Journal Article Formatter

Article information

Core bibliographic data shown on the website, PDF, and CrossRef deposit.

Title & type

Full title Appears on the title page, website, and citations.

Running title Short header version (optional). Article type Article number Internal or publisher ID (optional).

Abstract

Plain-language summary — also used on the journal website listing and Google Scholar.

Keywords

Separate with commas or semicolons. Three to eight keywords is typical.

DOI

Generate from your journal template or enter a registered DOI manually.

Auto-generate Manual entry

Article format type

Journal & pages

Publication context for citations, headers, and page numbering.

Journal details

Journal name Short title ISSN Volume Issue Year Website

Journal logo

Page range

Used in citations and the table of contents.

First page Last page

How page numbering works

Suggest start reads the journal profile history. Calculate end estimates pages from a hidden render (±1 page). Mark published saves the range so the next article continues automatically.

Authors & affiliations

Author order, correspondence, and numbered affiliations.

Authors

Formatting guide

Display order: Name^a,b^* with email and ORCID icons. Mark Corresp. for the corresponding author asterisk and mailto link.

Affiliations

Numbered automatically (a, b, c…). Reference letters in author entries above.

Dates & statistics

Submission timeline and manuscript metrics.

Article history

Received Revised Accepted Published

Manuscript statistics

Auto-count from content

Words Figures Tables Pages (est.)

Advanced options — citation preview, retractions, CrossRef deposit

Optional settings for post-publication notices and metadata deposit.

Live citation preview

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Post-publication status

Leave empty for normal articles. Adds a notice banner and PDF watermark.

Status

Effective date Replacement DOI

Notice text

CrossRef deposit metadata

Extract from DOI and export deposit XML from the Export tab.

Depositor name Depositor email Registrant

Journal profiles

Local profiles for standalone use — auto-fill journal fields and DOI templates.

Saved profile Save as new profile

Import from Word

Upload a .docx to open a guided import: preview the document, click each part (title, abstract, keywords, body, references), confirm step by step. Or use quick auto-fill for everything at once.

⬆

Drop .docx file here or browse

No file selected

Import tables from Word (guided import step 6, or quick auto-fill with body)

Skips the guided click steps

Import from LaTeX

Upload a single .tex file, or a .zip archive of a multi-file project (Overleaf export, arXiv-style bundle, etc.). After upload, the importer converts the source to HTML and opens the guided review so you can confirm the suggested title, abstract, keywords, article body, references, and tables one section at a time. Multi-file \input / \include / \subfile references and any .bib files in the archive are pulled in automatically.

Drop .tex or .zip file here or browse

No file selected

Re-runs after upload — both reuse the last file.

Abstract & keywords are edited on the tab. Use Word/LaTeX import below to pull them in automatically.

Article Body

Rich editor with headings, lists, math (KaTeX), footnotes, tables, and cross-references. Section headings should be H2; subsections H3.

Cross-references

Citations: Add references on the References tab, click in a sentence, press Cite, search by author name, check one or more sources, then Insert selected (or use Insert on a single row).
Delete in-text citation: Click the citation in the text (it highlights), then press Delete or Backspace, or use toolbar Remove.
Delete from library: On the References tab, click × on that row (does not remove citations already in the article).
Figures: Upload images on the Figures tab, click in the text, then toolbar Fig (same search box as Cite). Select one or more, then Insert selected.
Tables: Insert a table with ⊞, add a caption on the Figures tab, click in the text, then toolbar Table to cite it. The table prints where cited (PDF uses booktabs-style rules).
Preview updates numbering when you change citation style or reorder references (Vancouver) / sort (APA).

Figures & Tables

Upload figures with captions. Tables from the article or Word import are listed below — edit captions, cite in text, or Remove table to delete one.

🖼

Drop images here or browse

PNG, JPG, SVG — multiple allowed

Tables in article

References

BibTeX / LaTeX structure: cite key, author, title, journal, year, volume, number, pages, doi. Use and between authors like BibTeX. In the article body, Cite inserts \cite{key}-style cross-references.

Citation Style (in-text editor only)

Preview, PDF, HTML, XML, and website publish always use APA 7th edition for the reference list and bibliography exports.

