1. Help with registration
2. Forgotten your password?
3. Security of personal information
4. Cookies

>  Manuscript / Images / Table Formatting

1. Manuscript formatting
2. Editing references on Bench>Press
3. Image / Table formatting
4. Converting Excel files
5. Converting Powerpoint files
6. Tips for optimum PDF conversion

>  Uploading a Manuscript to Bench>Press

1. Step by step instructions to uploading a manuscript
2. Using HTML codes on Bench>Press

Is registration with the system secure?

Yes. You register with your email address and a password of your choice. If you have a choice of email addresses, it's always best for security reasons to use a personal email address rather than a shared address or an address that may be reassigned to someone else (such as labhead@university.edu). And as with all passwords, you should choose something that won't be easy for others to guess, so please avoid using any form of your name or a family member's name, a pet's name, your birthdate, social security number, etc. And please don't share your password with anyone else.

A verification email containing a URL will be sent to your email address. Click on the URL (or paste it into your browser) to verify the email address. This ensures that no else who knows your email address can use it to register with the system. It also ensures that the address is a valid one, and doesn't contain any typos.

You can use your email address and password to access other journals' Bench>Press systems so that you don't have to memorize multiple passwords. Your sign-in information, however, is the only information that's shared between journals, and that's why you will need to create a basic profile for each journal, including your contact information. This also means that if you change your address you must make the change with all the journals with whom you have accounts.

If you check this box a cookie will store information on your computer so your email address will be retained. Your sign-in will still be secure, since you still need to enter your password.

From the sign-in page you can enter the Personal Information Area to update your address, areas of expertise and availability or change your password. Once you are signed into the system, you can click on Personal Info in the navigation bar to make the same types of changes.

I have forgotten my password. How do I obtain a new one?

If you have forgotten your password, you can get a new one by clicking on the 'I have forgotten my password' link on the top left hand corner of the journal index. You will be prompted to enter your email address and then answer your password hint question. This is the question you chose and answered when you registered with the site. When you correctly answer the question, you will be emailed a new automatically generated password to your email inbox.

Please note: You need to answer the password hint exactly as you entered it when you registered. For example, if you answered "Where was your mother born?" with "Los Angeles, US" the system will not recognise the answer if you enter "Los Angeles, USA".

If you cannot correctly answer your password hint, email Bench>Press Support and state the problem. Staff will then email you a new password.

If the system says you do not have a password hint question then it is likely your account was set up for you by editorial staff. Email Bench>Press Support and staff will send you a new password.

Go to your Personal Information Area and click on 'Change your password' on the navigation bar at the top of the page. You will be prompted to enter your current password and then your new password. Click on 'Continue' to make the change.

Is registration with the system secure?

Yes. You register with your email address and a password of your choice. If you have a choice of email addresses, it's always best for security reasons to use a personal email address rather than a shared address or an address that may be reassigned to someone else (such as labhead@university.edu). And as with all passwords, you should choose something that won't be easy for others to guess, so please avoid using any form of your name or a family member's name, a pet's name, your birthdate, social security number, etc. And please don't share your password with anyone else.

A verification email containing a URL will be sent to your email address. Click on the URL (or paste it into your browser) to verify the email address. This ensures that no else who knows your email address can use it to register with the system. It also ensures that the address is a valid one, and doesn't contain any typos.

When you choose your password, it's encrypted and no one else has access to it, not even the journal or Bench>Press staff. But as with all passwords, you should choose something that won't be easy for others to guess. For example, don't use any form of your name or a family member's name, a pet's name, your social security number, birthdate, etc. You are also asked to answer a password hint question; if you forget your password, you must correctly answer the hint question to receive a new password. To further ensure confidentiality, please don't share your password with anyone.

If you keep seeing the sign in page and can't get past it, you may have a cookie problem. Please check that your browser's preferences are set to accept cookies (directions below.) These settings will not take effect until you reload the page or restart your browser.

Configuring Internet Explorer 5 (PC)

1. Go to the 'Tools' menu on the Internet Explorer window.
2. Select 'Internet Options.'
3. Click on the 'Security' tab.
4. Click on the 'Internet' icon in the upper pane of the 'Security' tab.
5. In the frame labeled 'Security level for this zone', move the slider up or down until it is set for the 'Medium' security level.
6. Click on the 'OK' button.

