ETD Submission Process Help
- Adding Files
- Browser Compatability Issues
- Cookies
- Entering Abstract
- Entering Keywords
- Graduate School Review Process
- HTML Entities: Special Characters
- Logging In
- "Mixed" Availability
- Notices from Graduate School Reviewer
- Proxy Server Issues
- Starting Over
- Submission Status
- I still need help!
1. Adding Files
The ETD Submission Process includes uploading files using a Web browser.
Your file(s) MUST have these components in this order:
- Last Name_First and Middle Initials
- T or D to indicate if your document is a thesis or dissertation
- Year of defense
<Last name>_<first (and) middle initials>_T or D_<yyyy of defense>
Example: if you were a PhD student named Jane Anne Doe who defended in 2008, you would name your file Doe_JA_D_2008.
File uploads will not work properly if your browser is using a proxy server of any kind.
If you need to submit a larger file, sftp access is also available upon request.
For more information visit the Submission Process page.
2. Browser Compatibility Issues
In order to use the ETD submission process, your browser must support cookies and file uploads. There are currently known incompatibilities with the Macintosh version of Netscape version 3.02, you will need to upgrade if you are using this version.
3. Cookies
A cookie is a bit of information about a user or session that is stored by a Web browser in a cookies.txt file. Whenever the browser requests a page from a host for which it has cookie information, it also sends the cookie information, which can be used by any scripts or CGI programs capable of processing cookie data. In our case, the cookie is used to store a unique session ID, so that it is not neccessary for you to log in repeatedly before visiting each subsequent page in the submission process.
Browsers often come with cookies enabled, but they may have been disabled for various reasons. If your browser has cookies disabled, consult the browser documentation (online or otherwise)for instructions on reenabling cookies.
The session cookies issued by the ETD submission scripts expire in 15 minutes, but are renewed at each step in the process. 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, use the "back" button in your Web browser to return to the page you were working on before your cookie expired.
4. Entering Abstract
Copy and paste your abstract from a standard word processing program into the abstract field in Web form. Do not rekey your abstract as this often introduces typos.
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, use the equivalent HTML entity, some of which are listed below.
5. 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 copy 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, some of which are listed below.
6. Graduate School's Review Process
Once you have submitted the minimum information requested, your ETD will be reviewed by the Graduate School. This process can take as little as a few days, or as long as several weeks, depending on the number of ETDs waiting to be approved.
See also ETD Graduate School Guidelines and Graduate School ETD Resources.
7. HTML Entities: Special Characters
Some special characters do not display in Web browsers. But, there are HTML entities which can be used to display special characters. An HTML entity consists of an ampersand (&), text or a 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 < < less-than sign greater-than sign > > greater-than sign
For a more complete list of HTML entities, visit http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/HTML3/latin1.HTML, which is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium.
8. Logging In
Use the log in page to begin the ETD submission process.
Once you have logged in and begun the process of submitting your ETD, you will be able to log out and return to make changes to your information until your ETD is approved by the Graduate School.
The security system used by the submission process requires that your browser support and allow cookies.
9. "Mixed" Availability
You may to choose a separate availability option for each file that is included with your ETD. For example, if you wish to restrict access to the second chapter, you must have requested "mixed" availability for your ETD, and must save the second chapter of your ETD in a separate file. You must then change the availability of the file containing your second chapter to "restricted". If you have selected "mixed" availabilty and have added at least one file, you will be given the option to change the availability of individual files when you View or Update your Main Record, or when you Update the file information associated with your ETD.
10. Notices from Graduate School Reviewer
If anything about your ETD needs to be changed before it can be approved, the Graduate School may send you an email notice, which is a brief message describing the steps you need to take to complete your ETD. Notices may also be sent to your committee chair if there are problems reaching you. When you receive an email indicating that you have a notice, log in again and make the requested changes. Once you have made the requested changes, it is very important that you send a response to the Graduate School, so that they will know that your ETD has been updated and is ready to be reviewed again.
11. Proxy Server Issues
A proxy is a machine which allows your browser to download pages as though it were coming from a different location. Proxies are typically used to allow access to materials restricted to a particular location (as in the case of the Virginia Tech Proxy). Proxies are also used to allow access between networks. Users of some versions of AOL's default browser use this type of proxy arrangement to connect to the internet.
To use the file upload feature of your browser, you must not be making use of a proxy. Proxy settings for most browsers can be changed as needed. For more information, consult the help files for your particular browser. For more information on proxies, visit http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/extended/.
12. Starting Over
If you would like to stop work on a partially completed ETD and completely start over, the "Start Over" link in the ETD Status block that appears on most pages will give you the ability to completely remove all of the files and information you have already added and start again.
13. Submission Status
The submission process uses a persistent ETD Status window to keep you aware of what you've already done, and what still needs to be done before your ETD can be approved. You will use the status window to navigate among the different steps of the submission process.
In order to complete the submission process, your ETD must:
- Enter all of the title page-type information (author, title, keywords, etc.).
- List at least one advisor.
- Upload at least one file.
- Complete the ETD Author Survey
- Not have any outstanding notices from the Graduate School reviewer.
Pay special attention to any items in the status window which are displayed in red. These are items that need to be dealt with before your ETD can be approved.
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
14. I still need Help!
You may want to:
- Email the Graduate School
- Ask technical questions about ETDs
- Get assistance at the InnovationSpace, which has knowledgeable staff as well as multimedia hardware and software that you may use.