Instructions for submitting papers to ConfSys:
ConfSys: Secure and non-secure access
You can access ConfSys, the system we are using to manage all administrative functions for terms of conferences (and issues of journals). The non-secure site is:
http://confsys.encs.concordia.ca/ConfSys
and the secure site:
https://confsys.encs.concordia.ca/ConfSys
Please read the details about how to import our self signed security certificate in the Security Certificate Guide:
Phases and Roles in ConfSys
Some Features of ConfSys
ConfSys is a multi-event, multi-track system to manage all the phases of an academic meeting. Most such meetings require a number of roles and phases all of which are supported in ConfSys. Depending on the needs of an event(academic meeting), the phases and milestones are set up by the administrator of the system during the initializaton of an event. ConfSys has a built in email system for reminders and blind communication among reviewers.
The tasks of the Program Chair are eased by the assistance of a FrontDesk(Secretariat) role which allows the installation of the program committee and the monitoring the progress of the submissions, review and registration process with access to various lists of participants and authors. ConfSys includes a feature to enable the Program Chair to post local messages.
ConfSys has a built in feature to recruit External reviewers and the automatic management of most conflicts of interest. It provides the control access of PC members and external reviewers to assigned papers. It has a feature of automatic paper allocations to members of the PC based on their bids and the match of their interests with the topics of the submitted papers followed by a manual tuning.
ConfSys provides for on-line submission of reviews; monitoring of the review process is via an automatic reminder to PC members, and reviewer. ConfSys has an automatic detection of controversial papers and notice of the need of a debate sent to reviewers of such papers. It provides a facility for an online BLIND debate for such controversial papers. ConfSys provides an optional BLIND author response to reviews.
ConfSys features an on-line registration system and interlock of confirmed registration before allowing the upload of the accepted final version of paper upload and optional presentation (slide) upload.
ConfSys has an automatic generation and publishing feature for interim and final programs as well as an automatic preparation of conference proceedings with front and back matter.
Sign Up for ConfSys:
This is the first step for new users. Please use the New User link to sign-up with ConfSys. You will be required to enter your stable email address which would be used to send you an user ID and a password.Note: please keep this email address current.
We have noticed that some users have not been careful in entering their OWN names in ConfSys.
Citations counts etc. are computed by software which may or may not recognize different rendition of your name. Variations of the names is fine for human contact: however, it doesn't always work well in the digital world.
ConfSys provides fields for firstname, middlename and lastname.
Thus avoid registering yourself as:
FIRSTname lastname
when in fact you use
Firstname M. Lastname
in your contributions.
Also, if you forget your ID/PW please do not create another user account! Just click on the [Forgotten Password] link and enter your email address.
ConfSys will email the ID/PW to the email that is registered in the system. