Guidelines for preparing ADASS meeting abstracts electronically ============================================================= This file contains instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts for ADASS meetings using the LaTeX markup package, as well as the rules for submitting these abstracts electronically (via email). The abstracts which will appear in the final programme will be produced from the electronic form which you submit. Fill in the template abstract file; there are administrative details, and the scientific content of the abstract itself. The abstract files are prepared using the syntax of a text processing system called LaTeX, and each individual item is identified by its own command (or piece of markup) in the LaTeX language. These items will be described in detail in the balance of this file. After you have prepared the abstract and entered all the necessary information, the abstract can be submitted to the meetin organizers by sending the completed template (a LaTeX file) via electronic mail. Instructions for mailing submissions are given at the end of this file. There are two "template" abstract files that you can edit to create your own abstract. One of these is very much larger than the other; the longer file contains many comments interspersed among the markup commands, while the short file contains only the LaTeX commands you'd use. You should choose to edit whichever of these you find more convenient. ADASS electronic abstract markup commands ======================================= This section describes the LaTeX commands (markup) that you will encounter in the template files. Do not fret if you don't use LaTeX or if you are unfamiliar with it. You do not have to be a regular LaTeX user in order to edit your abstract file with commands of this nature, so if you are not fluent in the LaTeX language you can still prepare and submit an abstract using this package. LaTeX markup commands start with a backslash character "\", and often have arguments that are usually enclosed in braces "{}". Most of the text you will prepare for an abstract will probably be paragraphs - straight text - and this can be entered in the file in a "free form" way. If you need to include any mathematics or special symbols, you'll likely need to look at the LaTeX manual; it called "LaTeX: A Document Preparation System". There is a short list of commands for commonly-used symbols (including Greek letters) at the end of this file. You may also find the "LaTeX Command Summary" useful; it is available from the TeX Users Group, or via anonymous FTP from DAO computer haida.dao.nrc.ca, in the directory pub/adass/abstracts. FTP instructions are given in the README file. For those of you that are familiar with LaTeX, please do not include any other major markup commands (such as \section) in your abstract; also, there should not be any commands that change typesetting parameters such as paragraph indentation or type size. Please concentrate on the text that you are preparing; we will take care of how it looks. If you would like to run LaTeX on your abstract, you may do so using the adassab.sty file provided with the package. This file must be installed according to the directions in the README file. The style presently prints the abstract on two pages: the abstract on the first sheet, and the administrative information on the second. If you see an error message about an "Overfull \vbox ...", your abstract is probably too long; you should shorten it and try again. Electronic Abstract Template Commands ===================================== The commands are discussed here in the same order in which they appear in the files. You should not re-arrange the commands in the file as you prepare your abstract. The first two LaTeX commands in the file are: \documentstyle[11pt,adassab]{article} \nofiles Some of the administrative information is required, while some is optional or has a dependency on the status of other items. Most of these commands take a single argument, enclosed in curly braces. The "generic" of "dummy" argument name is shown in what follows in all capitals; you should replace each of these with an appropriate response. \sessiontype{TYPE} indicates your preference for the presentation of the paper. Select one of: oral, display, education If you wish to give your paper as an oral presentation, please put the word oral in place of TYPE. Remember that only a limited number of oral papers will be accepted for any given meeting. If your paper is changed from oral to display, you will be notified. We recommend that if you require an oral presentation, you should submit your abstract so that it is at the Executive Office 3 to 4 days prior to the abstract deadline Please note that the TYPE string is case-sensitive: please use lower case words like "oral" and "display". This item is required; you must specify the type. \instructions{TEXT} This markup command allows you to specify special instructions, including scheduling requests or needs for special audio-visual equipment. There will be a charge for special equipment such as VCRs.The ADASS meting organizers will contact those with such requests. The TEXT argument of \instructions should be concise sentences; please do not ramble. This item is optional and may be left commented out. \firstauthor{NAME} The first author is the "presentor" of the paper. This name must be identified separately from the \author list (described below) for clerical and communication reasons. This item is required; you must specify the first author's name. \authoraddress{ADDRESS} Give the postal mailing address of the first author. Note that addresses such as this usually consist of several lines. Line breaks should be indicated with the standard LaTeX \\ command. For instance, ADDRESS could be "NOAO\\950 N. Cherry Ave.