PerfectIt

What do you like best about PerfectIt?

PerfectIt is a spectacular tool for editors that saves incalculable hours and helps ensure consistency... but lately it seems to miss a lot of things (quotation marks that don't get closed come to mind). Even so, I use the proram faithfully, and the CMOS integration is a marvelous bonus.

What do you dislike about PerfectIt?

Sadly, the full value of PerfectIt isn't available to Mac users, as its robust customization features don't work on Macs. The tool also tends to hang up/spin/crash, meaning standard scans can take far longer than they should. And there are some weird glitches, like it stopping on things like "Mr." (with the period) to inform you that "Mr." takes a period in American English. Despite the frustration that accompanies those drawbacks, I wouldn't think of canceling my subscription. I just wish the developers would focus on giving Mac users an experience that comes close to that enjoyed on PCs.

What problems is PerfectIt solving and how is that benefiting you?

It provides a consistency check and keeps me from having to spend hours focusing on minutiae (so I can instead focus on other minutiae that can't be standardized as easily).

What do you like best about PerfectIt?

Perfeclt is really helpful when it comes to proofread our articles on medical technology which our editors publish every week on linkedin. The tool maintains consistency throughout the write up and also the support team is very much co-operative. Now, we do not spend much time on re-checking the sentence framing or if there is any grammatical error. Also, the pricing structure is very budget friendly for small sized companies.

What do you dislike about PerfectIt?

There is nothing much, I don't like about perfectlt. Sometimes the large sized documents take much time to rectify the errors. Also, few of the times it's intutive technology has predicted the sentences in a different direction which can be fixed.

What problems is PerfectIt solving and how is that benefiting you?

Very much helpful to proofread the documents and saves lot of time in editing which has resulted in improved productivity of editors. Inconsistencies in the documents are very well captured and rectified resulting in publication of errror free and reader friendly articles.

What do you like best about PerfectIt?

I'm someone that spends far too many hours creating techical documentation and product reviews. PerfectIt is now an invaluable part of my documentation toolkit and workflow. It helps ensure consistency across my documents and catches errors that are often very easy to otherwise miss. I've found it also helps reduce the amount of time set aside to proof reading when I send my work out for review.

What do you dislike about PerfectIt?

Nothing to dislike really. It's priced well, easy to install and regular updates are made. What's not to like?! Has helped save a lot of time and effort on my side.,

What problems is PerfectIt solving and how is that benefiting you?

Find any inconsistencies in the document that I may have missed, and helps avoid having to re-read and correct multiple times which is a real time saver, helping to reduce frustration!

What do you like best about PerfectIt?

Allow me answer that question by sharing my first experience with PerfectIt.

SETTING: A (pre-COVID) session of the Bay Area Editors’ Forum

EVENT: “Introduction to [the marvels of] PerfectIt”

SCREENSHOT: A bullet list of text

CONTEXT: Daniel Heuman demonstrating how PerfectIt will identify if there are errors or inconsistencies anywhere within a document, including details like inconsistent capitalization and closing punctuation in bullet lists

SOUND BITE: The audible gasp as the crowd realizes how much time this would save (and the discomfiture it would prevent)

Someone who isn’t an editor or proofreader might not immediately see the benefit of PerfectIt, but let me tell you … just WOW. It catches stuff we should have caught ourselves, and are chagrined to learn we missed. It catches stuff we’re not even embarrassed to have missed, like a stray or absent hyphen in a VERY long proper name that appears multiple times. It catches stuff we’re humbled to realize we never would have caught, like lesser-known tidbits in the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)—which are offered with the CMOS* item number and the precise text of the rule for further reference (and memorization). (*Note that the abbreviation was defined before being used alone.)

That’s all just what’s in PerfectIt already. But you can also implement into the program the house style of your employer, your main contract client, etc. That feature is a huge bonus if you work with a number of different clients who have different preferences for small details—and so each time you turn to a different gig you need to reacquaint yourself with that client’s preferences (ten vs. 10 | em-dash [—] vs. spaced en-dash [ – ] | ellipsis character […] vs. three unspaced periods […] vs. three periods w/ nonbreaking spaces [.°.°.] | E.°B. White vs. E.B. White vs. Egad White). You can create a style in PerfectIt for each client, and then let PerfectIt remind you what that client prefers.

And it should be emphasized: the PerfectIt process isn’t about running the software, grabbing a snack, having it change stuff unbeknownst to us, and then blindly submitting the document. The process involves having inconsistencies identified for us—at which point we make a conscious decision about which option to choose. And of all the things it’s programmed to catch, my favorite is common typos (General Manger | general pubic | Turdish vs. Kurdish vs. Turkish).

BTW: I ran PerfectIt on this review before submitting it just to see what it would find; apparently “screenshot” is one word, not two. So, yeah—I love PerfectIt.

What do you dislike about PerfectIt?

Admittedly it takes some time to tweak the style sheet for each different client.

What problems is PerfectIt solving and how is that benefiting you?

PerfectIt helps me to submit excellent work.

What do you like best about PerfectIt?

• PerfectIt has many valuable features. I truly depend on its abbreviations check while editing medical manuscripts. I run PerfectIt at the final stage of my work. It checks the consistent presentation of abbreviations, ensures that every abbreviation is defined only once at first presentation, in only one way, and is only used if it appears more than once. I love that I get flagged for possible errors, and I can choose and decide how to address them (i.e., abbreviations should be defined in the abstract and main text). PerfectIt is an excellent timesaving tool for catching inconsistencies in hyphenation and numbers. I love that I can review each potential inconsistency and make changes on a case-by-case basis.

• Its feature of checking table punctuation and capitalization is quite helpful for identifying errors that escape even a trained eye.

• I love its final clean-up feature, when PerfectIt converts multiple spaces to one, removes spaces after paragraphs and cuts spaces before punctuation.

• PerfectIt is very user-friendly and allows you to work and make decisions on your edit while running the program.

• I am thrilled to count on it, and the more I use it, the more I love it as I discover its potential.

What do you dislike about PerfectIt?

I am a Mac user, and so far, only a Cloud version of the program is available for Mac.

What problems is PerfectIt solving and how is that benefiting you?

PerfectIt helps me improve the quality of my editing in reduced time.