Bibliography & preview: only show references cited in the article text

Paste full reference list

Paste your bibliography (numbered list, one per line, or blank line between entries). Click Extract & Verify to split entries, check DOIs on CrossRef, and preview formatted citations before inserting.

Acknowledgments

Funding

Conflicts of Interest

Author Contributions (CRediT)

Assign CRediT roles per author below, or override with a free-form Author Contributions statement. The custom statement, if filled, replaces the auto-generated paragraphs in HTML / PDF / JATS exports.

Custom Author Contributions statement

When this field is non-empty, the printed article and JATS XML use this paragraph instead of the per-author roles above. Useful when journals require a narrative rather than a CRediT matrix.

Data Availability

Template suggestions:

Ethics Statement

Author Biographies

Optional. When enabled, short biographies of each author are rendered at the very end of the article (after references, appendices, and supplementary materials) in the preview, HTML export, and PDF.

Include author biographies at the end of the article

Appendices

Supplementary Materials

Pre-flight Validation

Run a series of automated checks for missing metadata, broken figure or citation references, malformed DOIs, and other issues that often cause problems downstream. Won't block export — just tells you what to fix first.

Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + V

Export HTML

Standalone, styled HTML file with embedded images.

Save as PDF

Opens a clean print view in a new tab. Use your browser's Print dialog (Ctrl/⌘+P) then choose Save as PDF as the destination. Browser print produces a higher-quality PDF than embedded converters.

HTML Proofing

Send this article to the Online Proofing System and track author/editor corrections. Everything moved to the dedicated Proofreading tab.

Journal website

Early view, version of record, and CMS publish live on the dedicated Journal website tab (Elsevier-style reader site + admin backend).

Export JATS XML

ZIP bundle with article.xml, figures, tables, supplementary files, and manifest.json — ready for journal submission or your website.

Validation runs locally and never blocks export — it just flags issues that journal submission systems or PubMed/CrossRef would reject (broken cross-references, malformed DOI, missing required elements, out-of-order history dates, etc.).

Export LaTeX

Snippet with \cite{key} commands and a thebibliography block matching your citation style.

Export CrossRef deposit

CrossRef 5.3.1 doi_batch XML for journal-article registration, plus JSON metadata for review before upload.

Save / Load Project

Save current work as a JSON file you can reload later, or import a JATS XML article.

Journal website CMS

Connect to the local CMS ingest server (port 8020) for ZIP/API publishing. Live reader URLs use the public site (website/ bundles deploy to ABS Publisher Client, port 3000).

CMS origin: http://127.0.0.1:8020

Public site: http://localhost:3000

Checking journal website…

Publish to website

Builds an article view page (index.html), article.xml, citations, and assets in one ZIP. With the ingest API set, Publish to Website sends directly to the CMS.

Publication stage

Publish as

Require author proof to be submitted before Version of record publish

Public site URL Articles path

Journal code Publisher label

CMS ingest APIs (saved in project)

Three endpoints for the journal CMS: publish full bundle, update listing card, fetch full article record. Use Use local CMS above to fill defaults.

Publish article (ZIP ingest) Listing ingest Full article API use {slug} for article id

Same DOI and URL for early view and version of record. Listing cards include Full text, Abstract, and Export links.

Live site preview

Embedded preview of the public journal site (homepage or this article after publish).

See website/README.md for bundle layout and manifest details.

Pre-flight before proofing

Required checks before Send to Proofing. Fix errors on Metadata, Content, and References tabs first.

Send to HTML Proofing

Publisher workflow (Wiley Early View / Elsevier Article in Press): publish Early view from Export while author proof runs in parallel. The formatter stays editable; proofing uses a snapshot. After author submit, import corrections and publish Version of record at the same URL/DOI.

Proofing UI URL Proofing API URL

Uses article DOI (or title slug) as templateID. After Submit proof, use Import proof corrections to merge tracked changes into the formatter (pending + accepted; rejected reverted). Import accepted only unlocks final production automatically. Otherwise use Close proofing after review.

