Instructions for using the Online Abstract Submittal 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 the information each time it appears, clicking the "Next step" button at the bottom of the page if the information is correct. There are six steps involved in submitting an abstract.

More details are shown below.

1. Affirmation: -- Select the checkbox to agree to uphold the Code of Ethics (required to submit an abstract).
2. Primary Selection: -- Select session. (Discipline Sessions do not have this step)
3. Title: -- Enter the abstract's title, up to 5 key words, discipline category and preferred mode of presentation.
4. Author(s): -- Enter all authors (limit of 10; no group names), including their affiliations and contact information.
5. Submission Fee: -- Pay with Visa, MasterCard or American Express.
6. Abstracts Text: -- Submit the body of the abstract. 2,000 character limitation (not including spaces).
7. Confirmation: -- 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.)

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

When making correction Do Not Use Back Button On Your Bowser

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 Abstract 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 seventh 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 step in the abstract control panel. Next choose the edit button next to the author; 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 Abstract 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.

Submit an Abstract

Step 1 -- Affirmation:
Select the checkbox to agree to uphold the Code of Ethics (required to submit an abstract).

Step 2 -- Primary Selection:
Confirm the session selection, for your abstract.

The "Primary Selection" page will reflect your choice of symposium, topical/theme session, or general discipline session. If you wish to move your abstract from a discipline session to a topical/theme session, you will need to contact GSA at nwright@geosociety.org.

Note that you've now been assigned an Abstract ID# and Password; you should use these to log back onto the system to make any changes to your abstract prior to the abstract deadline.

To proceed, hit the "Next Step: Title" button.

Note that the Abstract 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 Abstract 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 the internet, is very busy. Try again 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.)
• Within a few seconds you will receive confirmation of the information submitted and instructions on what to do next. Soon thereafter the "Abstract 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 Abstract 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 Abstract Control Panel.

Step 3 -- Title

Enter title, key words, review disciplines, and preferred presentation mode.

Enter the information requested on the Title page:

• The title of your presentation (It will automatically be converted 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.
• Submitter's email.
• Discipline categories. 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 abstracts submitted for that discipline), then it can be accepted for the second or third discipline.
• Preferred mode of presentation. Select one of three presentation modes: Oral, Poster, or Either.

Then click the "Continue" 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.

Step 4: -- Author(s)

If you are satisfied with the information shown, click the "Next Step: Author" button at the bottom of the page. This opens the Author Information page, please enter a last name to search. If that last name is not in our system a page will open allowing you to enter new author information. Fill in the requested information on the Author Information page. The presenter must be entered as one of the authors. Then click the "Submit" button at the bottom of that page.

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

Step 5: -- Submission Fee

The amount that will be charged is listed on this page. If it is correct, click the "Make Payment" button to enter your payment information. Please follow steps to enter all the required information. When all information is entered hit the "Submit" button only once. You may print the confirmation page for your records.

Step 6: -- Abstracts Text

After the Submission fee has been paid, click the "Submit Abstract Text" button that appears at the bottom of Step 4, or click the "Abstract Text" link that now appears in the Abstract Control Panel.

Type/Paste text:

• We recommend that you compose your abstract text in a word processor first and save a copy on your desktop, then copy and paste the text into the form. Our Rich Text Editor will preserve your formatting. To add other special characters click on the horseshoe button, and choose your character. Then close the box.
• Click the Save and Continue button. Check over the submitted information, if all is good click the submission fee and make your payment. If you need to make corrections choose the appropriate step in the abstract control panel. You may come back and click on the Submission fee step when ready.

Step 7: -- Confirmation. (Please check your submission one more time.)

You will be given one more chance to review your abstract. Please correct any errors that you see using the Abstract Control Panel to navigate to the appropriate section. Then click the button at the bottom of that page, labeled "All the above information is correct and ready for review."

"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 then retrieve your abstract later and try resubmitting the text.

You only need 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 Abstract 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 Abstract Control Panel to view or modify the desired part of the abstract. For instance, click Title to change a title. Then click the Submit button to send your changes.

Delete an Abstract

1. If the Abstract 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 Abstract Control Panel.
3. Click DELETE button on the right frame
4. You will see 'Abstract has been deleted' on the confirming page.

Restore a Deleted Abstract

Troubleshooting, FAQs