Configuring Internet Explorer 6 (PC)

1. Go to the 'Tools' menu on the Internet Explorer window.
2. Select 'Internet Options.'
3. Click on the 'Privacy' tab.
4. Move the slider up or down until it is set for the 'Medium' security level.
5. Click on the 'OK' button.

1. If you have recently changed your email address in the system, please sign in once with the 'Remember Me' box unchecked. This will unset the old cookie, and from then on you can sign in with your new address and check the 'Remember Me' checkbox.
2. It may be that you are using a program on your computer that automatically deletes cookies. Two such programs for the Macintosh are "Cookie Cutter" and "WebFree." You will need to create an exception to use the online submission system.
3. The date is set incorrectly on your computer. This confuses our cookies (they have expiration dates), so pleace check to see that your date is set accurately.
4. Your browser is an old version that does not support cookies. You will need to upgrade it.
5. You are accessing the system via a "proxy server" that is deleting cookies automatically. You should contact your network administrator to determine whether your institution's proxy server is the source of the trouble.

Configuring Netscape 4 to enable JavaScript (PC)

1. Go to the 'Edit' menu on the Netscape Navigator window.
2. Select 'Preferences.'
3. Click on the word 'Advanced' in the 'Category' window.
4. The box for 'Enable JavaScript' should be checked. If not, click on it.
5. Either 'Accept all cookies' or 'Accept only cookies that get sent back to the originating server' should be checked.
6. 'Warn me before accepting a cookie' should not be checked.
7. Go back to the 'Category' window and click on the '+' sign next to 'Advanced.'
8. Click on 'Cache.'
9. If both 'Memory Cache' and 'Disk Cache' are set to 0, set one to a nonzero number. Typical values are 1024 Kbytes for 'Memory Cache' and 5000 Kbytes for 'Disk Cache.'
10. Click on the 'OK' button.

Configuring Netscape 4.7 to enable JavaScript (Mac)

1. Go to the 'Edit' menu on the Netscape Navigator window.
2. Select 'Preferences.'
3. Click on the word 'Advanced' in the 'Category' window.
4. The box for 'Enable JavaScript' should be checked. If not, click on it.
5. Either 'Accept all cookies' or 'Accept only cookies that get sent back to the originating server' should be checked.
6. 'Warn me before accepting a cookie' should not be checked.
7. Go back to the 'Category' window and click on the '+' sign next to 'Advanced.'
8. Click on 'Cache.'
9. If both 'Memory Cache' and 'Disk Cache' are set to 0, set one to a nonzero number. Typical values are 1024 Kbytes for 'Memory Cache' and 5000 Kbytes for 'Disk Cache.'
10. Click on the 'OK' button.

The system will convert your manuscript to a PDF for the review process. The system handles most common word processing formats; however, Word and PDF are preferred. To ensure that the resulting PDF file is readable, we recommended that you use only certain fonts in your Microsoft Word or WordPerfect document: Times, Times Roman, Courier, Helvetica, Arial, and the Symbol font for special characters. Using other fonts will make the PDF more difficult to read.

1. Times, Times Roman, Courier, Helvetica and Arial are the recommended fonts. Other fonts included in the standard U.S. editions of Microsoft Office and WordPerfect are likely, but not guaranteed, to successfully convert.
2. All other fonts may not convert at all or may appear blocky and hard to read when converted.
3. Proprietary fonts or fonts with licensing restrictions are not recommended and may not convert at all.
4. For best quality conversions of special characters and symbols, use the Symbol font. Characters and symbols from any of the fonts in the standard U.S. editions of Microsoft Office and WordPerfect are likely, but not guaranteed, to successfully convert as well.

Yes, you should include a title page (including all author names and affiliations), abstract, references and sponsors/acknowledgements in your manuscript file as this file will be converted into a PDF, which is what reviewers will see if your paper is peer reviewed.

Please note: you should also include any tables in your manuscript file but not figures.

