AAAI Press Submission Site Example Instructions — Paper Submissions
(For Authors with ACCEPTED Papers Only)
These are generic, screen-by-screen instructions! Once you have reviewed them, please go back to the instruction page for your specific conference to find the proper submission links.
Once you have prepared your paper for publication, and created an account on our open conferences systems page you will need to begin the submission process. Begin by selecting the Call for Papers link (figure 4). This will take you to the submissions page. Note that this link also displays the inclusive dates that submissions will be accepted.
Important: Only one author per paper should register and submit. Multiple submissions of the same paper by different authors will incur significant special handling fees and may result in the exclusion of your paper altogether.
Figure 4: The Call for Papers Link.
Starting the Submission
After clicking the Call for Papers Link, you'll be at Starting the Submission screen. At the top of this page, you may see a pull-down list for your conference track (not all conferences will have this list). Select the most appropriate track for your paper (figure 5). Please do this carefully, as selecting the wrong track may make it difficult for us to find your paper.
Figure 5: Select Your Track.
Next, you must review and agree to the submission checklist (figure 6). If you do not agree to any of the items, you will be unable to submit your paper. If you read the formatting instructions to authors, you will know what these items mean. If you didn't prepare your paper properly, you run the risk of having it excluded from the proceedings, or having to pay paper reformatting fees. This checklist simply gives you a chance to attend to something that you might have overlooked. You can stop the process at this point and come back late if need be.
Figure 6: The Submissions Checklist.
After the submission checklist, you'll see the copyright notice (figure 7). This notice is identical to the copyright form that you must sign and return to AAAI. (The copyright form is included in the AAAI author kit.)
Figure 7: The Copyright Notice.
Following the copyright notices, you'll find a comments box. Leave this box blank. We typically won't see this information until reviewing your submission (and even then sometimes miss it). Send any comments you have to the appropriate person via e-mail, and leave this box blank.
At the bottom of the page, click the Save the Continue box if you want to continue the submission process. If you need to fix something with your paper, click Cancel, and start the submission process later on.
Figure 8: Leave the Comments for Conference Director Box Blank.
Entering Your Metadata
Once you click the Save and Continue box, you'll be taken to the Entering Your Metadata screen.
In this screen, information about you is automatically pulled from your user account (you registered carefully, right?). Assuming you did so properly, all these fields will already be populated in mixed case. If that's not the case, we'll explain each field again.
The first three fields in the Authors section are for your name. It is extremely important that you provide this information accurately, and appropriately. First, we use Western order. That means that your first name is your given name, not your family name. Second, when you enter your name, (don't use "ALL CAPS" for any part — use Initial Capitals. For example, Sarah Smith, NOT Sara SMITH, NOT sara smith, and not Smith Sara.
Your First Name is a required field. This is your given name not your family name. Just put one name here, unless it is hyphenated. Put any second name in the Middle Name field.
Your Middle Name can be left blank if you don't have one, but if you do, please include it. If you prefer, you may include an initial only, but put a period after your initial!
Your Last Name is your family name. This is a required field. If you have a last name with multiple words, whether hyphenated or not, include all the words here. We will alphabetize your name by the first word in this field. Don't type this in all caps. Use initial caps.
The Affiliation Field is important, so we strongly encourage you to include it. This field should include only your university or company name, not your department. That comes later.
Your Country is a required field. You can speed up the scroll by typing the first few letters of your country, and then navigating to the appropriate selection.
The Email field is required. If you use a throw-away e-mail or an address that is not monitored, you will probably miss seeing an important communication from us (for example, if your paper has problems that require immediate action). That means that your paper won't get published if you don't answer. We don't send you endless junk messages, so please include an e-mail that you monitor daily.
The URL field is a nice place to put your home page link. It will be displayed to colleagues who use the reading tools when the site displays your final paper.
The Bio Statement is where you should put your department (university or company) and your exact job title (for example, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science). Don't repeat your university or company name (we have that already from the affiliation field!), and don't give us the story of your life! A simple job title and department will suffice.
Using the Add author button, you may add authors to your paper.
Figure 9: The Authors Fields.
In figure 10, we've clicked this button once to illutrate a paper with multiple authors. Please complete their data as completely as your own. If you don't add all your authors, they won't appear in the publication's contents page or index, and they won't get publication credit. You must know the e-mail address of the additional authors.Please note that, while all authors should be listed, you will be the only author with access to the paper.
Finished with the author section? Please ensure that the author order is correct. If you want to change the order of the listed authors, use the up and down arrows next to the words "Reorder authors to appear in the order they will be listed in publication."
Figure 10: Include All the Authors.
