Instructions for using the Online Abstract Submittal System

Conventions used in the Online Abstract System

Submitting your abstract, one step at a time

The Online Abstract System divides the abstract submittal process into steps so that authors can enter information and confirm it is correct before moving to the next step. By following the buttons at the bottom of each page in the submittal process, you will automatically proceed through every step needed to submit an abstract. One page will follow another in the right frame of your screen until you are finished. After clicking the submit button at each stage, you will see a growing set of information that you have entered. You should proof it each time it appears, clicking the "Next step" button at the bottom of the page if the information is correct. Depending on the meeting, there are be five or six steps involved in submitting an abstract.

1. Select review disciplines and the presentation mode.
2. Title and key words -- enter the title and up to 5 key words.
3. Name authors(s) -- enter all authors, including to be listed and their affiliations.
4. Abstract Text -- Submit the body of the abstract.
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5. Final proof -- Check all of the information you have entered one more time before submitting it for review. (You only have to do this once. If you subsequently change something, that change is instantly submitted.)
6. Pay abstract submission fee

The information you enter is saved at each step of the process. So, if you lose your Internet connection or must interrupt the process for any reason, you can easily pick up later where you stopped.

Making Corrections

The functions that are available to you at any phase in the submittal process are shown to the left of these instructions, as links on the Paper Control Panel. These links let you easily return and make corrections at any step along the way. If, for example, you realize after entering the 7th author that you made a mistake in the abstract title, just click on the TITLE link and change the title. If you made a mistake in an author's name, just click on the author's name in the Paper Control Panel; the author information form will reappear in this space with the author's name on it, and you can change it right there. Select from the Paper Control Panel when you want to go back to make revisions and don't want to back up all the way there, or if you encountered an "invalid record number" or "corrupt data" error after backing up.

When making correction Do Not Use Back Button On Your Bowser

Submit an Abstract

Step 1 -- Abstract Characterization:
Confirm session selection, pick review disciplines, and select presentation mode.

If you are submitting an invited paper for a topical session at the annual meeting, enter the PIN# given to you by the session organizer/advocate.

The "Abstract Characterization" form will reflect your choice of symposium, topical/theme session, or general discipline session. If you wish to move your paper from a discipline session to a topical/theme session, you may have to log back into the system using the abstract ID# and password shown in the Paper Control Panel.

Select at least one review discipline, and preferably three. This will ensure that your abstract is reviewed by a qualified person. If your abstract is not accepted by the first discipline reviewer (perhaps because there have been too many papers submitted for that discipline), then it can be accepted for the second or third discipline.

Next you must select one of three presentation modes: Oral, Poster, or Either. Then click the "Next Step " button at the bottom of that page.

Within 60 seconds a confirmation page will appear in this frame, showing the information that you just entered or prompting you to provide missing information. Look over that information carefully. Then follow the instructions at the bottom of that page.

Note that the Paper Control Panel, to the left of these instructions, is updated each time you submit new information. New links will appear in that panel, allowing you to return quickly to a previous step at any time.

If the Paper Control Panel is not updated with each submission, or if the buttons at the bottom of a page do not work, then your browser is probably not set up to support JavaScript.  To enable JavaScript, see our JavaScript help.

Does nothing happen? If you wait for a full minute and nothing happens after clicking a button or hyperlink, then either:

• the Internet, or your connection to it, is very busy (Try later.)
• you are behind a firewall, and some combination of browser and firewall settings is blocking receipt of the form (Ask your systems administrator to contact us.)
• or our server is down. (And that almost never happens. But let us know if you think it is.)

Step 2 -- Enter Title

Enter the information requested on the Title page:

• Up to five keywords describing your presentation
• The title of your presentation (It will automatically be coverted to "Title Case" after you submit the page.) If you have an acronym that needs to be in all caps, simply enter the title in Title Case but put the acronym in all caps.

Then click the "Continue " button at the bottom of that page.

Within a few seconds you will receive confirmation of the information submitted and instructions on what to do next.  Soon thereafter the "Paper Control Panel" in the left frame will be updated to show new actions now available.

If you don't see a confirmation appear in your web browser, then you might have lost your connection to the Internet. Take note of your ID number and password. (They're at the top of the Paper Control Panel.) Re-establish your connection, and try again.

Rarely, authors will see a "Server Error" message after submitting information to us. This usually occurs because some of the information has been corrupted in transit. Just hit your browser's "Back" button, and try submitting again. If you still get an error message, please let us know. If you encounter an "invalid record number" or "corrupt data" error after backing up, try the links in the Paper Control Panel instead.

