Install or update the term checker for ASD-STE100

When you install the term checker, you automatically agree to the legal conditions.

During the installation, you will edit XML files. Use an XML editor or a text editor that has syntax highlighting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntax_highlighting).

Do these tasks:

Make sure that you can use LanguageTool on your computer.
Contact TechScribe for a free trial. After you receive a link to the term checker, do the installation.

Make sure that you can use LanguageTool on your computer

In the command line, use java -version to make sure that Java 17 or a later version is on your computer. For example:

T:\temp>java -version
java version "25" 2025-09-16 LTS
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 25+37-LTS-3491)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25+37-LTS-3491, mixed mode, sharing)

T:\temp>

If Java 17 or a later version is not on your computer, get Java 25 from https://www.oracle.com/uk/java/technologies/downloads/ and install it.
Note: "All other OpenJDK versions should also work, although there might be edge cases where the behavior of regex has changed" (https://forum.languagetool.org/t/java-versions-for-languagetool-standalone/9920).
Download and unzip https://internal1.languagetool.org/snapshots/LanguageTool-latest-snapshot.zip.
At the command line, in the snapshot directory, type: java -jar languagetool.jar
A message appears, and then LanguageTool starts.

If LanguageTool does not start, get help from https://forum.languagetool.org/. TechScribe cannot help you.
Optional step. Install add-ons and plug-ins to integrate LanguageTool with other software. (You can do this task after you install the term checker, but it is better to make sure that the LanguageTool integrations operate correctly at this part of the installation process.)
Optional step. Initially, LanguageTool uses the default language of your operating system for the text on the interface (GUI language). To see the default LanguageTool example in English, change the GUI language. The example shows Ukrainian to American English.
1. Click the equivalent of Text Checking>Options.
2. Change the GUI language.
Close LanguageTool and do the installation.

Installation

Refer to The design of the term checker for ASD-STE100.

After you install the term checker, you will have this directory structure (most files and directories are not shown). In this example, ste-term-checker is the installation directory:

ste-term-checker
    \data-files
        disambiguation-projectterms.xml
        grammar-projectterms.xml
    \ste9-lt2025-09-23
        languagetool.jar
        \org\languagetool\resource\en\disambiguation.xml
        \org\languagetool\rules\en\grammar.xml

The installation instructions refer to file name extensions (.jar, .xml, .zip) and paths. To prevent confusion, make sure that you can see the file name extensions and the path. For example, in Microsoft Windows:
Windows Explorer shows full information about files

The Java commands that are shown on this page are for Java 25. If you use earlier versions of Java, -Djava.xml.config.file=jaxp-strict.properties is not necessary. Refer to https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool/issues/11558.

If a problem occurs, refer to Troubleshooting.

1. Install the term checker

In a convenient location, create this directory: ste-term-checker.
In ste-term-checker, create this directory: data-files. (You will use this directory when you download the templates for your project terms.)
In ste-term-checker, download a compressed version of the term checker from the TechScribe website. The link is in the e-mail reply from TechScribe.
Decompress the file.
Start the term checker. Use one of these methods:
- At the command line, in ste9-lt2025-09-23, type: java -Djava.xml.config.file=jaxp-strict.properties -jar languagetool.jar
- Microsoft Windows only: In ste9-lt2025-09-23, double-click TechScribeSTEchecker.bat:
  
  Do not double-click languagetool.jar. You will get a Java error message (https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool/issues/11161).
LanguageTool will load these files from the TechScribe website: disambiguation-ste9-2025-10-10.xml, grammar-ste9-2025-10-10.xml, disambiguation-projectterms.xml, and grammar-projectterms.xml
The total file size is approximately 4.5 megabytes. Thus, if your internet connection is slow, you must wait many seconds for LanguageTool to start.
If LanguageTool does not automatically check the text, click Check Text.
The screenshot shows what you will see.
In Text Language, select English (American) or English (British).
You can select other variants of English. Possibly, you will not get a correct analysis for locale-specific spelling rules. Refer to Use American English spelling (unless other official directives tell you differently) (rule 1.14).
Optional step if the GUI language is not English. You will see many STE errors, because the default text is not English. Paste the default LanguageTool text into the term checker to see the default LanguageTool analysis of English text:
```
This is a example input to to show you how LanguageTool works.
```
LanguageTool has a small number of default rules that are in the LanguageTool Java code. Some default LanguageTool rules give unwanted error messages, as this example shows:

You can deactivate the rules that give unwanted error messages.
Optionally, to see the primary problems that the term checker identifies, use sample-text-for-ste-term-checker.txt.
Close LanguageTool.