Now you should specify the title and abstract (figure 11). The title must be typed in mixed case — not all lower case. See the letters below the abstract box? If you used Word, click the Word icon. This will bring up a new window. Paste your Word abstract in the new Window instead of the original abstract box. By doing this, the system will automatically strip out all the extraneous information that Word includes in the clipboard. (If you don't do this, your abstract may contain hidden control characters that will cancel your submission later on.) Once it has been inserted, you may edit your abstract using the B (bold), I (italic) U (underline) and list buttons underneath the abstract box. If you are comfortable using raw html, you may use the HTML window instead. (If you use raw html, do not include links in your abstract, as this will void your submission.)
Figure 11: The Title and Abstract Box.
Next, if the box appears, add any preferred indexing terms (not applicable to all conferences) (figure 12). This will embed metadata in your webpage that can be used by the system.
Figure 12: Input Indexing Terms.
The last section on this page allows you (optionally) to enter any supporting agencies that provided funding for your research.
Figure 13: Supporting Agencies.
When you have completed this stage, select Save and Continue to move on to the Uploading Your Submission screen.
Uploading Your Submission
In this screen, you will be uploading a PDF of your paper (called the Submission File). This is a multistep process. The first screen is illustrated in figure 14.
Figure 14: Find Your PDF.
First, using the "Choose File" button, locate your PDF on your hard drive. Once you have done this, the screen will refresh to reflect your selection (figure 15). If you have chosen the wrong file, simply do it again until you've found the proper file.
Figure 15: PDF Submission.
Now click the upload button. Once the file has uploaded, the screen will refresh once again to indicate that the file has been uploaded. You must wait for the upload process to finish. After a successful upload you should see a refreshed screen similar to the one in figure 16.
Figure 16: PDF Submission Received.
If you are satisfied that the correct PDF has been uploaded, you may click the save and continue button. Otherwise, click the choose file button (note that it now says "Replace submission file") and try again. You can also quit the process and start later by clicking the cancel button.
Uploading Your Source Files
AAAI Press requires that you upload a compressed archive containing all your source files (LaTeX or Word). (If you're using Unix, the Author Kit contains a shell script that may help you produce a latex source package.) Once you've gathered together all your LaTeX source files (not including the bibliography files or forgetting to include figures located in a different directory is the most common error), or located your Word "doc" file (and compressed or zipped it), you're ready to begin to upload what the system calls "Supplementary Files." The process begins in a fashion similar to that for your PDF.
First, using the "Choose File" button, locate your source archive on your hard drive or network (figure 17).
Figure 17: Locate Your Source Archive.
Once you have done this, the screen will refresh to reflect your selection (figure 18). If you have chosen the wrong file, simply do it again until you've found the proper file.
Figure 18: Compressed Source Submission Selected.
Now click the upload button. You must wait for the upload process to finish. Once the file has uploaded, the screen will change to that in figure 19. There are only two boxes that need to be completed. Call your file "Compressed LaTeX Source" or "Compressed Word Source" (depending on which kind you've uploaded. Change the Type in the pull-down box to "Source Text." At the bottom of this window, you'll see your new uploaded file name. You'll also have the option of reuploading the file.
Figure 19: Supplementary File Metadata.
If you are satisfied that the correct Source archive has been uploaded, you may click the save and continue button. Otherwise, click the choose file button (note that it now says "Replace submission file") and try again. You can also quit the process and start later by clicking the cancel button.
Now you can click the Save and Continue button. You will now proceed to the confirmation process.
Confirming Your Submission
Now, you will be given an opportunity to confirm your submission (figure 20). Review this information. You should have two files displayed: A Supplementary File and a Submission File. At the top of the window, you'll see the various steps (start, enter metadata, upload submission, upload supplementary files, confirmation). If you've made a mistake, simply click on the upload submission link to replace your PDF, or upload supplementary files link to replace your supplementary file. If you want to stop the process for the time being, just select cancel. You will be able to complete the submission at a later date by logging on again and selecting "Active Submissions" from your Author Home directory.
Once You Click Finish Submission, You CANNOT REPLACE YOUR SUBMISSION FILE. As a consequence, we suggest that, if you have time, you stop at this point and wait awhile before completing your submission. It doesn't take long to finish it later. Obviously, if you've waited until the last day to submit your paper, this option will not be available to you.
Figure 20: Confirming Your Submission.
Important! Once you have selected the finish submission button, wait until you see the Active Submissions window to ensure that your submission was completed. Then, when you click the Active Submissions link, your paper title should appear, along with an "Awaiting assignment" status.
Figure 21: Active Submissions.
All activity on the server is logged.