Table of Contents - Download this document as PDF
1.0 Submitting your manuscript
1.1 Enter Article Title
1.2 Select Article Type
1.3 Add/Edit/Remove Authors
1.4 Select Section/Category
1.5 Submit Abstract
1.6 Enter Keywords
1.7 Select Classifications
1.8 Additional Information
1.9 Enter Comments
1.10 Select Region of Origin
1.11 Attach Files
1.12 Uploading a Compressed File
1.13 File Ordering Mechanism
1.14 Changing the Submission Item Label after the File is Uploaded
1.15 Author PDF Approval
2.0 Invited and Commissioned Papers
2.1 Invited Authors
3.0 Tracking the Progress of Your Submission
4.0 Submitting Revised Manuscripts
4.1 View Submission
4.2 Download Files
4.3 Submit Revision
4.4 View Decision
4.5 Decline to Revise
4.6 Reinstate a Declined Revision
5.0 Artwork Quality Check (AQC)
5.1 Displaying Artwork QC Results
1.0 Submitting Your Manuscript
Once you log onto the system, the "Author Main Menu" is displayed (see below).
Click "Submit New Manuscript" to begin the submission process. The "Submit New Manuscript" interface will then be displayed (see below)
1.1 Enter Article Title
Enter the title of your paper in the space provided. Click "Next" when you are ready to proceed.
1.2 Select Article Type
You must select the article type that best describes your paper. Using the drop-down menu, select the type description. Click "Next" to proceed.
1.3 Add/Edit/Remove Authors
Enter the names of anyone who contributed significantly to the research and preparation of the paper. By entering coauthors' names, you are confirming that all coauthors have seen the final version of the paper, take responsibility for its content, and agree to its submission for publication. Only you, as the corresponding author, will receive any e-mail notifications from the system.
Enter the author’s information and click "Add Author".
You may change the person designated as the corresponding author, but this person must be a registered Editorial Management System user. Other authors do not need to be registered with the system. A first name and last name are required – affiliation information is not a required entry, however it will aid an editor who wishes to select reviewers who are not affiliated with those who contributed significantly to the research and preparation of the paper.
You can designate the order in which other authors are listed, including the corresponding author. After the list of authors has been entered it may be reordered by clicking on the arrows next to each name. The author at the top of the list is automatically designated as the first author. The corresponding author does not have to be listed first, but rather can appear anywhere in the list.
You do not need to re-enter yourself in the list of authors. The person who begins the manuscript submission process is by default the corresponding author.
To change the corresponding author, first enter the author’s name in the "First Name" and "Last Name" textboxes, and then click the checkbox entitled "Please select if this is the corresponding author." If the person you entered is not a registered Editorial Management System user, you will be unable to designate him/her as the corresponding author. If this person is registered with the Editorial Management System, you will be asked to enter his or her username and password (if you do not know the password, please contact the journals department to make the change). After you have completed the submission, you will no longer be considered the corresponding author and will not be able to access the manuscript in the system. The new corresponding author will receive an email when the PDF is built, instructing that the PDF be viewed and approved.
Click "Next" to proceed.
1.4 Select Section/Category
Where applicable, the "Section/Category" drop down list for the journal is shown. For journals that do have categories, you will not be asked to make a selection.
Make the appropriate selection and then click "Next" to proceed.
1.5 Submit Abstract
Type or copy and paste the manuscript’s abstract into the textbox. The abstract must also be included in your uploaded manuscript document.
Enter the abstract information and click "Next" to proceed.
1.6 Enter Keywords
Enter the keywords that apply to your manuscript. Each keyword must be separated by semicolons. You may search the Civil Engineering (CE) Database by following the link from the Editorial Management System’s welcome page or by going directly to http://www.pubs.asce.org/cedbsrch.html. Subject headings (keywords) are arranged alphabetically and can be viewed by selecting "Subject Headings" from the CE Database screen.
Enter your keywords as indicated, and click "Next" to proceed.
1.7 Select Classifications
Click "Select Document Classifications" to open a window containing a list of the classifications for the journal. If the journal to which you are submitting does not use document classifications you will not be asked for this information.
Click the checkbox next to any classification you wish to select. You may select as many classifications as are appropriate.
Click "Submit" to complete your selection.
Once you have entered the classifications, click "Next" to proceed.
1.8 Additional Information
You will be asked a series of questions about your submission. Please answer all questions. Depending on your answers, you may be instructed to provide further explanations in your cover letter.