This may be due to the font you have used. Times New Roman and Arial are the most successful fonts for conversion. Resave your manuscript in this font and try reuploading. Also, make sure your entire file is in the same font. If more than one font is used in a file, this will affect the conversion.

The main reason for this is the font used. Non-standard fonts such as Tahoma or Garamond cause the text to appear very grainy. Resave your original file in either Times New Roman or Arial as these fonts convert successfully.

Sometimes the software has problems converting symbols because of the way they have been produced originally, or if they are embedded in the text.

Firstly, check the font of the symbol and that it is in the same font as the rest of the text. If it is a special character or symbol, make sure it has been produced by using the 'Insert symbol' tool in Word.

If this doesn't work, email feedback{at}bmjgroup.com and staff will be able to help you.

Word

1. Open up your document for revision.
2. Go to Tools, Track Changes, Highlight Changes.
3. Click on Track changes while editing, and Highlight changes on screen
4. Then begin editing your article.
5. Save it once you have finished editing, and the tracked changes will be preserved.

WordPerfect

1. Make sure you have opened the newest version of the document you want to compare.
2. Choose Compare Document from the File menu, then choose Add Markings.
3. Select Word, Phrase, Sentence, or Paragraph to indicate how you want to compare the documents.
4. If you want to compare the opened document with the old version of the document on disk, choose OK.

or

If you want to compare the opened document with a document that has a different filename, type the path and filename of that document in the text box or select it using the list button, then choose OK. Text added to the current document appears in Redline. Text deleted from the current document appears as Strikeout.

Check your original manuscript file, it's likely there is a blank page in the file. View the file in 'page layout' as this sometimes shows where there have been hard returns inserted that may not show in the normal view. Just delete any hard returns causing blank pages, resave and reupload your document.

Open your original manuscript file and view it in 'page layout', this sometimes shows extra text that may not appear in normal view. Check to see if the extra text appears in this view and delete it if it does. You can then resave and reupload your file.

If this does not work or the text does not show in normal view, email feedback{at}bmjgroup.com and staff will be able to help you.

My HTML references aren't converting properly, how can I correct them?

The HTML references are purely a reviewer tool that some reviewers and editors find useful. They DO NOT affect your submission or the final decision on your paper. If the HTML references do not convert properly, you can still approve the paper providing the rest of the submission is ok. You do not need to spend time getting the references correct. However, if you do wish to amend your references so they convert to HTML, please ensure your references are prepared in the following way:

The HTML software can only convert the references if the citation and journal abbreviation is exactly correct. Make sure your references are formatted as below:

Journal abbreviation Year;Volume:Page-numbers

E.g. Am J Pathol 1975;78:101-158

For a full list of the recognised journal abbreviations, please see Medline.

1. If some of your references contain emboldened text, this may also affect the conversion.

2. Spaces between the colons and page numbers may prevent the references from linking.

3. If you have used a reference package in your manuscript file such as Endnote or Reference is should not affect the conversion to HTML. However, on some occasions the coding has prevented all the references linking to the Abstract/Full text or Medline.

4. If the references run together, this may be because the citation does not exist in Medline or a journal hosted by Highwire Press. These may include citations for books, papers in press, personal communications, etc. You can insert a HTML break <p /> after the citation so the next citation begins on a new line. You do not need to do this with recognised citations as the software automatically does it.

5. If the conversion has caused the formatting of the references to alter, this may be due to the formatting of the original text or citation.

6. Make sure the Journal abbreviation is correct. For a full list of the recognised journal abbreviations, please see Medline.

7. Sometimes headers/footers or page numbers may appear in the HTML references, this is due to the software being unable to differentiate between the references and page number or header/footer.

8. The system cannot always recognize book citations or 'complex' volume or issue numbers, such as supplements or multi-part volumes/issues.

9. The font used in the references or in headers/footers can cause problems in the formatting and linking of the references. Change the font to Times New Roman or Arial, which typically convert better.

10. Sometimes the issue number and month of publication can prevent the references from linking through, try removing these and reuploading.

This is usually due to the software being unable to recognise where the references begin. Please make sure the references start on a new page and are headed with one of the following recognised titles:

1. References

2. Reference List

3. Literature Cited

4. References and further reading

5. Bibliography

6. Literature

If your references aren't at the very end of your paper, the system will look for specific text to identify the end of the references section. Label the next section with any of the following so the system knows where your references end.