Proofreading Status

Proof status: not loaded

Tracked changes

No proof loaded yet.

Comments

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Author queries

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Activity history

Journal Profiles

Reusable journal definitions (name, ISSN, volume/issue, logos, publisher). Applying a profile on Metadata fills journal fields and website publish settings for new articles.

Import profiles

How the Journal Article Formatter works

This tool takes a manuscript from metadata and body text through layout, optional author proofing, final production exports, and website publish (early view → version of record). In normal use it connects to ABS Publisher for journals, placement, and DOI rules. Use the workflow strip under the header to see where you are in the pipeline.

Quick start

Recommended — open from ABS Admin (publisher mode, default):

Start the stack: ABS API (:5001), Admin (:3000), formatter (node serve.js → :8000).
In Admin go to Articles → Format or Format Article to open a draft. State saves to the article automatically.
On Metadata → Placement, confirm journal / volume / issue (managed in Admin → Journals).
Fill Metadata → Article (title, authors, Generate DOI), import or edit on Content, then export or publish.

Standalone local dev (offline journal profiles): add ?standalone=1 to the formatter URL. The Journals tab and local profiles are available again; no Admin API required.

For HTML proofing, also run the Proofreading app: cd ../../Proofreading && node server.js (port 8010).

ABS Publisher mode

Single source of truth. Journals, volumes, issues, sections, and special issues are created only in ABS Admin. The formatter reads them via the API — the local Journals tab and Profiles section are hidden.

Metadata → Placement — pick journal / volume / issue / section; Apply placement syncs journal name, short title, ISSN, volume, and issue into the manuscript.
Journal & pages — only page range and article type are edited here; duplicate journal identity fields are read-only.
Auto-save — when opened from Admin with an articleId, changes debounce-save to PUT /api/articles/:id/formatter-state.
Escape hatch — ?standalone=1 restores the legacy local journal profile workflow for testing.

DOI management

DOI policy (prefix, templates, sequence registry, volume/issue DOIs) lives in the publisher dashboard, not in the formatter.

Admin → DOI Manager (/admin/doi) — stats, all generated DOIs, sequence registry, and journal template settings.
Admin → Journals → Edit — same DOI templates per journal (alternative entry).
Formatter → Metadata → Article — Generate / Sync assigns the article DOI using server rules (one DOI for early view and VoR).
Placement card — read-only DOI summary with links to Admin; no template editing in the formatter.

After the first website publish, the article DOI is locked on Metadata. Register once with CrossRef; VoR updates metadata at the same DOI.

Full pipeline (overview)

Setup → Draft → Author proof → Proof submitted → Final production → Published

Optional early view can go live after setup (before or during proofing). Version of record (VoR) uses the same URL and DOI and replaces early view after proof is closed.

Step-by-step workflow

Publisher setup — journals & placement In ABS Admin, create the journal, volumes, and issues. Open the article in the formatter and set Metadata → Placement → Apply. Configure DOI templates in Admin → DOI Manager.
Metadata — article identity Title, authors, affiliations, keywords, article type, history dates (received / accepted / published), and Generate DOI on the Article section (one identifier for early view and VoR). Validate via CrossRef when needed.
Layout — print and preview design Pick a preset (e.g. ABS Research Academy, Design 3). Options control title page, sidebar DOI, fonts, and spacing. Preview updates from the same pipeline as exports.
Content — manuscript body Edit in the rich editor or import Word / LaTeX / JATS. Use citations (\cite{key}), figures, tables, and math. Run preflight from Export (Ctrl/⌘+Shift+V) to catch broken refs and DOIs.
Figures, References, Back matter Upload figures with captions; manage CSL-style references (bulk paste, DOI lookup, APA formatting). Add acknowledgements, funding, conflicts, and appendix blocks on Back Matter.
Optional — Early view (Export tab) Set Publish as → Early view, enter website base URL, then Download Website Bundle or Publish to Website. Requires title + DOI. Editing stays open after Word/LaTeX import; lock applies only after you explicitly Send to Proofing. Early view page shows an EARLY VIEW banner; DOI and URL are fixed for later VoR.
Proofreading — send to authors Open the Proofreading tab. Run readiness checks, then Send to Proofing. Workflow moves to Author proof; editor content is snapshotted and locked until import or re-proof. Proofing is optional — you may publish early view before sending to proof. Authors work in the separate app (port 8010): tracked changes, comments, author queries, APA cite tools.
Proofreading — import corrections After authors Submit, use Import proof corrections (or accepted-only for production). Workflow becomes Proof submitted. Review the dashboard: changes, comments, queries, history.
Close proofing — enable final production When edits are merged and signed off, click Close proofing — enable final production. Workflow → Final production. Final preview and gated exports (PDF, JATS, HTML, LaTeX) unlock.
Final preview & production exports Final preview tab: print-ready view. Export: HTML, PDF (print view), JATS XML bundle, LaTeX, CrossRef deposit XML. These use proof-corrected content and are intended for the version of record.
Version of record — website publish On Export, set Publish as → Version of record. Same slug, URL, and DOI as early view. Download or POST the website bundle; VoR HTML replaces the early view notice with VERSION OF RECORD. Workflow can move to Published. Register the DOI once with CrossRef; update metadata for VoR, do not mint a new DOI.
Save project & handoff Use Save project / Load project (JSON) to archive state. Deploy website ZIP per website/README.md; ingest JATS/XML into your production CMS if applicable.

