Why do errors come up on abbreviations when my document already has a Table of Abbreviations in it?

PerfectIt checks to see if your document has a Table of Abbreviations. If a Table of Abbreviations is found, PerfectIt will identify errors if:

  • An abbreviation is defined in the main text (i.e. outside of the Table of Abbreviations) but used without the definition before it is defined
  • An abbreviation is defined more than once in the main text (i.e. excluding the definition in the Table of Abbreviations)
  • An abbreviation is found that has not been defined in the main text and does not appear in the Table of Abbreviations
  • An abbreviation is spelled out in full after it has been defined in the main text (i.e. excluding the definition in the Table of Abbreviations)
  • An abbreviation is defined in the main text but not used again after that.

PerfectIt will also produce a Table of Abbreviations for documents that already have a Table of Abbreviations. This will show any abbreviations that do not appear to be in the existing Table of Abbreviations marked out separately.

In some instances, there may be a Table of Abbreviations that PerfectIt is not able to find. These are rare. However, if this happens, authors may wish to disregard the errors above.