1. Footnotes

2. Table 1 (or any other number)

3. Legends for/to Figures

4. Figure Legends

5. Index Terms

6. Captions

These terms are not case sensitive, so you can choose to capitalize them however you like. However, they must be on a line of their own.

If you wish to edit the references, you can edit them without having to reupload your manuscript file. To do this, click on the HTML references link, then click on the blue 'edit this file' link. A text box will appear with the references in which you are able to edit. Once you have made the necessary alterations, click on 'Submit Edited references'; you will be presented with the new HTML references. You can edit them again if necessary. To reiterate, the HTML references are for review purposes only so you do not need to edit them. However, if you decide to edit them, please see editing HTML references above.

What image formats are supported?

Black and white images (photographs, line drawings, graphs etc.) should be saved and supplied as TIFF, GIF, or high quality JPEG files to a minimum of 300 dpi. Colour images should be saved and supplied as TIFF, GIF, or high quality JPEG files to a minimum of 600 dpi. If you choose a higher resolution your image dimension should be reduced accordingly to keep the file under 2MB. NB. Scanners may automatically increase image size at higher resolutions. SINGLE PAGE Powerpoint files can be submitted. Please submit ONE slide per file ONLY. Alternatively Powerpoint files can be saved as JPEG or TIFF files and submitted as a single image file.

Your images will be converted to PDF and appended to your manuscript file. You should provide labels for any image files you upload.

All images should be submitted to Bench>Press as separate files and not embedded in the manuscript text.

Formats not supported include the following: Any file utilizing OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology to display information or embed files, Bitmap (.bmp), PICT (.pict), Excel (.xls), Photoshop (.psd), Canvas (.cnv), CorelDRAW (.cdr) and locked or encrypted PDFs.

Tables should be submitted in the same format as your article and embedded in the article. Please note: Bench>Press CANNOT accept Excel files. If your table(s) are in Excel, copy and paste them into the manuscript file (where cited is preferable). In extreme circumstances, Excel files can be uploaded as supplementary files; however, we advise against this as this will not be acceptable if your article is accepted for publication.

Tables should be self-explanatory, and the data they contain must not be duplicated in the text or figures.

Figures or tables may rotate for a number of reasons.

Firstly, check that the image on the source file is the correct way round. If it is not, you will need to rotate it. Follow these guidelines using the most common image programmes:

1. The conversion system usually rotates a figure if it thinks it won't fit on a standard portrait page. Check the print preview or page set up to ensure the page isn't set to landscape. If the page is set to portrait, check the margins and try resizing them.

2. If your margins are too big and you cannot resize, try pasting your image into powerpoint and saving it as a jpeg or tiff file. This usually works well for problem images.

3. To do this: Paste your image into a blank powerpoint page by clicking on Edit and Paste Special. Choose the most appropriate paste special format, eg. Picture. When you save the image, choose the file type you want from the 'Save as type' drop down list. Jpeg or Tiff files are most successfully converted.

4. If none of these options have worked, email Bench>Press Support clearly stating what the problem is and staff will be able to help you.

If your source file is the correct way round then consider these options:

1. The conversion system usually rotates a figure if it thinks it won't fit on a standard portrait page. Check the print preview or page set up to ensure the page isn't set to landscape. If the page is set to portrait, check the margins and try resizing them.

2. If your margins are too big and you cannot resize, try pasting your image into Powerpoint and saving it as a JPEG or TIFF file. This usually works well for problem images.

3. To do this: Paste your image into a blank Powerpoint page by clicking on 'Edit' and 'Paste Special'. Choose the most appropriate paste special format, eg. Picture. When you save the image, choose the file type you want from the 'Save as type' drop down list. JPEG or TIFF files are most successfully converted.

Figures convert with a black background if they are Word files with Excel graphs in them. The system has problems with images embedded in Word documents using OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology and Excel in general. You should save these files in a different format, for example as a JPEG or TIFF file.

