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Guided workflow variation

Coming soon for Windows. Feature preview.

A submittal register from the specs,with every page cited.

Pick the project manual PDF. Spec Register Builder reads each section, lists the requirements it finds with part, article, paragraph, and page, and lays them beside the rendered sheet so the whole team can trace any row back to the book.

Pick the spec book, review the rows beside each page, and export a register to Excel or CSV that cites every requirement back to its paragraph.

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If this sounds like your week

Building the log by hand starts with reading every section.

A project manual for a mid-size building runs to hundreds of pages across dozens of sections. Each one buries its own requirements in Part 1, and many add more under Quality Assurance, Warranty, or Field Quality Control. The usual method is a person, a highlighter, and a spreadsheet: read, type the item, type the section and paragraph, and repeat through the last division.

Where tooling usually breaks

A missed item surfaces when the material is already ordered.

Typed logs drift. A transposed paragraph number, a mock-up requirement in an article nobody opened, a closeout warranty that never made the list: each one shows up months later as a held inspection, a returned delivery, or a closeout package that cannot be finished. And a log without page references sends every reviewer back to the binder whenever a question comes up.

Where Spec Register Builder lands

The book builds the register, and every row says where it came from.

Spec Register Builder reads the SECTION title line on each opening page, walks every part and article beneath it, and lists each paragraph that asks for something to be submitted. Each row records the section, part, article, paragraph, PDF page, printed page, type, and a confidence hint. Check it beside the rendered page, then save the register as XLSX or CSV.

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What you get

Feature highlights

Every row cites its page

each requirement carries its spec section and title, part, article, and paragraph, plus the PDF page and the printed page from the section footer, and the rendered page opens beside the table when you select it.

Sections read from the book

numbers and titles come from each SECTION title line, including six-digit, level-four, run-together, five-digit, and dual numbers, so the register follows the project’s own numbering.

Twelve submittal types

Preconstruction, Shop Drawings, Product Data, Samples, Design Data, Test Reports, Certificates, Manufacturer’s Instructions and Field Reports, O&M Data, Closeout, and Sustainability, with Action, Informational, Closeout, or UFGS G and Info.

Filter, sort, and review beside the page

narrow the table by any word or section number, sort by section, paragraph, page, type, or confidence, and check rows with a Review flag first.

Excel and CSV for the log

fourteen columns that line up with common submittal logs, with Submit By, Reviewer, and Notes left blank for your team, and requirement text written as text, never as a formula.

Source hash on record, nothing uploaded

the workbook’s Manifest sheet records the source file’s SHA-256, pages, rows, and export time, the spec book is never written, and the app makes no network connections.

Especially when

  • Build a submittal register from a construction spec book PDF instead of reading every section and typing each requirement into a spreadsheet
  • Cite every submittal requirement to its section, paragraph, and page so the team can check it against the specifications
  • Export the register to Excel or CSV with columns that line up with common submittal logs and a record of the source file
  • Keep the spec book on the PC and unchanged, with no upload, no account, and no network connection

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

A general contractor at award

The contract is signed, the preconstruction meeting is two weeks out, and the project engineer has a long project manual PDF and an empty submittal log to fill before then.

She picks the PDF, sorts by Section, and works through the register beside the rendered pages, starting with any row that carries a Review flag. Export XLSX gives her the log with Submit By, Reviewer, and Notes columns ready to fill in for the meeting.

A mechanical subcontractor after buyout

The subcontract covers the Division 23 sections, and the subcontractor wants its own list of required submittals before the general contractor sends the master log.

The estimator sorts by Section to bring the Division 23 rows together, reads the Product Data and Shop Drawings rows beside their pages, then exports the register and keeps the Division 23 rows in Excel for the submittal schedule.

An owner’s representative checking a log

The owner’s representative receives the contractor’s proposed submittal log and wants a second list, built from the same specifications, to compare it with.

A register built from the same project manual gives a cited list of every requirement found. Rows that appear in one list and not the other point straight to the paragraphs worth a closer look, each with its page.

Deep dive

What a submittal register built from the specifications should give you

Every requirement, wherever it sits. Submittal requirements are not confined to the article titled Submittals. Spec sections also ask for samples and mock-ups under Quality Assurance, mix designs and test reports under Quality Control, and warranties and extra stock under Closeout. Spec Register Builder reads every article of every section, so those paragraphs land in the register alongside the ones under Action Submittals and Informational Submittals.

A citation on every row. A register is only as useful as its references. Each row carries the spec section and title, the part, the article, and the full paragraph path, such as 1.3.C.1, plus two page numbers: the PDF page, so you can jump to it, and the printed page read from the section footer, such as 03 30 00 - 3, so it matches the paper set.

