Category: ARPHA Publishing Platform

Track changes and easy comparison of manuscript versions now available in ARPHA Writing Tool

Monitoring the progress of your manuscript has never been easier!

The eagerly anticipated Track changes feature is now available in ARPHA Writing Tool to further facilitate collaborative authoring in the five academic journals* which currently make use of the ARPHA-XML publishing workflow.

Having tapped into ARPHA’s users constructive feedback, we have also updated our Revision History feature. Now, not only can authors access any past version, as created by their co-authors and collaborators, but they can also compare any two of these at the click of a button.

Track changes

To let co-authors and collaborators easily see any changes they have made, a user needs to simply switch on the Track changes mode. From now on, each individual author’s input will be highlighted to draw the attention of the next user.

 

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Logically, any newly inserted text will appear in green, while the deleted one will be coloured in red. A hover over a highlighted text will show the user who has made the edit.

 

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To make overseeing even a single edit impossible, ARPHA Writing Tool has made it mandatory for a user to resolve all suggested changes before either submitting the manuscript or switching off the Track changes mode.

Not overlooking any new input, regardless of the length and complexity of a manuscript, is made even easier thanks to the Prev and Next buttons allowing a user to go through the changes one by one.

 

But what shall you do if you or your co-authors/collaborators happen to forget to switch on the Track changes mode?

 

Compare Manuscript Versions

Our latest update to the Revision history button lets users compare any two past manuscript versions, so that they can see at a glance what has changed between any two set points in time.

Just like before, clicking the Revision history button delivers a list of all manuscript versions along with the users who have created them in a chronological order. Now, however, a tick box next to each of these allows the user to select any two versions and see all edits that have taken place in between.

 

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Again, newly added text shows in green, while the deleted text is crossed over and appears in red.

Step-by-step instructions on both how to track changes and compare past versions are available in the Tips and Tricks guidelines accessible anytime in the header of the writing tool.  

 

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*The open access scholarly journals Biodiversity Data Journal, Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO Journal), One Ecosystem, BioDiscovery and Biodiversity Information Science and Standards (BISS) are all making use of the technologically advanced collaboration-centred ARPHA-XML workflow, which features the signature ARPHA Writing Tool.

We ask. We listen. We innovate!

During the last months of 2016, we asked our users about their experience with the ARPHA Platform and its inbuilt ARPHA Writing Tool (AWT) that backends journals like Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO Journal), Biodiversity Data Journal, One Ecosystem, and others. We got some fantastic feedback and have since been busy implementing some of the suggested features, while also improving existing ones.

In the very beginning of the new 2017, we are now happy to introduce some major improvements and additions to our writing tool.

  • First of all, we’ve updated our article templates, allowing users to modify them or to create a manuscript structure that best fits your needs. Most article types now also include blank document templates to be used at authors convenience. In the existing pre-defined templates, one can edit/change the majority of the (sub-)section titles or simply erase these from the manuscript.

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  • Meanwhile, some new templates have also been developed to broaden the article types that users can pick from, these including R Package, Monitoring Schema, Ecosystem Inventory, Ecosystem Service Models, Ecosystem Service Mapping, Species Conservation Profile, Alien Species Profile, and others.

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  • To improve user experience, commenting has now become even more intuitive by simplifying the comments interface and introducing a commenting button that floats next to the selected-for-revision text. The comments can now be filtered by user, date, and status; anchoring comments to commented texts is improved to a much more intuitive and user-friendly interface than before.

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  • Last but certainly not least, a dedicated and highly concise Step-By-Step Site Tour will now also guide users through the main features of the writing tool the first time a manuscript is opened, both as author or reviewer.

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At Pensoft we strive to continuously innovate and improve our products and services, and the ARPHA Platform and Writing Tool are no exception. That’s why we’ll take the opportunity to also share our plans for future improvements within this blog post. Here is what we have in store for the months to come:

  • Improving import of references and creating reference lists.
  • Extending table import and editing tool with new functionalities.
  • Restoring in a new improved format of the Track/Change mode for reviewers and coauthors.
  • Simultaneous collaborative writing and editing.

While thanking everyone who has already provided feedback and helped in this mission, we also invite our users to test the new features let us know what they think. We welcome any further feedback and comments at: info@arphahub.com

The 5 Most Distinct Features of ARPHA

Authoring, Reviewing, Publishing, Hosting and Archiving, this is what stands behind the innovative and fully integrated journal publishing solution ARPHA. This end-to-end platform not only puts all stages of the publishing process in one place for the first time, but also allows users to choose from a full set of accompanying services.

But what makes it really stand out? Here are the five most distinct features which make ARPHA unique:

Feature 1
Two journal publishing workflows: ARPHA-XML & ARPHA-DOC

Aiming at flexibility, ARPHA gives a choice between two interconnected but independently functioning publishing workflows that journals and publishers can choose between or use in combination:

  • ARPHA-XML: Entirely XML- and Web-based collaborative authoring, peer review, production and publication workflow, made possible via the innovative ARPHA Writing Tool.
  • ARPHA-DOC: Document-based submission, peer review, production and publication workflow.

Not only do users have the freedom to choose what suits their needs best, but they also get the options to effortlessly upgrade to our XML, entirely web-based workflow at a later stage, due to the high integration and automatisation of processes within ARPHA.

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Feature 2
No just a software platform, it comes with a full range of services to choose from

ARPHA is not just a software that you download! This highly integrated publishing solution offers its end-to-end platform, in combination with a full range of accompanying services that you can pick & mix to get a final product adjusted to your needs.

 

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Feature 3
White-label publishing, all the benefits of ARPHA under your imprint

Developed and tested in-house by scientific publisher Pensoft, ARPHA now comes as a stand-alone brand and offers a completely white-label publishing option for journals and publishers. You can enjoy all the benefits of having ARPHA as the backbone of your journal or collection of journals, while at the same time continue publishing under your own imprint.

Moreover, switching to ARPHA guarantees you an upgrade of your visual identity by offering dedicated web-design and setup services for your new journal website or publishing platform. For example, having recently moved to ARPHA, the Lithuanian VGTU Press journal Business Theory and Practice enjoys a brand new, individually designed website. While the journal has the ARPHA Platform as its backbone, it remains a completely separate entity published on behalf of VGTU Press.

 

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Feature 4
High-level integration via web services & data exchange

ARPHA is fully integrated with all leading indexing and archiving services. Our partners include CrossRef, Zenodo, Open Ayre, PubMed Central and DOAJ, to name just a few.

The full automatisation of processes within ARPHA means that all content is directly exported upon publication and without any extra human effort. This means that publishers and Editors-in-Chief can sit back and relax after pressing the “publish-an-article button”, while ARPHA makes sure that all their content is safely archived and successfully disseminated.

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Feature 5
Flexibility at each step of tailoring your publishing model

One of the greatest assets of ARPHA is its flexibility, when it comes to tailoring the best service for each individual client. While deciding what suits their needs, publishers and Editors-in-Chief get to choose from a full range of options at each step of the publishing cycle.

Starting from the branding model and tailored web design, through input types, peer review options and publication outputs, and finishing with your preferred revenue model, ARPHA offers a number of possibilities at each step to let you customise a platform that works for your journals at an affordable price.

 

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ARPHA is a home to several flagship journals, such as Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO) Journal (SPARC Innovation Award Winner for 2016), ZooKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal and others.You may also find some concise information about ARPHA in this flyer.

Would you be interested to set up a call for a brief demo? Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@arphahub.com if you wish to explore opportunities to use ARPHA as a new home for your journal!