You can do this using Powerpoint: Paste your image into a blank Powerpoint page by clicking on 'Edit' and 'Paste Special'. Choose the most appropriate paste special format, e.g. Picture. When you save the image, choose the file type you want from the 'Save as type' drop down list. Jpeg or Tiff files are most successfully converted.

The label field on the manuscript file upload page is there simply to provide us with information on what the file contains. Unfortunately, we do not have pdf stamping at present so this information is unable to be uploaded onto the pdf.

Therefore, you need to label your figures when you create the files. Follow these guidelines to label your images:

1. Powerpoint: On the Insert menu, choose 'Text box' and click on the part of the image you wish to label.

2. You can label images before you save them as JPEG or TIFF files if you are creating the files in Powerpoint.

3. Photoshop: Make sure your image is flattened by going to the Layer menu and choosing 'Flatten Image'. Photoshop works in layers and you will not be able to label the image unless it is flattened. Click on the text tool 'T' and click on the image, a new window will open with various font options. Choose what options you want and then type the text in the box. Click on 'OK' and the text will appear on the image. If you want to move the label, choose the 'move' tool. Flatten the image again before saving. You will not be able to save as a jpeg if the image is unflattened.

4. Imaging : On the Annotation menu, choose 'Typed text'. Click where you wish to label on the image and type in the figure number/label. You can then choose the pointer tool if you need to move it.

1. The size of the figure depends on a number of factors.

2. The file type can alter the size of the figure, for example, TIFF files are generally bigger than JPEG files.

3. The resolution of the figure also affects the file size. The dpi (dots per inch) should not be more than 600 dpi and it may be necessary to reduce this to 300 dpi depending on the figure. 300 dpi is usually a good enough quality for review purposes and if the paper is accepted, staff will request larger files if necessary.

4. If the figure has been scanned, the scanner settings will affect the file size. You will need to check your scanner settings and reduce the scanned size of the image.

Sometimes the software has problems converting symbols because of the way they have been produced originally, or if they are embedded in the text.

Firstly, check the font of the symbol and that it is in the same font as the rest of the text. If the file is a Word document, this could be the cause of the problem, Word is not an image viewing software application so it does not always convert figures properly. Try saving the file in a different format, for example as a JPEG or TIFF file and reupload it.

If this doesn't work, email feedback{at}bmjgroup.com and staff will be able to help you.

This is usually due to the way the tables have been created.

If it is a table in Word created mostly using text boxes, some of the text may not convert. You should create the tables using the 'Table' function in Word.

If you are unable to redo the tables, try resizing the size of the text boxes. Click on the drawing arrow tool and highlight the tables. Right click and choose 'Format Object' or 'Format text box', click on the 'Size' tab and check 'lock ratio' and change the height and width size.

If you continue to have problems, or your tables are not in Word or text boxes, email feedback{at}bmjgroup.com detailing the problem.

Bench>Press does NOT accept Excel files. If you have tables in an Excel format you can copy and paste the file into a Word document, or into Powerpoint and then save as a JPEG or TIFF file.

To save the table in Word:

1. In Excel go to 'Edit' then select 'All'. Copy the selection and then open a new Word document. Paste the image and then save as a Word document.

To save the table in Powerpoint:

1. Paste your image into a blank Powerpoint page by clicking on 'Edit' and 'Paste Special'.

2. Choose the most appropriate paste special format, e.g. Picture.

3. When you save the image, choose the file type you want from the 'Save as type' drop down list. JPEG or TIFF files are most successfully converted.

Converting line drawings: graphs, pie charts, etc. to Powerpoint

1. Open Powerpoint presentation

2. Go to the slide with the image

3. Go to File and click on Save As

4. in the Save As Type field click on the arrow to produce a drop down list of file formats

5. Scroll down and choose JPEG format

6. Choose what to call the file and where to save it on your hard drive.

7. Click Save

8. A message will appear asking if you wish to export every slide in the presentation. As all submitted images must be uploaded as separate files click NO.

