1. The ‘Files’ primary task allows you to select the actual file locations (via an open file dialogue). You will be able to 'Browse' for the relevant files on your computer. Please include the figure number in the title line for each figure. On the completion screen, you will be asked to specify the order in which you want the individual files to appear in the merged document. Editors and/or reviewers will also be able to look at the individual PDF files if necessary.
2. The ‘Manuscript Information’ primary task which asks for author details, the manuscript title, abstract, other associated manuscript information and types/number of files to be submitted. Please note, if you are the corresponding author please submit your details in the corresponding author fields; DO NOT re-enter the same details in the contributing author fields.
3. The ‘Validate’ primary task gives you the opportunity to check and verify the manuscript files and manuscript information uploaded. If you are submitting manuscript files separately, we create a merged PDF containing your manuscript text, figures and tables to simplify the handling of your paper. You will need to approve the merged PDF file, and a PDF or any other file not included in the merge, to submit your manuscript. You may also update and/or change manuscript files and manuscript information by clicking on the ‘Change’ or ‘Fix’ links respectively.
4. The ‘Submit’ primary task is the last step in the manuscript submission process. At this stage the Manuscript Tracking System will perform a final check to ensure that all mandatory fields have been completed. Any incomplete fields will be flagged by a red arrow and highlighted by a red box. Click on the ‘Fix’ link to return to relevant section for completion. Once your manuscript has been finalised, click on the ‘Approve Submission’ button to submit your manuscript for consideration. A ‘Manuscript Approved’ message will display on your author desktop to confirm the submission.

Before submitting a manuscript, please gather the following information:

• For all authors:
• First name, middle initial and last name
• Postal address
• E-mail address
• Work Telephone Number
• Title (can be cut and pasted from your manuscript)
• Abstract (can be cut and pasted from your manuscript)
• Cover letter file (note: this will not be accessible to the reviewers)
• Manuscript files in PDF, Word, WordPerfect, EPS, PostScript, RTF format (for formatting guidelines, see our Guide to Authors).
• Figures as individual files in TIFF, JPEG, PDF, Postscript, EPS format and Gif (for formatting guidelines, see our Guide to Authors).
• Contact information (name, e-mail address and institution) of suggested and/or excluded reviewers (if any)

Production-quality figures are not required at this stage, as their often large filesize can create problems for referees with regard to download times. Should your paper be accepted, we will ask you then to upload production-quality figures to our server

It is recommended that you convert all your figures to medium-resolution JPEG before uploading them. This is to reduce the amount of time that it takes the files to upload to our submission site, as JPEG files are quite small in size compared to other formats. (This will also give you a closer approximation to the way your figures will appear on our site.) More information on preparing JPEGS can be found below.

To avoid reviewers having to download large files, please note that relatively low-resolution figures are usually sufficient for the peer-review process (but bear in mind that each figure must still convey the information necessary for accurate review, such as legible text, symbols, etc). If any of your figure files are larger than 8 MB, please contact the NPG Applications Helpdesk for guidance.

If you choose to submit your files in PowerPoint format, please do not make a JPEG of these within PowerPoint. The conversion is more successful when a raw PowerPoint file is submitted.

Please follow these guidelines carefully to produce medium-resolution artwork, which will be suitable for reviewing purposes. Should your manuscript be accepted you might be asked to provide better quality figures/images, at which time more extensive submission instructions for final submission will be detailed to you. To save duplicating workloads, however, between these stages, you may wish to note some of those 'final submission' guidelines even at this initial submission stage, to save making changes to your original files later on. They are:

• Use the same typeface for all figures
• Do not make rules thinner than 1pt (0.36mm), especially if the figure image is likely to be reduced in size to fit one or two column-widths
• Use a coarse hatching pattern rather than shading or tints in graphs
• Figures divided into parts should be labelled with a lower case, bold 'a' , 'b' , et cetera, in the top left hand corner. Labelling of axes, keys and so on should be in 'title case' with no full stop. Units must have a space between the number and the unit, and follow the nomenclature common to your field
• Commas should be used to separate thousands
• Unusual units or abbreviations should be spelled out in full, or defined in the legend