1.9 Enter Comments
You must upload a cover letter with your manuscript when attaching manuscript files (see 1.11). However, for some manuscript types, you may also enter any additional comments that you would like to send to the journal office. These comments will not appear in your manuscript.
Enter your comments and then click "Next" to proceed.
1.10 Select Region of Origin
You must identify a geographic region (or country) of origin from the list provided.
Select the country/region by using the drop-down menu and click "Next" to proceed.
1.11 Attach Files
All items in your submission must be uploaded to complete the submission process. Complete the following steps for each item you wish to upload:
Choose the first item from the drop-down list (items that are required will be marked with an asterisk).
Enter a Description in the text box.
Locate the file on your local drive using the "Browse" button.
You may attach files to your submission that have been "compressed" (i.e., zip files). This allows you to upload several files at once, rather than having to upload one file at a time. It also enables a faster upload of a large single file. The system will automatically "unpack" or "un-zip" the file, so that the individual file(s) can be attached to the submission.
Click "Attach This File" to upload the file (uploading may take several minutes for larger files).
Please note: Manuscript, cover letter, tables, and responses to reviewers must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents. The copyright agreement and any permissions must be PDF documents. Figures can be either postscript or tagged image file format (TIFF).
For information on how to prepare graphic files for submission, please refer to the Author Guide.
As each item is attached, you will see a list of uploaded items displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Repeat this process until all items in your submission have been uploaded.
When all Items have been attached, click "Next" to proceed.
You will be shown a summary of the files you are sending to the journal office. Please ensure that you have included all the required files. If you have neglected to include required items, you will not be allowed to proceed to building your PDF.
Click "Build PDF for my Approval". A message will appear on the screen thanking you for your submission. Your manuscript will now be found in the "Submissions Waiting for Author’s Approval" in your Author Main Menu. To complete the process you must make a final approval before your submission is sent to the journal office. (See Author PDF Approval in section 1.15). Building a PDF may take some time depending on the size of the files you are uploading.
If you are unable to complete the submission process, your data will not be lost. You can access your unfinished submission in the " Incomplete Submissions" list on your Author Main Menu.
1.12 Uploading a Compressed File
"Compressed files" refer to any files created by a "packing" utility, such as PKZip or WinZip. A compressed file may consist of a single or multiple files. The primary purpose of "zipping" or "compressing" a file is to reduce the overall file size, thus facilitating faster transmittal. The following compressed file formats are supported:
- Zip – such as WinZIP
- tar.gz – this is a UNIX file compression utility
To upload a compressed file, choose a "Submission Item Type" from the drop-down list, and upload your compressed file containing one or more individual files. The resulting behavior varies slightly, depending on whether the zip file contains a single file or multiple files.
Zip File Contains a Single File: The single file is listed in the attached files list with the item and description designation made by the user before the file was uploaded. You may then change the item and/or description, and re-order the files.
Zip File Contains Two or More Files: The unpacking process lists all of the files individually. You must then select a submission item for each file. The description fields are dynamically populated based on the submission items selected and you may modify those descriptions, if desired. You may then re-order the files.
1.13 File Ordering Mechanism
You may change the file order by entering numbers in the text box next to each submission item.
A text box with a number appears next to each file. The files are numbered in the sequence in which they were uploaded. For example, if four files are uploaded, the default value for each item is 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. You may change the order of the files by typing in a new order and clicking the "Update File Order" button. For example, if the last item you uploaded should appear first, simply type a “1” next to the file, and Update the file order. You do not have to renumber all the others, the file will automatically be placed at the top, and all other subsequent files will be reordered.
1.14 Changing the Submission Item Label after the File is Uploaded
If you are uploading a figure, but did not select the "Figure" item from the item drop-down list, then the item label would be incorrect.
The "Item" column in the list of attached files has drop-down boxes for each file, so the submission item can easily be changed after the file has been uploaded.
[Above: File "Order" and "Item" designation, and "Description" can all be changed after file upload]
1.15 Author PDF Approval
You must approve your submission before it can be submitted to the journal office. Click "Submissions Waiting for Author’s Approval" to bring up a table containing all manuscripts that are waiting to be viewed and approved by you (see below).
Once the PDF version of your manuscript has been created by the system (this may take a few minutes once you’ve uploaded your files or as long as 30-60 minutes depending on the size of files, and outstanding PDF building activity), you will see a set of links in the ‘Action’ column of the table. "View Submission" allows you to view the PDF version of your submission (if you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your system, simply click the "Get Acrobat Reader" icon at the bottom of the "Submissions Waiting for Author’s Approval" menu and follow the instructions from Adobe’s web site).