Please note: To ensure optimum quality of the converted image, the graph must have been produced within Powerpoint. If the graph was produced within Excel and pasted into a Powerpoint slide follow these guidelines:

1. Produce graph, pie chart etc, within Excel.

2. Copy

3. Go to powerpoint and choose Edit and Paste Special

4. Choose Picture

5. This will ensure the graph is embedded correctly, and once converted to .jpeg will ensure the quality is of a reasonable standar

Image Formats

1. TIFF and EPS produce the best images, with JPEG yielding slightly lower quality. Note, however, that TIFFs create much larger files.

2. Recommended DPI for images is 300.

3. Images embedded in word processing files will generally, but not always, yield good results. If an image must be embedded in the flow of the document and it is not converting correctly, it is best to create a PDF and submit that instead of original source files.

4. Images may be embedded in PowerPoint files, as long as each file contains a single slide. Multi-slide presentations are not accepted.

5. If you are not satisfied with the results of your image conversion, try submitting a PDF that you create yourself. In this manner, you will know exactly how the image will appear during the peer review process.

1. Times, Times Roman, Courier, Helvetica and Arial are the recommended fonts. Other fonts included in the standard U.S. editions of Microsoft Office and WordPerfect are likely, but not guaranteed, to successfully convert.

2. All other fonts may not convert at all or may appear blocky and hard to read when converted.

3. Proprietary fonts or fonts with licensing restrictions are not recommended and may not convert at all.

4. For best quality conversions of special characters and symbols, use the Symbol font. Characters and symbols from any of the fonts in the standard U.S. editions of Microsoft Office and WordPerfect are likely, but not guaranteed, to successfully convert as well.

1. All fonts other than the following standard fonts should be embedded: Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol and ZapfDingbats.

   To Embed Fonts in Your PDF:

   >  Click the Print button (when first beginning to create a PDF)
   >  Select Acrobat Distiller as your printer
   >  Click on the Properties button
   >  Select Adobe PDF settings tab
   >  Click on Edit Conversion settings
   >  Select the Fonts tab
   >  Select "Embed All Fonts"
   >  Select "Subset embedded fonts when percentage is less than:" and fill in 100%
   >  Click OK
   >  Click OK for "Save Job Options"
   >  Click OK
   >  Click OK and the PDF will be generated with embedded fonts.
   

2. Do not put any kind of security, such as password-protection, on the PDF as this will hinder the peer review process.

3. Do not place any restriction on the extraction of content or modification of the PDF as this will disable reference extraction and linking.

4. Use PDF version 1.3 or an earlier format. Problems with text extraction and PDF stamping can arise with PDF 1.4 and later.

Open it in a browser (IE or Netscape), and click on the right arrow above the rightmost vertical scrollbar. Through the menus available you can check the security settings, font information and the PDF version to ensure that they conform to the recommendations above. If you are using Adobe's Acrobat Distiller to create a PDF from your source document, we recommend the following settings:

1. Text and Graphics LZW Compression ON
2. Thumbnail Generation OFF
3. Generating ASCII format Files OFF
4. Subset Embedded Fonts ON
5. Color Image Downsampling ON
6. Color Image Downsampling Resolution 150
7. Color Image Compression ON
8. Color Image Compression JPEG Medium
9. Grayscale Image Downsampling ON
10. Grayscale Image Downsampling Resolution 150
11. Grayscale Image Compression ON
12. Grayscale Image Compression JPEG Medium
13. Monochrome Image Downsampling ON
14. Monochrome Image Downsampling Resolution 300
15. Monochrome Image Compression ON
16. Monochrome Image Compression CCITT Group 4

Click on the link Submit a New Manuscript. You need to enter the following information across 7 pages (most pages require little information). Any fields in colour are mandatory. Once used to entering your manuscript in this way, the process should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete. It is important to read the Journal Guidelines and Manuscript Preparation chapters if this is your first time submitting to the journal.

1. Choose whether you are submitting your article from North America or Rest of the World. (mandatory)

2. Number of authors (mandatory)

3. Is it a Resubmission? This is if the journal has a closed revision period (the Editor has asked you return the revised manuscript within 6 months, and your submission is beyond this time), or if the Editors have allowed you to submit a new version of a rejected manuscript. The resubmitted article is assigned a new manuscript ID#, but by checking this box and entering the previous manuscript ID# , the two manuscripts will be linked, thus allowing the editors to view the article, and reviewers' comments (if any) of the original article.