\\Tucson, AZ 85719". This item is required; you must specify the first author's mailing address. \authorphone{NUMBER} Phone number of first author. Please delimit parts of the phone number with hyphens if possible: area-office-number, e.g., "602-327-5511". Do not use parentheses, please. This item is required; you must specify the first author's telephone number. \authoremail{NET ADDRESS} Network (electronic) address of the first author. Please give the primary network address, preferably in "Internet" format (user@host.domain), rather than a series of choices. If this item is left blank, it will be assumed that the first author has made the electronic submission of the abstract, and the author's email address will be extracted from the network mail header. The scientifically oriented information is given after the \begin{document} command. The \begin{document} command is required for proper processing and should not be removed or changed. \begin{document} Leave this alone, please. \title{LUCID TITLE} Try to limit your title to 120 characters (including spaces). Capitalize significant words - do not capitalize the entire title. Do not underline the title. You do not need to indicate line breaks in the title; simply type the text. \author{NAME(S)} \affil{INSTITUTION} Authors and their affiliations are specified in groups by institution. Each group of authors from the same institution whose names appear next to each other in the author list should be given together in a single \author statement, their names separated by commas. The institution should be specified in an \affil statement that follows; please abbreviate institution names as much as possible. An author list that looks like this: J. Hesser, P. Stetson (DAO), M. Pierce (NOAO) would be specified like this: \author{J. Hesser, P. Stetson} \affil{DAO} \author{M. Pierce} \affil{NOAO} Notice that the author should supply a minimum of punctuation. \begin{abstract} Type your abstract text in here. \end{abstract} The abstract itself belongs in a LaTeX abstract "environment". This means that the body of the abstract is enclosed between \begin{abstract} and \end{abstract} commands. These commands are supplied in the template, and you should not remove or change them. If you wish to include any mathematics or special symbols, you'll probably need to use LaTeX's "math" mode, and specify the symbols with LaTeX commands. The LaTeX user manual (cited above) will be invaluable for understanding mathematical typesetting using this language. A short list of symbol names is included at the end of this file. You may use the last sentence of the abstract to acknowledge support of your research. Do not use footnotes; they can get lost during reproduction. We cannot accept graphics for automatic inclusion in abstracts at this time. \admininfo \end{document} These two lines are required. Leave them alone. You should not include any other major markup commands (such as \section), and you should not have any commands that set typesetting parameters such as paragraph indentation or type size. Please concentrate on the text that you are preparing; we will take care of how it looks. Submitting your abstract via email ================================== You should submit your completed abstract (filled-in template) to the ADASS meeting organizers via electronic mail; do not send a paper copy. The email address that is set up to receive abstracts is abstract@dao.nrc.ca (for ABSTRACTS) Please do not send inquiries, problem reports, etc. to this address. General correspondence can be sent to abstract-help@dao.nrc.ca (for CORRESPONDENCE) These are Internet addresses. You will receive a message of acknowledgement via email within 24 hours of the arrival of your abstract. Submissions must be received in the Victoria by 12:00 midnight PST on Friday 6 August 1993. LaTeX Commands for Selected Special Symbols =========================================== Greek letters and most mathematical and planetary symbols must be identified descriptively in an electronic submission. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used symbols. These commands must all be given in LaTeX's "math" mode, i.e., between dollar signs ($); see the LaTeX user manual for additional information about math mode. Lower-case Greek letters. Note omicron is simply lower-case "o". \alpha \eta \nu \tau \beta \theta \xi \upsilon \gamma \iota o \phi \delta \kappa \pi \chi \epsilon \lambda \rho \psi \zeta \mu \sigma \omega Upper-case Greek letters. \Gamma \Lambda \Sigma \Psi \Delta \Xi \Upsilon \Omega \Theta \Pi \Phi Superscripts are indicated by a caret (shift-6): ^{SCRIPT}, e.g., $\pi r^{2}$. The example shown here is the formula for the area of a circle. LaTeX math mode (necessary for equations and super- and subscripts) is specified with the dollar signs; the lower case pi (\pi) and radius variable r have a space between them in the markup (it would not appear in the output), and the superscript 2 is the "argument" (enclosed in curly braces) to the superscript operator ^. Subscripts are indicated by an underscore: _{SCRIPT}, e.g., $J_{\nu}$. The abbreviation for Angstroms is indicated by \AA. Sun and Earth symbols are indicated by \sun and \earth. The solar mass would be indicated as $M_{\sun}$, for instance. Circular degrees can be specified with \deg, e.g., $45\deg$. Complete charts of symbols and markup names available in LaTeX are given at the end of the LaTeX Command Summary, which can be retrieved via anonymous FTP from haida.dao.nrc.ca in the directory pub/casca/abstracts. See the README.LCS file for details about retrieving it. The Command Summary must be processed with LaTeX and printed in order to be useful. Problems to be aware of, so you can avoid them ============================================== Here is a list of problems which the AAS has had to deal with in the time that they have been using electronic submission of abstracts. If you avoid these, it will make everyones life easier! 1. Word processors caused the largest share of troubles. If you use the longer template (casabfrm.tex) and edit it with a word processor that supports automatic word-wrap, be sure that comments in the file are not wrapped. We have changed all the files so the line lengths are less than 72 characters so that this will be alleviated. On the other hand, try to ensure that your abstract text is transmitted with physical line breaks (hard returns) in the file, to avoid long text lines getting truncated by mailer programs. The composition window in Sun's mailtool will wrap lines on the screen, but won't insert returns prior to sending the message. If you use WordPerfect or something of its ilk, please be sure to save the file as an ASCII file (plain text, DOS text, etc.) 2. Some punctuation marks are special characters to LaTeX, and you must put a backslash (\) in front of them so the proper mark is placed in the text. You'd specify them like so: \& \$ \% \# \_ \{ \} 3. Please used mixed case in the title. 4. Line breaks in addresses should use a double backslash \\. These are not the same as forward slashes //, which don't indicate anything. 5. Be careful not to add extra { or }, except in pairs. 6. Please note that some lines in the file are not to be removed, edited, commented out, or otherwise trifled with. 7. Thank you for your cooperation.