You may choose to make alterations to your submission such as spelling corrections, description changes, extra graphics, etc. – you can do this by selecting "Edit Submission." If there is a problem creating the PDF you are viewing, there will be a message in the PDF explaining what may have caused the problem. "Edit Submission" will bring you to the same interface you used when you initially submitted the manuscript.
You can remove or add files at the "Attach Files" step, if you need to change anything. If you do make changes, a new PDF file will be built for you to view and approve. Once you are satisfied with your submission and are ready to send it to the journal office, click "Approve Submission". You may also choose to remove your manuscript from the system by selecting "Remove Submission" (the Manuscript will not be submitted to the journal office).
Once approved, your submission will appear in the "Submissions Being Processed" list in your "Author Main Menu".
2.0 Invited and Commissioned Papers
Some journals have a pre-submission phase, during which authors are invited to submit a paper.
2.1 Invited Authors
You will be notified of an invitation to submit a manuscript via email. Once you receive the email, you must log onto the system. From the "Author Main Menu" a heading," invited submissions," will be displayed with two links (see below).
My New Invitations – this folder holds invitations for which you have not yet "Agreed" or "Declined" to submit a related article. A link appears for you to view the submission invitation. Once you have decided, you can agree to submit or decline the invitation.
My Accepted Invitations - this folder holds Proposals invitations for which you have agreed to submit a related paper. A link appears for you to view the “parent” submission. You may also view the invitation letter sent by the editor. Submissions move out of this folder once the "Submit Invited Manuscript" link is clicked. You may submit the manuscript when ready.
[Above: Author’s Main Menu, Invited Submissions sub-menu]
3.0 Tracking the Progress of Your Submission
Once your manuscript has been submitted to the journal, you can track its progress by viewing your submission in the "Submissions Being Processed" list (see below).
You will be notified once a decision has been made by the editor.
4.0 Submitting Revised Manuscripts
During the review process the editor may decide that your manuscript must be revised. You will receive an email notifying you of the decision, together with comments from reviewers and the editor.
4.1 View Submission
The "View Submission" link allows you to view the PDF of the most recent version of the manuscript.
4.2 Download Files
The "Download Files" link allows you to download any of the source files that make up your submission. You can access your files and work on them before you click the "Submit Revision" link.
4.3 Submit Revision
The "Submit Revision" link guides you through the revised manuscript submission process.
It will appear similar to when you uploaded your original manuscript. When you get to the “Attach Files” step in the process, you are presented with the list of source files from the previous version. You may choose whether or not to carry over files from the previous version to the new Revision.
When presented with the list of source files, there is a checkbox displayed to the right of each file. The checkbox must be checked to carry the file over to the new version of the submission.
Click “Next” to proceed to the next page where you will be given the option to upload your revised files.
Click “Next” to build your revised PDF for your approval.
4.4 View Decision
Once a decision has been made by the editor, you will be notified by email.
When asked to revise your submission, the submission moves into the "Submissions Needing Revision" folder of your menu.
4.5 Decline to Revise
If you decide not to make the requested revisions, you may decline to do so. Your submission record then moves to the "Author’s Declined Revisions" folder and the paper will be withdrawn from the review process.
4.6 Reinstate a Declined Revision
Occasionally, a submission is accidentally removed or declined. Instead of submitting a "New Manuscript" you should "Reinstate" the submission which will allow you to continue with the revision process.
5.0 Artwork Quality Check (AQC)
The Editorial Management System will perform a check on the artwork that has been uploaded. The results of this quality check will then be made available to you.
5.1 Displaying Artwork QC Results
Once a decision has been made, all graphic files that have been uploaded during the submission process will be checked by the Artwork QC utility. From the "Submissions Waiting Approval" or "Revisions Waiting Approval" screens a link will appear labeled "View Artwork Quality Results". You may click on this link to view the results.
[Above: View Artwork Quality Results Action link]
All files will be listed in the artwork quality results, but only those designated as requiring analysis will display any results (e.g., Pass, Pass with Warning, Fail). You may download individual source files and view the artwork quality results for each file.
[Above: Artwork Quality Results page]
When the artwork quality results are viewed a preflight detail report will provide analysis of the file.
[Above: Analysis of the Artwork Quality Check]
The artwork quality results will also display specific information on any problems with the file as well as possible solutions. This means that you may make the necessary changes to the artwork files or upload new ones.
[Above: Diagnostic information from the Artwork Quality Check]
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