Reviewed 18 August 2026 · next review 17 February 2027
Technical terminology consistency
One object, one name, one unit form, one decimal separator — across the whole document set.
Last updated · Written and reviewed by Jonatan Tensetti · Tensetti Tools
Term variants
The same component written as E-Stop, estop and E-stop is three strings for one object. The check groups words by their letters and digits, takes the most frequent written form as dominant, and reports the others with the exact span.
- CS_TERM_VARIANT — 'estop' and 'E-Stop' are used for the same term. Choose one form and use it everywhere, for example 'E-Stop'.
Possible false positive: A sentence-initial capital or a quoted label may be unavoidable.
Acronyms used before they are expanded
An acronym that is never expanded blocks occasional readers and translators. The check ignores universally known abbreviations and accepts an expansion written as Full term (ABC).
- CS_UNDEFINED_ACRONYM — 'PLC' is used before it is expanded. Expand it at first use, for example 'Full term (PLC)'.
Possible false positive: An acronym may be defined in a separate glossary or parent document.
Unit and number formats
10 s and 10s read as different quantities during fast work, and mixing 2.5 with 2,5 causes factor errors. Both are consistency checks and both report the minority form.
- CS_UNIT_VARIANT — The unit 's' is written in more than one form in this document. Use one spacing and case convention for every occurrence of the unit.
- CS_NUMBER_FORMAT — The document mixes decimal comma and decimal point. Choose one decimal separator for the whole document set.
Possible false positive: A quoted value from a supplier document may keep its original form.
Enforce your own vocabulary
Pro (€120 per year) adds a personal preferred and banned term list; Team (€349 per year) shares one termbase, one style profile and agreed exceptions across five users. A banned term is reported as a high finding, and a non-preferred variant as a medium one.
Start with the free checker to see how much of your document set is already inconsistent.
22 checks, no account, and the text is analysed in your browser.
Questions
- Why does one extra name for a part matter?
- Search, translation memory and spare-part identification all key on the exact string. Two names mean two records and one confused reader.
- How is the preferred form chosen?
- The engine treats the most frequent surface form in your document as dominant and reports the others. With a termbase, your preferred term wins regardless of frequency.
- Are unit and number checks separate?
- Yes. Unit form and decimal-separator consistency are consistency-category checks, while term variants and unexpanded acronyms are terminology checks.
References
Checked 18 August 2026. Referenced for context only; no standard text or dictionary content is reproduced.
- ISO 24495-1:2023 Plain language — Part 1 — ISO. Official standard information page. Context only; the standard is not reproduced or certified.
- Writing for web accessibility — W3C WAI. First-party accessibility writing tips informing general principles.
ClearSpec reports automated heuristics from method version 1.0.0. The clarity indicator is not a measure of technical accuracy, usability, legal sufficiency, safety or standards conformance. A competent person must decide the final wording, especially for safety content.