
Great, thanks! Good to hear.
PerfectIt is fabulous, it is one of my favorite tools. The customer service and support are absolutely top-notch. At this time it is only available for Windows but a Mac version is in the works. There is a users group on FB with the developer present and active. I really can’t recommend it enough, it pays for itself.
(there are often discounts on PerfectIt, where you might get it for US 70, keep an eye out!!)
Great, thanks Tracy! Good to know they have a Mac version coming up!
I like using PerfectIt. I have been using it for a little over two years now, and I must say that not many people I know have heard of it. I’m glad you wrote a post about it because you have a big audience and you can get the word out.
Thanks, Melissa!
You may want to have a look at Antidote. I use the French version, which is excellent, but I have no idea if the English one is as good. https://www.antidote.info/en/antidote/
Thank you! Yes, someone else suggested seeing if anyone uses both Antidote for English and PerfectIt, to compare the two. Glad to hear that you like the French version!
It also works pretty well for Brazilian Portuguese.
Very interesting, thanks!!
Very useful, advice, thanks Corinne.
Thanks, glad you found it helpful.
It would also be interesting to hear from anybody who has compared PerfectIt with Antidote, which is another tool for editing and correcting.
Thanks, Catharine! Yes, that’s a great suggestion: if anyone uses both, let us know what you think about the differences between the two.
I like the way that PerfectIt makes you think about the style you want to apply. I find myself going to the Chicago Manual of Style and plugging in their rules. As with many other software applications, you have to know what you want if you’re going to use it.
I know what you mean, Corinne, about only being able to use it with Word documents. The current trend, especially with agencies, is to make translators use proprietary software and “platforms” so that the translator never touches the original format. But that’s a different story.
Thanks, Reed! Great point about CMOS; that is my preferred manual too, but a lot of my international development clients have to use WHO style, which complicates things. And I agree about “platforms.” Personally I find PerfectIt helpful because almost all of my clients want Word or PDF files back, but if you have to submit things in xliff or tmx format, it’s hard to use your own editing tools.
I would also be very interested to hear from Antidote users who are using the English version! As a Mac user, I am impatient to purchase an editing software. So if Antidote does the job well, I would like to just go ahead and purchase this and not wait for PerfectIt to release its Mac version!
Hi Antoinette (and Everybody), I work with both the French and the English correctors of Antidote as a Mac user. Unless I am mistaken you can buy either of them, or both (please check). It took me a little while to be convinced, but now I am really happy to have it. I cannot speak for PerfectIt, I just guess there are similarities: these tools are precious, and surprisingly clever. Thank you Corinne for raising the question.