Step 3 -- Author

If you are satisfied with the confirmation of the abstract title and key words, click the "Continue" button at the bottom of the page. Or click the "Add New Author" link that now appears under the AUTHOR heading of the Paper Control Panel. This opens the Author Information page. Use the number "1" to identify the principal author and presenter. Fill in the requested information on the Author Information page. The presenter must be entered as one of the authors. Then click the "Continue Information" button at the bottom of that sheet.

Repeat the process if there is more than a single author. Make sure that you identify at least one author who will present the paper at the meeting.

• Complete contact information is required for the principal author and the presenter (if different).
• First name, last name, affiliation (workplace or school), and e-mail address are required for co-authors. If an author doesn't have an affiliation or e-mail address, enter N/A in the textbox. You must have an e-mail address to receive confirmation of the abstract submission.
• Unless the comment to the organizer requests otherwise (on the "TITLE" page), authors with identical affiliations will be listed in the published abstract as sharing the same affiliation and address.
• If possible, use variations in the name of the institution to differentiate between authors working at the same institution but in different departments. For example, if the primary author is in the Chemistry Department and his co-author is in the Chemical Engineering Department of MIT, the first might list his affiliation as "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" and the second as "MIT".
• your preferred method of presentation (oral or poster)
• whether you were invited to submit it, or are contributing it in response to the Call for Papers
• information about the primary author and general information about your presentation

Step 4 -- Submit Abstract Text

After the last author has been entered, click the Submit Text button that appears at the bottom of the Step 4, "Submit Abstract Text" page, or click the "Abstract Text" link that now appears in the Paper Control Panel.

Answer Question with Type/Paste text if you want to:

• Type your abstract directly into a text box on a form (easiest)
• Write simple abstract text in a word processor and copy and paste it into the Web form (easiest if you've already got your abstract text written and it doesn't include special characters.

Answer Question with Upload HTML file if:

• You want to use tables,
• You are comfortable creating an HTML file using your word processor or HTML editor and you prefer the speed and control that is provided by such tools

Click on "Open Abstract Submission Form Now" near the top the bottom of page.

You will now either be able to enter your text into the Web form (if you chose Type/Paste text) or upload a file.

For text that you enter directly into the Web form:

• Type or paste your abstract text into the text box.
• To include italics, subscripts, superscripts, or special characters in your abstract text, copy-and-paste from the special characters page directly into the abstract text box.
• Click the Submit button.

If you need to upload an HTML file:

• Specify the location of your HTML file.
• Click the Submit button.

Step 5: -- Please check your submission one more time.

You will see "Thank you for your submission" message will appear in a new window of a new web page if your abstract has been submitted successfully. If an error occurs during submission and you don't see this message, please report this to our technical support staff and retrieve your abstract later and try resubmitting the text.

You only need to click once the button labeled "All the above information is correct and ready for reviewer". Any changes that you make to the submission afterwards will automatically be displayed to the reviewers when they review your abstract.

You will receive confirmation of your submission at each step. Take note of the abstract ID number and password assigned to your submission. With that information you can return to this page if you lose your Internet connection, or if you must interrupt the submission process, or if you would like to modify your submission at any time prior to the deadline.

Look at the confirmations carefully. Most authors (and all editors) can find mistakes in the first submission of an abstract. If you see an error, just click the appropriate link in the Paper Control Panel and correct it. After you have submitted all required information, you should see all of that information in the confirmation on your screen; if you don't, it means that that the information was not received and you should try again.

Abstracts that are too large will not be accepted or stored. If you receive an error message telling you to reduce the word count , please do so; otherwise, no text will be stored.

If the text was submitted as an HTML file and must be edited:

1. Locate the original file on your computer.
2. Edit the text in your word processor or HTML editor.
3. Save it again in HTML format.
4. Upload it again.
5. Repeat the process as required until you receive confirmation that the text has been accepted.

Retrieve and Modify an Existing Abstract

To retrieve and view or modify an existing abstract:

1. Return to http://gsa.confex.com/
2. Have your Abstract ID number and password handy when you return.
3. Click the link near the top of the page labeled Resume Submission or View/Modify/Withdraw Abstract.
4. Enter the Abstract ID number and password
5. Use the Paper Control Panel to view or modify the desired part of the abstract. For instance, click Enter Title to change a title. Then click the Submit button to send your changes.
6. To correct abstract text that was submitted as an HTML file, see above.

Delete a Paper

1. If the Paper Control Panel is visible and the desired abstract ID appears at the top of it, then skip to #2 below. Otherwise:
   • Return to http://gsa.confex.com/
   • Click on the meeting
   • Click the link near the bottom of the page labeled Resume Submission or View/Modify/Withdraw Abstract.
   • Login using the ID and Password you were assigned.
2. Select DELETE from the Paper Control Panel.
3. Click DELETE button on the right frame
4. You will see 'Paper has been deleted' on the confirming page.

Restore the deleted paper

Troubleshooting, FAQs