Extract, review, and export abbreviations from research documents
This guide explains how AQUA processes supported documents, separates abbreviation results from text, tables, and figures, handles multi-file projects, supports retries, and prepares Word or Excel outputs for researcher review.
What AQUA does
AQUA is AccuScript's Quick Universal Abbreviation Suite. It helps teams extract and organise abbreviations from research documents so definitions can be reviewed before writing, quality control, evidence extraction, or downstream reporting.
AQUA is not a general quality-assessment or risk-of-bias tool. Its job is to detect abbreviation pairs from document content, separate them by source area, and make the results exportable.
| What you provide | What AQUA prepares | What you review or export |
|---|---|---|
| Project title and supported documents | Document extraction and processing status | Per-document abbreviation results |
| PDF, DOC, or DOCX files up to 50 MB each | Text, table, and figure abbreviation candidates | Abbreviation and full-name tables |
| Standalone uploads or workflow-linked PDFs | Retryable document runs and audit history | DOCX and Excel exports for the selected document |
The complete AQUA workflow
AQUA separates project setup, document extraction, automated processing, result review, and export. In multi-file projects, each document keeps its own status and review tab.
- 1
Create the project
Start from the AQUA projects tab and give the project a clear title.
- 2
Upload or attach documents
Add PDF, DOC, or DOCX files directly, or use workflow-linked PDFs when AQUA is part of a master project.
- 3
Extract document content
AQUA extracts readable text, tables, and figure content from each file in the background.
- 4
Process abbreviations
After extraction, AQUA prepares abbreviation and full-name candidates from each available content area.
- 5
Review each document
Open each file tab and check text, table, figure, and relevant-candidate results before using them.
- 6
Export or inspect history
Export DOCX or Excel for the active document, or open the timeline to review the audit trail.
Prepare files for reliable abbreviation extraction
AQUA accepts PDF, DOC, and DOCX files. You can upload multiple files to one project, but each file is treated as its own document run and must be reviewed separately.
| Preparation point | Why it matters | Review guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Supported formats | The upload control accepts PDF, DOC, and DOCX documents. | Convert unsupported files before upload. |
| File size | AQUA accepts files up to 50 MB each. | Split or compress oversized source files before processing. |
| Readable text | Scanned or image-only documents can reduce extraction quality. | Use OCR or a text-readable source when possible. |
| Tables and figures | Complex formatting can change how abbreviations are grouped. | Review table and figure results separately from narrative text. |
Use AQUA as a standalone project or inside a master workflow
AQUA can be started directly from the AQUA projects tab or opened from a master project stage. The core result review is the same, but workflow-linked documents have a slightly different file lifecycle.
| Mode | How files arrive | What removal means |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone AQUA | Upload files inside the AQUA project. | Removing a document removes it from the AQUA project. |
| Master workflow AQUA | Upload files in AQUA or attach workflow PDFs from the PDF manager. | Removing a workflow-linked document unlinks it from AQUA. |
Understand AQUA statuses before reviewing results
The project status summarises the current run, while each document can also have its own state. In multi-file projects, one document can complete while another needs a retry.
Review text, table, and figure abbreviations separately
AQUA presents abbreviations by where they were found. This separation matters because the same abbreviation can have different meanings in narrative text, tables, captions, or figure content.
| Result area | What it contains | How to review it |
|---|---|---|
| notesText abbreviations | Abbreviation and full-name pairs found in narrative text. | Check definitions against nearby sentences and the document context. |
| table_chartTable abbreviations | Pairs grouped by table index where AQUA detected table-level abbreviations. | Check each table group because definitions may be table-specific. |
| imageFigure abbreviations | Pairs detected from figure-related content when available. | Compare with figure captions, legends, and visual labels. |
| manage_searchRelevant candidates | Additional possible abbreviation pairs surfaced alongside the main extracted set. | Use these as review prompts, not automatic additions. |
Review each document tab before exporting
When a project contains more than one file, AQUA shows document tabs. The active tab controls the visible abbreviation tables and the export payload.
Retry or remove documents at the file level
Extraction and processing can fail for an individual file because of document quality, formatting, or missing extracted input. AQUA lets you retry the affected file without restarting every completed file in the project.
| Situation | Recommended action | What to check next |
|---|---|---|
| Extraction failed | Retry the same file if it is still available, or re-upload a cleaner version. | Confirm the status moves out of ExtractFailed. |
| Processing failed | Retry abbreviations for the selected file when extracted input exists. | Review whether results appear under the active document tab. |
| Workflow document is pending | Use Extract Pending Documents from the linked AQUA stage. | Confirm the attached workflow PDFs enter Extracting or Processing. |
| Wrong document attached | Remove the standalone document or unlink the workflow document from AQUA. | Confirm the file is no longer listed before export. |
Choose DOCX or Excel based on the review task
AQUA exports the abbreviation results for the active document. Word is useful for report-facing review, while Excel is better for tabular checking, filtering, and handoff.
| Export | What it includes | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| DOCX | Project and document name, text abbreviation table, table groups, figure items, and relevant candidates where available. | Writer-facing review or a compact abbreviation appendix. |
| Excel | Overview sheet plus separate sheets for text, relevant text candidates, each table, table candidates, and figures where available. | Detailed QC, filtering, reconciliation, and structured handoff. |
Use the timeline to inspect project history
The AQUA timeline records project setup, document actions, extraction activity, processing activity, and file lifecycle events. Use it when you need to understand who changed a project, when a document was processed, or which phase a failure belongs to.
- Filter by project, documents, extraction, or processing phase.
- Filter by lifecycle, setup, file, or process category.
- Search timeline events by title, actor, document, or summary text.
Best practices
| check_circleDo | cancelAvoid |
|---|---|
| Use readable source files with clear text and tables. | Rely on image-only scans without checking extraction quality. |
| Review every active document tab in a multi-file project. | Assume one completed document means all files are complete. |
| Check text, table, and figure abbreviations separately. | Merge definitions without checking where each abbreviation was found. |
| Treat relevant candidates as prompts for review. | Use candidate rows as confirmed definitions without context checking. |
| Retry only the failed file when other files completed successfully. | Restart or replace completed files unnecessarily. |
| Confirm the intended tab is active before exporting. | Export from the wrong document in a multi-document project. |
Final checklist
- doneAll intended standalone or workflow-linked documents are listed.
- doneEvery document needed for export has reached Completed.
- doneFailed files have been retried, replaced, removed, or intentionally excluded.
- doneText abbreviation definitions have been checked against source context.
- doneTable groups have been reviewed table by table.
- doneFigure abbreviations and relevant candidates have been checked where present.
- doneThe correct document tab is active before DOCX or Excel export.
- doneTimeline history has been reviewed when project provenance or failure details matter.