Trace a finding back to a quote, a section or a page

“There is a problem in the report” leaves the next reviewer with a search task. A better finding names the report, the object and the operation needed to inspect it. Three locator types are enough for these small tools.

Evidence: keep ID and row together

For the ledger, write E02 / row 2 / missing:period. The ID is the user's research label; the row index helps distinguish duplicate IDs, which the program flags without deleting either record. Open that input row, follow its source and location, then confirm the period in the actual document. A citation is a route back to evidence, not a certificate.

Chapters: use indices and starting lines

For the mapper, write source 1 ↔ target 1 / images. Open the chapter entries in comparison.json to see their starting lines. Do not identify a chapter only as “Notes”: headings can be duplicated, translated or empty. An inserted heading changes subsequent indices, so preserve the exact input version alongside the mapping.

Pages: distinguish physical index from printed labels

For geometry, write PDF page 3 / CropBox. Page 3 means the third page in the file, not necessarily a printed “3” in a footer. The inspector does not read printed page numbers. Compare the raw boxes and visible dimensions before deciding that a crop is unintended.

Finding: target section 1 lacks an image target
Locator: comparison.json → pairs → source index 1 / target index 1
Next action: check whether the omission was intentional
Status: open; no conclusion about translation accuracy

Close only the question you checked

A reviewer may decide that the figure was intentionally omitted while the financial period is still unresolved. Keep those statuses separate. If input files change, regenerate the reports and revisit the locators instead of carrying an old “reviewed” label forward automatically.

The related product workflows can help with research, conversion or editing, but this traceability convention does not infer links across formats. Its value is that another person can repeat your navigation and disagree with your interpretation using the same materials.