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Introduction

Definition of ETD

ETD Examples
(from Virginia Tech)

ETD FAQ

Author Help


1. Logging In

2. ETD Status

3. File Uploads

4. Entering Abstract

5. Entering Keywords

6. Special Characters/HTML Entities

7. Availability Status

8. Browser Issues

9. Cookies

10. The Graduate School Review Process

11. Dealing With Notices

12. Starting Over




1. Logging In

Use the login page to log in to the ETD submission process. If you do not have an account, you will be given the opportunity to create one.

Once you have begun the process of submitting your ETD, you will be able to use the same username and password to continue making 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.

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2. ETD status

The submission process uses a persistent ETD Status message to keep you aware of what you've already done, and what still needs to be done before your ETD can be approved. You should also use this status window to navigate among the different steps of the submission process.

In order to be considered complete, your ETD must:

Have all of its title page information (author, title, keywords, etc.) entered.
Have at least one advisor.
Have at least one file.
Be accompanied by a completed survey
Not have any notices from the graduate school that need to be dealt with.
Pay special attention to any items in the status message 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

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3. File Uploads

Adding Files
The ETD submission process requires you to upload files using a Web browser.

File uploads through a browser window are supported by all versions of Netscape greater than 3.0 and all versions of Internet Explorer greater than 4.0. File uploads will not work properly if your browser is using a proxy server of any kind.

Our file upload page can generally support files of up to 20 Megabytes in size. It is reccommended that you keep your files under this size, as it increases the usability of your research over the Web. However, if you need to submit a larger file, ftp access is also available on request.

The file name should be: lastname_firstname_middleinitial_yearsemester_degree.pdf, for instance: George P. Burdell who is submitting a dissertation for his Ph.D. degree in Summer 2004 would name the file "burdell_george_p_200408_phd.pdf" if he submitted his masters thesis in Fall 2005 he would name his file "burdell_george_p_200512_mast.pdf" (All lower case letters please, no caps). Macintosh users especially, make sure your file has the .pdf file extension at the end. Please adhere to the naming convention, it was instituted to aid access to your work. (Fall Semester: 12, Spring Semester: 05, Summer Semester: 08)

Acceptable formats:

Thesis (front matter / preliminaries)

    PDF

Thesis (body)

    PDF (preferred)

Images

    PDF (.pdf)
    -- use Type I PostScript fonts
    JPEG (.jpg)
    CompuServe GIF (.gif)
    TIFF following version 6.0 or later, including CCITT G4 (.tif)

Video

    MPEG (i.e., MPEG-1, MPEG-2) (.mpg)
    QuickTime - Apple (.mov)
    Audio Video Interleaved - Microsoft (.avi)

Audio

    MPEG-2
    CD-DA
    CD-ROM/XA (A or B or C)
    AIF (.aif)
    SND (.snd)
    WAV (.wav)
    MIDI (.midi)
    Can be used with Finale software to reproduce score

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4. Entering Abstract

In general, you can copy and paste your abstract (of no more than 350 words) from a standard word processing program into the abstract field in your browser window. Be aware that 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, you should use the equivalent HTML entity (i.e. " instead of " and é instead of é). The UMI Guidelines for Dissertations in Digital Format state that "If multi-media elements are used in the document, file formats should be identified in the dissertation/thesis abstract." http://www.umi.com/hp/Support/DServices/prepare/submit.htm.

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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 cut 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.

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6. Special Characters/HTML entities

Some special characters do not display in a browser window. For a number of these cases, there are HTML entities which can be used to safely display the special characters. An HTML entity consists of an ampersand (&), a word or 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 &lt; < less-than sign
greater-than sign &gt; > greater-than sign

For a more complete list of HTML entities, please visit the following URL, which is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium:

http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/HTML3/latin1.HTML

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7. Availability Status

1. WORLDWIDE: Access to all portions of the ETD will be freely available worldwide.

2. NO ACCESS: REQUEST FOR NO ACCESS: Access to all portions of the ETD will be restricted for a period of one year to all including the Georgia Tech community. This option addresses situations such as when a patent application is planned, or when proprietary interests are at stake. NOTE: THIS OPTION MAY ONLY BE EXCERCISED WITH THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE MAJOR PROFESSOR. YOU MAY CHOOSE THIS OPTION, BUT IF NO LETTER IS RECEIVED FROM THE FACULTY MEMBER ACCESS WILL BECOME "WORLDWIDE." (This option may be extended if the major professor petitions the Graduate School in writing. If no written request for an extension is requested and granted, the thesis will be released after one year without further notice.)

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8. 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.

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9. Cookies

A cookie is a bit of information about a user or session that is stored in a cookies.txt file by a compatible browser. Whenever the browser requests a page from a host for which it has cookie information, it also sends the cookie information along, which can be used by any scripts or CGI programs capable of processing cookie data. In our case, this 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 process.

Most recent browsers come with cookies enabled, but people often disable them for various reasons. If your browser has cookies disabled, consult the documentation (online or otherwise) that comes with your browser for instructions on reenabling cookies.

The session cookies issued by our scripts are set to expire in 15 minutes, but are renewed by each subsequent script. 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, you can still use the "back" button on your browser to return to the page you were working on before your cookie expired.

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10. The Graduate School Review Process

Once you have completed the review process as outlined in the Thesis Manual , you may then submit your thesis or dissertation electronically.

Once your thesis or dissertation has been approved by your committee and all appropriate forms have been completed and submitted to the Graduate School by the appropriate deadlines you may submit your thesis or dissertation electronically.

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11. Notices

If anything about your ETD needs to be changed before it can be approved, the Graduate School may send you a notice, which is a brief message describing the steps you need to take to complete your ETD. Notices are generally delivered as email messages to whatever author email address you entered for your ETD. Notices may also be sent to your committee chair if there are problems reaching you. Once you receive a message indicating that you have a notice, you should login 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.

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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.

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Send Email to the ETD Team
Page Updated: June 11, 2003