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Naming and Delivery Specifications

Learn how to name and package article data files for delivery to PMC. Use these standard formats to allow PMC to efficiently process and archive your publisher-supplied article content.

Abbreviations

jour is a journal identifier, such as an alphanumeric journal abbreviation or ISSN.

vol is a journal volume.

iss is a journal issue.

uid is any unique identifier for an article, typically the article's elocation-id or first page number.

typ is optional. If used, it can identify any of the following:

  • -g  figure graphic + alphanumeric identifier
  • -i  inline graphic + alphanumeric identifier
  • -e  equation + alphanumeric identifier
  • -s  supplementary data file + alphanumeric identifier

ext is the lowercase file type extension.

How to Deliver Files to PMC

PMC will provide you with an FTP account to use, for either your technical evaluation or your production deposits.

  • All content sent to PMC must be sent via FTP.
  • Do not send files as attachments to an email message.
  • If your deposit contains substantial change, or is otherwise unusual, please notify your PMC contact via email.

How to Name Article Data Files

Article data files should be named systematically and consistently, and should contain all major article identifying information, such as jour, vol, iss, uid, and typ. Examples of well-named files can be found in the table below.

Guidance for systematic file naming

  • All file names must be unique within a volume. No two articles can use the same file name.
  • XML and PDF base file names must match exactly.
  • Names of image files and supplemental data files must match the names referenced in the XML file.
  • File names cannot contain spaces.
  • File names cannot contain special characters, such as ?, %, #, /, or :

Examples of well-named article data files

In the examples in this table, files are named for a hypothetical journal, Biological Testing.

File Type Naming Scheme Example Name
Article XML
XML icon
jour-vol-uid.ext biotes-10-100.xml
Article PDF
PDF icon
jour-vol-uid.ext biotes-10-100.pdf
Figures and Graphics
Figure icon
jour-vol-uid-typ.ext biotes-10-100-g001.tif
biotes-10-100-g002.tif
biotes-10-100-e001.png
Supplementary Material
Supplementary material icon
jour-vol-uid-typ.ext biotes-10-100-s001.mpg
biotes-10-100-s002.doc
biotes-10-100-s003.csv

How to Package Article Data Files

All article content sent to PMC must be packaged in a compressed data file. PMC currently accepts the following compression formats: .zip, .tar, .gz, and .tgz.

Article data files may be collected and sent to PMC using either article-based or collection-based packages.

  • Article-based packaging: an individual article's data files are deposited in a single compressed data package. Article-based packaging is PMC's preferred method for receiving files.
  • Collection-based packaging: all the data files for a collection of articles, such as a complete issue or volume, are deposited at the same time in a single compressed data package.

PMC only supports a single level of file decompression. For either packaging method, collect all article files directly into a compressed data package. Don't use 'nested' zips or subdirectories.

Packaging Method Naming Scheme Example Name
Article-based
delivery package
jour-vol-issue-artid.ext biotes-10-01-bt.12345.zip
Collection-based
delivery package
jour-vol-issue.ext biotes-10-01.zip

How to Package Revision Files

Contents of Revision Packages | Naming Revision/Correction Packages

Revision Sequence illustration

Contents of Revision Packages

Resubmit only files that have been modified, along with their corresponding XML files. If submitting replacement files for multiple issues, use a separate package for each issue. Do not combine files for different issues or journals in the same package.

The name of any replacement article data file (.xml, .pdf, .tif, etc.) must be identical to the original (replaced) file names.

Naming Revision/Correction Packages

For each revision package sent to PMC, add a suffix (like .r1, .r2, .r3) to the original file package name. This suffix indicates the sequence of replacements.

Last modified: Thu July 18 2019