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ETD-db: Author Help Page

The Submission Process

Creating an Account

First, you need to create an account. To do this go to http://etd.caltech.edu/ETD-db/ETD-submit/login.

Logging In

Log-in using your username and password at the login page. Your browser must accept cookies to continue the submission process.

ETD status

An "ETD Status" message will track where you are in the submission process. It will also tell you what remains to be done.

In order to be considered complete, your ETD must:

Sample ETD Status message (links removed)

ETD Status

Items in red represent information that must be added or changed before your ETD can be approved.

  • Start Over
  • View Main Record
  • Update Main Record
  • Update Committee Information
  • Add File Information
  • Log Out

Adding Files

The ETD submission process requires you to upload files using a Web browser.

Note that file uploads will not work properly if your browser is using a proxy server of any kind.

The Library's file upload page can generally support very large files of 50 megabytes in size or more. If you have difficulty uploading very large files, please contact us at etd@library.caltech.edu.

In addition to uploading a complete copy of your thesis, the Library recommends that you also upload the individual chapters as separate files.

As a rule, a correct filename will not contain any spaces or slashes. On the title page that will eventually present your information over the Web, your files will be sorted alphanumerically. If you want to guarantee that your files will appear in a given order, it is suggested that you name them with two digit numeral codes in front of them, something like the following:

Entering Title

Capitalize only the first word and proper names and acronyms.

Entering Abstract

In general, you can copy and paste your abstract from a standard word processing program into the abstract field in your browser window. Be aware that special characters such as é and this section sign, §, often will not copy correctly if you cut and paste them into the form. Instead of these special characters, you should use the equivalent HTML entity (i.e. " instead of " and é instead of é). Do not use hard returns at the end of lines.

Entering Keywords

To improve access to your ETD, select keywords or phrases that are NOT already in your abstract or title page. All of those words are already indexed for searching. Selecting additional words and phrases that are descriptive and unique will increase the probability that searches will retrieve your ETD. Consult your chapter subheadings and conclusion for different but appropriate search terms. If you cut and paste your keywords from your word processor, you should be aware of any special characters (umlauts, accent marks, quotation marks), and replace them with the appropriate HTML entity. Keywords cannot be re-ordered.

"Mixed" Availability

"Mixed" availability creates different access for different files in your thesis. For instance, to completely withhold access to a particular chapter of your paper, select "mixed" availability, and save the chapter in a separate file. You must then change the availability of the files containing the chapter to "withheld." If you select "mixed" availability and add at least one file, you will be given the option to change the availability of individual files later in the process.

HTML entities

Some special characters do not display in a browser window. For a number of these cases, there are HTML entities which can be used to safely display the special characters. An HTML entity consists of an ampersand (&), a word or number (quot, for example), and a semicolon (;). The following is a short list of special characters and the HTML entity equivalents.

Name Syntax Character Description
aacute á á Small a, acute accent
agrave à à Small a, grave accent
ccedil ç ç Small c, cedilla
eacute é é Small e, acute accent
egrave è è Small e, grave accent
ntilde ñ ñ Small n, tilde
ouml ö ö Small o, dieresis or umlaut mark
uuml ü ü Small u, dieresis or umlaut mark
(double) quotation mark " " (double) quotation mark
ampersand & & ampersand
less-than sign &lt; < less-than sign
greater-than sign &gt; > greater-than sign

For a more complete list of HTML entities, please visit the following URL:

http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/HTML3/latin1.HTML

Cookies

If your browser has cookies disabled, consult the documentation (online or otherwise) that comes with your browser for instructions on re-enabling cookies for etd.caltech.edu.

The session cookies issued by our scripts are set to expire in 15 minutes, but are renewed by each subsequent script. If you remain on the same page for more than 15 minutes, your cookie will expire, and you will be required to log in again. If this happens, you can still use the "back" button on your browser to return to the page you were working on before your cookie expired.

The ETD Review Process

After you submit your thesis, the ETD coordinator reviews it for completeness. Should anything be amiss, the coordinator will notify you by email: the message will be sent to the email address enetered for the ETD record. Then simply log-in to your account, make the requested changes, and email the coordinator that you have done so.

Starting Over

If you would like to stop work on a partially completed ETD and completely start over, click "Start Over" in the ETD Status block. Then click "Remove this ETD and all related files from the system." You can now begin again.

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