David Vanderbilt's suggestions for APS 2008 Abstract Submissions

Suggestions for submitting an abstract for March APS 2008

These suggestions make use of LaTeX methods. It is also possible to prepare the title and abstract pieces in RTF format using MSword or OpenOffice, but I recommend using LaTeX.

It is not necessary to go through all of the steps below in order to submit an abstract successfully. However, what follows is a recommended procedure that allows you to prepare a draft abstract that can be agreed upon by all co-authors, preview the abstract, and obtain a printable copy of good quality.

Preliminaries

Check the APS list of sorting categories to pick the best sorting category number for your abstract, paying attention especially to whether there is a suitable Focus Topic session for your abstract.

Preparing and editing the draft abstract

I strongly recommend that you first prepare a draft version of your abstract. To do so, download and save this LaTeX template file, rename it, and edit it, filling in all fields and making sure it generates reasonable output. The formatting is not the same as the final APS formatting, but the content is the same. The idea is that you should distribute this draft version of the abstract to all co-authors, seek their feedback, and iterate until all authors agree on all aspects of the draft.

Submitting the draft to the APS web site

See the APS Abstract Submission instructions for general orientation. When you are ready to submit, go to the APS abstract submission site. As you go along, you can cut and paste the needed material from your LaTeX file to the text boxes on the forms.

(I recommend that you should actually submit your abstract at least 24 hours before the deadline. APS sometimes has to turn off some features of the web site, like previewing, on the last day because the servers get overloaded.)

Click "Start Abstract Submission"
Step 1: Select "2008 March APS Meeting", choose "Number of Authors", leave "Number of Teams" set to zero, select "LaTeX format", and click "Proceed".
Step 2: Fill out the form.
- The first author is the presenting author.
- You can use LaTeX constructions in author names and affiliations.
- Affiliation should be kept short; address is not needed.
- In the case of multiple authors with the same affiliation, the affiliation should be left blank except for the last author of the series. If you clicked "Same as Submitter" to fill out the information for the first author, you might have to erase the Affiliation information if the second author is at the same institution.
Step 3: Fill out the form.
- You can use LaTeX constructions in the title and abstract.
- When done, click "Preview".
Step 4: Check that everything looks OK. Then, before clicking "Submit", click "Preview Abstract Layout" first. This should generate a jpeg view of the abstract in a window by itself. If it does not fit in the box, you have to go back and shorten it until it will fit.
(You could right-click and save this jpeg if you wanted to, but the quality is not very good; I recommend skipping this step, as you will get a cleaner copy later by email.)
If all is well, go back to the "Step 4: Preview - Abstract Submission" page (it should still be on your desktop) and click "Submit".
Once you see the "Step 5: Abstract Submission" page, your abstract has been submitted.

Check your email

In a while, you should receive a verification email from APS containing a high-quality PDF copy of your abstract as an attachment.

Print for your records. Also, as a courtesy, please email a copy of this PDF to all your co-authors.

Modifying or withdrawing an abstract

The APS web site provides a mechanism for withdrawing an abstract if necessary. However, there is no way to edit a previous submission. Therefore, if you need to make any changes to your abstract, you will have to withdraw it and enter all the information again from scratch.

Request for improvements

These notes prepared by David Vanderbilt. Please send suggested corrections and improvements to the email address below.

Please send any comments on this page to dhv@physics.rutgers.edu.

Revised November 6, 2007.