Early view vs version of record

Same DOI, same URL. The canonical DOI is set on first website publish and locked on Metadata afterward. VoR publish is blocked if the DOI in Metadata no longer matches. Manifest supersedes records that VoR replaced early view at the same address.

Early view — accepted manuscript online before proof finishes; proofing not required to publish.
VoR — final corrected content; normally after proof closed (checkbox can allow override with confirmation).
Listing cards and scholar meta use publication dates from metadata and publication state.

Tabs reference

Tab	Purpose
Metadata	Placement (publisher sync), article identity, Generate/Sync DOI, dates, keywords
Journals	Local journal profiles — standalone mode only (`?standalone=1`)
Layout	Preset selection and layout designer options
Content	Body editor, Word/LaTeX/JATS import
Figures	Figure files, captions, IDs for citations
References	Bibliography, bulk paste, CrossRef DOI fetch
Back Matter	Acknowledgements, funding, appendix, etc.
Proofreading	Send/import proof, dashboard, close proofing
Final preview	Production preview (after proof closed)
Export	Validate, HTML/PDF/XML/LaTeX/CrossRef
Journal website	CMS connection, early view / VoR publish, live site preview
Guide	This document

Proofreading app (separate server)

The formatter pushes HTML + metadata via shared/proofing-mapper.mjs to POST /api/proofs/from-formatter. Authors edit at the Proofreading UI; on submit, Import proof corrections pulls a patch back into the formatter body and fields. Template ID matches the article DOI (or title slug). See project README.md and shared integration notes for API URLs.

Exports (what each produces)

HTML — standalone styled article for archiving or secondary hosting.
PDF — browser print view; quality depends on print engine.
JATS XML bundle — article.xml, figures, tables, manifest for submission systems.
Website bundle — index.html, article.xml, listing card, manifest with publication stage.
CrossRef deposit — doi_batch XML for registration (one DOI per article).

Journal website (CMS + public site)

Website bundles are built from the Journal website tab and documented in website/README.md. The local CMS ingest server uses port 8020; the public reader site is ABS Publisher Client (port 3000 in dev). Use Use local CMS (8020) on the Journal website tab to configure ingest APIs, or publish through ABS Admin Article go-live when connected to the publisher API.

Developers & testing

Full local stack: ABS backend :5001, frontend :3000, formatter node serve.js → :8000
Formatter + proofing: node scripts/dev-start.mjs
Publisher-connected test: node scripts/test-publisher-article.mjs
Standalone fixtures: ?standalone=1&earlyview (publisher mode blocks fixture URLs)
Embed URL params: embed=admin, articleId, apiUrl, siteUrl, formatterCode
E2E workflow: node scripts/test-workflow-e2e.mjs --start-servers
Documentation: README.md in this folder; ABS Admin docs in ABS Journal Clone/README.md