2. Optional step. Show error types in colour

It is possible to add an attribute to a rule to specify a Localization Quality Issue Type. The term checker uses the attribute values to add coloured backgrounds to the errors that it finds:
Errors have a coloured background

Colours show the type of error
Localization Quality Issue Type	Colour (hexadecimal value)	Meaning in the term checker	Applicable rules in ASD-STE100
Addition	#FBDEBB	One or more words is a possible proper noun, or a singular determiner is used before a non-count noun.	The parts of 1.5 that are applicable to proper nouns (1.5.8, 1.5.10, 1.5.11, 1.5.15), 4.5
Characters	#FF80FF	A character is a semicolon or a non-standard character.	8.1
Grammar	#C0FFC0	The tense is not an approved tense.	1.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
Inconsistency	#E0E0C0	A not-approved word is used with a different part of speech.	1.1
Legal	#D6D6D6	Prototype rules. (The rules are not available to most users.)	None
Misspelling	#D0E0D0	A word is approved, but the spelling is not correct.	1.14
Mistranslation	#FFFF80	This error type is for semantics. One or more words are approved and the parts of speech are correct, but there is a possible semantic error.	1.3, 1.5, 1.12.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2 ('be to' + infinitive only), 3.6, 3.7, 7.1, 8.1, 9.2, 9.3, GR-1, GR-2, GR-4, GR-6
Non-conformance	#FFC0FF	A word contains a ligature or a sentence contains more than 20 alphanumeric tokens.	5.1
Omission	#C0C000	A word is missing or a word is a contraction of an approved word.	4.2, 4.5
Other	#FF9800	There is a disambiguation error or a character encoding error.	None
Register	#C0FFFF	A word is approved, but it is not used with its approved part of speech.	1.2, 1.6, 1.7
Terminology	#FFC0C0	A term is not-approved or there is a possible hyphenation error.	1.1, 1.4, 1.11, 3.1, 8.2
Untranslated	#E0E0FF	A word is unknown in ASD-STE100.	1.1

To show error types in colour

Close LanguageTool.
Open .languagetool.cfg in a text editor. (In Windows, .languagetool.cfg is usually in C:\Users\Your Name.)
Add the line of code that follows:
```
errorColors=addition:#FBDEBB, characters:#FF80FF, grammar:#C0FFC0, inconsistency:#E0E0C0, legal:#D6D6D6, misspelling:#D0E0D0, mistranslation:#FFFF80, non-conformance:#FFC0FF, omission:#C0C000, other:#FF9800, register:#C0FFFF, terminology:#FFC0C0, untranslated:#E0E0FF
```
Put the line of code into one of these locations:
- If .languagetool.cfg contains a line errorColors=, replace the text.
- If .languagetool.cfg does not contain a line errorColors=, put the line of code at the end of the file (possibly, LanguageTool will change its position).
Close .languagetool.cfg.
Double-click languagetool.jar. Warnings about possible errors have a coloured background:
Close LanguageTool.

3. Download the templates for your project terms

Although you can use the term checker if you do not do this procedure, you cannot add your technical terms to the term checker. Also, if TechScribe changes these templates when there is a new version of the term checker and if you use the files that are on the TechScribe website, errors can occur.

Close LanguageTool.
Download these files into the data-files directory:
- disambiguation-projectterms.xml
- grammar-projectterms.xml
Edit ste9-lt2025-09-23\org\languagetool\resource\en\disambiguation.xml. In the line that contains ProjectTermsDisambiguationRules, change the path to the path of disambiguation-projectterms.xml on your computer.
For example, change:
<!ENTITY ProjectTermsDisambiguationRules SYSTEM "https://www.simplified-english.co.uk/disambiguation-projectterms.xml">
To:
<!ENTITY ProjectTermsDisambiguationRules SYSTEM "file:///D:/test/ste-term-checker/data-files/disambiguation-projectterms.xml">
Edit ste9-lt2025-09-23\org\languagetool\rules\en\grammar.xml. Change the line that contains ProjectTermsGrammarRules to the path of grammar-projectterms.xml on your computer.

You can now customize the rules to include the technical nouns and the technical verbs that your organization uses.

4. Optional. Install the LanguageTool n-gram data

The term checker does not find all possible semantic errors or part-of-speech errors. For information about the errors that the term checker finds, refer to 'Rules'.

LanguageTool can use n-grams and a statistical method to find possible errors. The n-gram data is very large. Thus, the installation of the n-gram data is separate from the installation of the stand-alone version of LanguageTool. To install the n-gram data, refer to https://dev.languagetool.org/finding-errors-using-n-gram-data.

The screenshot shows examples of errors that the statistical method can find:
Some errors have a coloured background

In the example sentences, all the words are approved in ASD-STE100, but they are used incorrectly:

Do the some tests again: some is an approved adjective, but the correct adjective is same.
Remove the waist from the hangar: waist is a technical noun (noun, rule 1.5.12), but the correct noun is waste.
Use a week solution of water and disinfectant: week is a technical noun (noun, rule 1.5.4), and week solution is a multi-word noun (compare with oil filter). The correct word is weak (adjective).
Your manager will tell your to open the door: your is an approved adjective, but the correct word is you (pronoun).
It is there problem, not the manufacturer's problem: there is an approved pronoun, but the correct word is their (pronoun).

Update the term checker for STE issue 9

Instructions are in an e-mail message from TechScribe.

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