How to check an AI-created file before you use or share it

Agree on what you will actually open

Bring the original inputs, the latest agreed changes, the intended app or device, and the destination. Name both the editable material and the usable output: an SVG plus a printable PDF, a timeline plus a video, or a font plus its character map. A picture of a document does not replace an editable document when editing is part of the request.

Use the small acceptance card below before a long run, or fill it in when reviewing a result already delivered. Ask the agent to return the files with the outcome of each check and anything it could not inspect. Keep that report brief enough to compare with the files yourself.

Identify the file before judging the preview

Follow the delivered link or attachment and open that output. Check its filename or revision against the delivery note and your last requested change. If three versions are present, ask which one is current and keep the others clearly labeled. A screenshot from yesterday cannot establish what is in today's download.

If the link is unavailable, ask for the saved file in the agreed destination or a supported export. Preserve work that already exists. A failed download does not require the agent to repeat the whole creation task, and an inaccessible link should stay marked inaccessible until it opens.

Compare the export with the editable source

Choose the few details that would make the result unusable if wrong. For a motion film, compare the final wording, scene order and ending against the approved script, then play the exported video. For a font, check that the agreed characters are present and recognizable in the exported font. Inspect your real text, including numbers and punctuation, rather than only an attractive alphabet preview.

Ask the agent which source revision produced that export and whether it inspected the exported file itself. After a source edit, request a fresh export and repeat the affected check. If the agent cannot render, play or otherwise inspect the format, have it name that gap and leave the check for you. Do not turn a proposed check into a passed one.

Try the result where you intend to use it

Use the intended application, screen size or physical setting. A label font gets checked in your label layout. A short film gets played on the device where you plan to show it, with sound if sound matters. An app gets one complete journey from starting input to visible result, using synthetic data and an authorized test environment.

Simon Willison's Agentic manual testing describes having coding agents exercise their output and inspect screenshots, including defects that automated tests missed. He also created the testing tools he discusses. That is firsthand software practice, not proof that an agent can inspect every file format or that this guide's checks catch every defect.

A worked example: the pattern looks right but prints wrong

Imagine an agent has returned an editable apron pattern and a tiled PDF. This example is illustrative and has not been executed. The latest instruction was to preserve the original dimensions and add piece labels. The SVG looks right, but the PDF's calibration square measures differently on paper.

In a September 17 maker account, 糸巻きこけし describes working on AI-assisted pattern files, checking dimensions, assembling paper and sewing before further revisions. The writer runs a sewing business and promotes a YouTube channel. This is a self-report with human corrections, not our reproduction or a model comparison.

1. Keep the original pattern and both output files. Record exactly which PDF you printed, the paper size and the print settings used.
2. Compare the calibration square in the SVG, the exported PDF and the paper copy. Ask the agent to identify whether the mismatch is already in the export or appears only during printing.
3. Repair the affected export or change the relevant print setting. Preserve the design dimensions; do not resize the design merely to make one printer’s result look correct.
4. Print the calibration page again. Assemble the paper and compare important edges with the original before using fabric. Digital agreement does not establish physical scale or garment fit.

Ask for the smallest repair you can describe

Name the file, what you did, what happened and what should have happened. Include the relevant source detail or screenshot. This gives the agent something to reproduce without discarding the parts you already approved.

An illustrative repair request: In label-font-v2.ttf, the 6 is unreadable in Plum jam 2026 at my label size. Compare it with character 18 on the confirmed source sheet. Preserve the other approved characters, correct the affected outline or spacing, then return a new TTF and a proof made from that exact export. State what you checked and what still needs my review.

Sometimes the input needs repair. In draw-your-font issue #8, prisme49 reports a scan treating template grid lines as character components. The reporter attributes the experiment to geeks.fr; we have not reproduced it. A cleaner capture or corrected character map may be the next step, rather than more cosmetic changes to the final font.

Check the delivered copy and leave an honest finish

Once the output passes its intended-use check, open the copy at the agreed destination. For a private shared file, inspect its access setting and, when appropriate, have the intended recipient confirm access. Do not make it public to resolve a permission problem. Keep creation, your review and sharing as separate states; perform a send or publish only within the authority you gave.

Ask for a short final note naming the current source and export, checks performed, unresolved limitations and the next decision. Anthropic's agent-evaluation guidance distinguishes a conversation record from the resulting state in the environment. Our acceptance card applies that distinction to personal files; it is an original, untested review method. It does not establish compatibility across Muse, Instinct, Dots or Grok Bot.