| The following instructions for submitting to
Acta Crystallographica Section A
are organized in question-and-answer format. You can read through
the questions in order, or click on any of the questions to jump
directly to the answer. When you're ready to continue, go back to the submissions
home page.
Context sensitive help is available throughout the submission procedure by clicking on the help icons ![[info]](http://www.iucr.org/iucr-top/logos/info.gif){kind=small}
Please note: These instructions should be read together with the Notes for Authors, which give overall guidelines on submitting an article. Getting started
Getting started How do I begin submitting an article? When you are ready to submit an article and have all the necessary items ready, you should go to the submissions home page to start the process. To submit your article, you will need to fill out two screens of information, including uploading a single file for your submission; the process is reasonably self-explanatory, and detailed help is provided along the way. Back to contents What should I have ready before starting a new submission? Before you begin submitting, you should have the following items ready:
Back to contents What does the overall submission and review procedure involve? The overall procedure involves five stages:
Back to contents Back to contents Initial submission and review What kinds of file may I submit initially? For initial submission and refereeing we require the text and graphics of your article to be submitted as a single file. The formats that can be used are:
All files will be automatically converted into a PDF review document by the submission system. If your article reports a crystal structure, a CIF (crystallographic information file) of all the crystallographic data (see below) will also be required. If your article is accepted, you will be asked to provide separate source files of the final version of your article. Details of the files required after acceptance are given below. Tools that can be used in preparing your article are also described below. Back to contents Should I use a template to prepare my article? Templates are available for the preparation of your article in WORD or LaTeX format. For refereeing purposes, please ensure that the file you prepare is in preprint format (single column, double spaced) and that all graphics are included in the file. Back to contents How do I create a PDF file? To create a high-quality PDF file, you will need the commercial product Adobe Acrobat (not to be confused with the free Acrobat Reader product, which only allows you to read PDF files). Alternatively, the freely available program AFPL Ghostscript may be used to create PDF files from PostScript or pdflatex may be used to convert LaTeX files to PDF. Preparing a PDF file from WORD:
Back to contents How do I prepare an enhanced figure? A toolkit is available
which allows you to create one or more enhanced figures and their
corresponding static figures. This application uses the CIF for
your structure to produce a figure which you can manipulate as
required. When you have completed your figure it can be saved and
you will be supplied with a URL for viewing the enhanced figure and
a high-resolution graphics file of the static figure. This URL and
the corresponding static figure should be included in the article
you submit to the journal. Once your article is accepted for
publication, the static figure should be uploaded as a source
file (see below for details of
files required to complete a submission) and the URL of the
enhanced figure should be pasted into the appropriate form in the
upload page.
Back to contents Should I submit supplementary data? If your article reports a crystal structure, a CIF (Crystallographic Information File) of all the crystallographic data will be required for the review process. You will be provided with a web address to upload your CIF during the submission procedure. You should ensure that at least a basic structural check is run on the final version of your CIF prior to submission. Currently the initial submission procedure only allows a single file of your article to be uploaded. If you have supplementary material in text or graphics format that would be useful for the review process, please include it at the end of your article file. It should be clearly marked as supplementary material. Please let the Co-editor know directly if there is other supplementary material in different formats (e.g. a video) that would be useful for the review process. Supplementary information for publication may be uploaded after your article has been accepted, see below. Back to contents What do I need to do about copyright? When your article has been successfuly uploaded, a Co-editor reference code assigned and a PDF review document created, you will be sent an e-mail to confirm that your article has entered the review stage. You will also be sent a Transfer of Copyright agreement. You should complete and sign this agreement and return it to the Editorial Office either by fax (+44 1244 314888) or by e-mail (copyrighta@iucr.org). The e-mail should include the Co-editor reference code in the Subject line. If you have any questions about copyright, please contact support@iucr.org. Back to contents Where should I put my response to a review of my article? You should generally respond to review comments by e-mailing the Co-editor handling your article; if your article has been revised it should also be re-uploaded at this stage, see below. Short responses to review comments may be pasted or typed into the space provided on the re-upload form. Back to contents How do I submit a revised article? To upload a revised version of your article following review comments, you should use the web address supplied to you during the initial submission procedure. The revised version should again be a single file of the text and graphics of your article (see above). Please note: revisions should be submitted only at the specific request of the Co-editor handling your article. Back to contents Completing a submission What kinds of file may I submit to complete my submission? If your article is accepted, the Co-editor will send you an e-mail accepting your article and a new web address which you should use to upload the source files of the final version of your article. The files should be prepared according to the Notes for Authors; the files that we will require are as follows:
When you have uploaded all your files, you will be asked to confirm that your submission is complete and ready for publication. Important: your article will not enter the publication process until you have clicked the button to confirm that your submission is complete. Back to contents Getting help What are some common pitfalls I should avoid?
What tools are available to help prepare my article? A number of tools are available to help with the preparation of structural articles:
What if the Co-editor I wish to submit to is unavailable? If you have a preference for a particular Co-editor, and that Co-editor is not available when you submit your article, you should either continue with your submission by choosing another Co-editor whose areas of expertise best match your article, or you may contact support@iucr.org to see when the Co-editor will next be available. Likewise, if you wish to submit a series of related papers to the same Co-editor, please contact support@iucr.org before starting your submissions. Back to contents What is an IUCr ID? Your IUCr ID is your user name for all IUCr online services. The International Union of Crystallography has brought several of its online services for users, including the World Directory of Crystallographers and e-mail alerting for IUCr journals (Crystallography Journals Online), under a single registration system. With this system, each user needs to register information such as their name and e-mail address only once, and can simply and easily keep their own information up to date. Registration is simple, with only a small amount of information required, although users who wish to be included in the World Directory of Crystallographers should provide contact and biographical information that is as complete as possible. Once registered, each user may use their IUCr ID and password at any time, for instance to log in to update their details for the World Directory of Crystallographers, to change e-mail addresses and the e-mail alerts received at each address. If you are already registered (if you are already in the World Directory of Crystallographers), click here to search for your IUCr ID. Back to contentsWhat should I do if I get stuck? You will find detailed help links throughout
the submission pages, and you can use any of these links without
stopping the submission. If you are having more serious problems,
you should contact support@iucr.org.
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