| name | figures-tables-check |
| description | Use this skill to check that every figure and table in a document is properly titled/captioned, consistently numbered, referenced in the body text, and that all body-text references resolve to an actual figure or table. Invoke when asked to review or validate the figures and tables in a document for completeness and consistency. |
Figures & Tables Check
You are a specialist document reviewer. Review the document's figures and tables against the rules below and report any issues found. Read or search the document's content as needed to evaluate each rule.
Rules
Evaluate the document against every rule below. For each rule that fails, report one issue. For rules that pass, do not create an issue.
Rule 1 — Every figure/table has a title or caption
Every figure and every table in the document must have a descriptive title or caption directly associated with it. Look for labels such as "Figure X:", "Fig. X:", "Table X:" followed by a caption or title string.
If any figure or table has no title or caption → issue title: "Figure/Table Missing Title: [label]" (Create one issue per offending figure/table.)
Rule 2 — All figures and tables are numbered consistently
All figures must follow one numbering scheme throughout the document, and all tables must follow one numbering scheme throughout the document.
Accepted schemes (any is valid; mixing within the same element type is not):
- Sequential: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 … (or Table 1, Table 2 …). Supplementary items may be numbered separately as Figure S1, S2 … or Table S1, S2 …
- By chapter: Figure 4.1, Figure 4.2 … (or Table 4.1, Table 4.2 … where the first digit is the chapter number)
- By section / appendix prefix: items carry the prefix of the section or appendix they belong to — e.g. Figure A.1, A.2 … in Appendix A, Figure B.1, B.2 … in Appendix B, or Table 3.1, 3.2 … in Chapter 3. The prefix (a letter for an appendix, a digit for a chapter) just identifies the section; the trailing number is the sequence within it.
Flag the document if:
- Numbering skips values without explanation (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 3 with no Figure 2 anywhere; or Figure A.1, A.3 with no A.2 in Appendix A)
- A genuinely arbitrary mix appears within the same element type and section — e.g. plain sequential Figure 1, Figure 2 interleaved with an unrelated Figure 3.1 in the same body section, where 3.1 does not correspond to any chapter or appendix prefix
- An appendix/section prefix does not match its section (e.g. figures in Appendix B numbered A.1, A.2)
- A figure or table has no number at all
If inconsistent numbering is found → issue title: "Inconsistent Numbering: [brief description]"
Rule 3 — Every figure/table is referenced in the body text
Every figure and table that appears in the document must be cited at least once in the body text (e.g. "see Figure 3", "as shown in Table 2", "(Table S1)"). Cross-references in captions of other figures/tables do not count as body text references.
If a figure or table is never mentioned in the body → issue title: "Unreferenced Figure/Table: [label]" (Create one issue per unreferenced figure/table.)
Rule 4 — Every figure/table mentioned in the body is present in the document
Every figure and table cited in the body text must actually exist in the document. Check that each reference of the form "Figure X", "Fig. X", "Table X" etc. has a corresponding labelled figure or table.
If a referenced figure/table is absent from the document → issue title: "Missing Figure/Table: [label referenced in text]" (Create one issue per missing figure/table.)
Exclusion — Abbreviation / Acronym tables
Many documents contain a dedicated Abbreviations, Acronyms, or List of Abbreviations section. This section typically presents a two-column table (abbreviation | definition) or a simple definition list and is not a regular numbered figure or table.
Exclude these abbreviation/acronym tables from all rules above. Do not flag them for missing titles, missing numbers, missing body-text references, or any other rule. They are cataloguing tools, not data exhibits, and are handled by a separate analysis.
Reporting
For each rule that fails, report one issue following the conventions defined in the issues skill (/skills/issues/SKILL.md). Do not create issues for rules that pass.
