Somebody has to buck the trend here!
I'm one who really prefers proof-reading on the computer. Lately, I have been dealing with documents that are 1000+ pages in length. When you're looking at 60 or 70 times where someone has spelled the word "alignment" as "alinement", it is so great to just use a "find and replace" and not have to worry if you really caught every example. It's also great when the lawyers have all of a sudden taken objection to the words "reasonable assurance" or some other stock phrase.
I can also use the "find and replace" option to get rid of unwanted fonts and font size changes.
I can also easily check to see if accronyms were spelled out the first time -- or if it's the 50th time its been defined (cut and paste at its worst!). I can verify reasonable consistency between sections, especially helpful when dealing with multiple "authors."
I can make comments in the text that automatically show in a different color. I can add comment boxes, I can highlight. And, at the end, I can produce a "redline/ strikeout" version to show all the changes made.
The only times I long for hard copy is when I'm trying to compare two or three tables at the same time (i.e., did the audit team members correctly translate the information from the application and did the applicant correctly translate it from the standard.) But even then I seldom print things out; I just slog through it.
Though I confess, I often print out drawings. But I'm looking forward to the day where Adobe will recognize printing on an image so I can search for a valve number and it will take me right to it.
Patricia Lougheed
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