4. Article type (mandatory). This may be changed further down the process if the Editor feels that the article is more suitable in a different category.

5. Title (mandatory)

6. Running title (optional)

7. Companion papers. This allows authors to submit up to three manuscripts in a series. All submissions have to be entered individually. Enter the first manuscript. Note the ID number. Enter the second manuscript. Note the ID number. Enter the third manuscript. Check the Companion Papers box. Enter the ID numbers of all three manuscripts. All three manuscripts will then be linked, allowing editors to view the articles and correspondence of all three manuscripts easily. The linked manuscripts will be flagged with a number before the title; ie. 1. Test Manuscript on xxx, 2. Test Manuscript on xxx, 3. Test Manuscript on xxx.

8. Manuscript Keywords. Enter up to five keywords pertaining to the manuscript. These may be changed at the Editors discretion if s/he feels that more suitable terms may be applicable.

9. Abstract. Copy and paste in your abstract from your manuscript. Please enter the first paragraph of your article if it does not contain an abstract. Please note: your abstract is still required to be in the manuscript file you upload to Bench>Press. (mandatory)

10. Cover letter to the Editors. (mandatory)

11. Authors Consent (mandatory). Authors are required to check a box declaring authorship and stating that the manuscript has not been published nor considered elsewhere.

12. Competing Interests (mandatory). Authors are required to declare whether they have any competing interests. Please note: any competing interest statement is also required to be in the manuscript file you upload to Bench>Press.

13. Sponsorship and Acknowledgments. Optional field for authors to state any sponsors or acknowledgments. Please note: any statement is also required to be in the manuscript file you upload to Bench>Press.

14. Colour payment agreement. (mandatory) Authors are required to state whether they agree to pay for the colour reproduction of their images (if applicable) at the submission stage. There are 4 options to choose from:
    1. I agree to pay for colour reproduction (fees vary from journal to journal);
    2. I do not agree to pay for the reproduction of my colour images and wish for them to be printed in black and white;
    3. My article does not contain colour images;
    4. My article has been commissioned by the Journal and therefore I am not required to pay any colour fees. If you have agreed to pay any colour fees please enter an address for the invoice to be sent to. If no address is entered the invoice will be sent to the corresponding author.

15. Suggested reviewers. You can suggest up to 4 reviewers for your paper. If entering reviewer suggestions, please enter the reviewer's email address. Please note: the Editor is not obliged to select any of the suggested reviewers.

16. Author information. The submitting author enters the details of all authors of the paper. The required fields are First Name, Surname, and Institution. The submitting author can choose which author acts as the corresponding author by checking the correct box. If you and your co-authors are regular submitters to the journal, your details may already be in the database. This means you can use the 'Look-Up function'. Enter the author's email address in the available field and click on Look-Up. If the author's details are in the database, the system will automatically enter the author's first name, last name, and institution. Please note: If you use this function, you cannot change any of the automatically entered details. This will need to be edited in the author's Personal Profile. If you wish the author's record to show a different institution remove the email address from the field and manually enter the information.

17. Number of documents being uploaded and image information. The manuscript file is always set at 1. The manuscript file must include any tables (preferably embedded where cited in the text), sponsor details, acknowledgments, and competing interests information. Enter how many images you are uploading (if any), and how many supplementary files you wish to upload (if any). Fields are also available for you to enter further manuscript information, for example, Total No.of MS Pages, Total No. of Figures, Total No. of Colour Images etc. The Word Count is also entered on this page. Unless otherwise stated, please enter the full word count, minus the abstract and references.

18. Uploading files. Click on Browse and search for your article and image files (if required) on your hard drive. Figure labels can be entered in the field under the field where your image path is entered. Please note: these figure labels are not entered into the resultant PDF, please make sure you label your images on the file you are uploading. Once you have entered the path names, click on Upload. This then uploads your manuscript and any image/supplementary files to the system server where they are then converted to PDF Please note: any supplementary files uploaded are NOT converted to PDF. They will remain in their original format. They will be made available to reviewers.

If you have any problems with your submission please contact: feedback{at}bmjgroup.com

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