Types and action codes. Each row is typed as one of twelve submittal types, from Preconstruction and Shop Drawings to Operation and Maintenance Data, Closeout, and Sustainability. The Action/Info column comes from the article the row sits in: Action, Informational, or Closeout, or G and Info on UFGS books.

A way to check before you send. The rendered page sits beside the table. Select a row and its page appears; Previous and Next step through the book. A confidence hint from 0 to 1 weighs how directly the paragraph asks for a submittal, where it sits, whether a type is named, and whether the sentence is complete, and rows at 0.40 or below carry a Review flag so you know where to look first.

A file the team can work in. Export XLSX writes a Register sheet with a frozen header and fourteen columns in the order a log uses, with Submit By, Reviewer, and Notes left blank for your team. Export CSV writes the same columns in UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, so Excel opens it with accents intact. Every row is exported, whatever the filter shows.

The source on record. The workbook adds a Manifest sheet with the source file name, its SHA-256, the page, section, and row counts, the pages read with OCR, the app version, and the export time, so anyone can tell exactly which book a register came from when an addendum arrives.

Launch updates. Spec Register Builder is coming soon for Windows. Use the waitlist form on the product page and confirm your email address to hear when it launches. No payment is taken.

Feature preview

Explore the intended workflow

Every row cites its page

each requirement carries its spec section and title, part, article, and paragraph, plus the PDF page and the printed page from the section footer, and the rendered page opens beside the table when you select it.

Sections read from the book

numbers and titles come from each SECTION title line, including six-digit, level-four, run-together, five-digit, and dual numbers, so the register follows the project’s own numbering.

Twelve submittal types

Preconstruction, Shop Drawings, Product Data, Samples, Design Data, Test Reports, Certificates, Manufacturer’s Instructions and Field Reports, O&M Data, Closeout, and Sustainability, with Action, Informational, Closeout, or UFGS G and Info.

Head-to-head

How Spec Register Builder compares

Feature Spec Register Builder Spreadsheet by hand Online converter Software suite
Requirements found Every article of every section is read for submittal language Whatever the reader catches Page text or tables, not submittal rows Varies by platform and plan
Page cited on each row Yes: PDF page and printed page, plus part, article, and paragraph Typed by hand when someone remembers Not part of the output Varies by platform
Review against the book Rendered page beside the table, one click per row A binder or a second window A separate viewer Usually a linked document viewer
Where the spec book goes Stays on this PC. Nothing uploads. Stays on this PC Uploaded to the site Uploaded to the platform
Record of the source file Manifest sheet with the SHA-256 of the PDF, page and row counts, and export time Whatever someone types in Not usually Varies by platform
How it is paid for Coming soon to the Microsoft Store Staff hours on every project Per use or per plan Often per user or per project, every year

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

What is a submittal register?

A submittal register, also called a submittal log, is the list of everything the contract documents ask the contractor to submit for review or for the record: shop drawings, product data, samples, test reports, certificates, warranties, and more. Each item is tied to its spec section and paragraph, then tracked with dates, reviewers, and status. Spec Register Builder builds the list part from the spec book and cites the page for each row.

Does it handle a full project manual?

Yes. It reads the whole book in one pass, section by section, from Division 01 to the last division in the file, and it was tested on a generated 2,000-page project manual with 200 sections. The status line counts what it found, such as 24 rows in 3 sections · 6 pages, and the Recent list keeps up to 20 books so you can reopen one later.

How do I check the rows before I send the register?

Select a row and its page renders beside the table, so the requirement text sits next to the paragraph it came from; Previous and Next step through the book. Sort by Conf. to bring rows with a low confidence hint to the top, where rows at 0.40 or below carry a Review flag. Filter rows narrows the table to a word, a submittal type, or a section number while you work.

What happens to the spec book PDF?

It stays exactly as it was. Spec Register Builder opens the PDF for reading only and never writes to it. Each export is a new XLSX or CSV file that you name in the Windows Save dialog, and the suggested name follows the book, such as Project Manual - submittal register.xlsx. Pick the same book again any time to rebuild the register from the untouched original.

Where does the work happen, and how do I get Spec Register Builder?

Spec Register Builder is coming soon to the Microsoft Store for Windows and is not available to download or purchase yet. Use the email form on its product page to join the waitlist, then confirm your email address. We will send launch updates when there is news. No payment is taken.

Related pages

Pull the submittals out of the spec book, paragraph by paragraph. A submittal log template that arrives already filled in. A submittal list in MasterFormat order, read straight from the book. SD-01 through SD-11, listed with every G item marked.

Spec Register Builder is coming soon.

Join the waitlist for launch updates. The app is not available to download or purchase yet. No payment is taken.

Join the Spec Register Builder waitlist
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MasterFormat is a trademark of The Construction Specifications Institute, Inc. (CSI). Spec Register Builder is not affiliated with or endorsed by CSI.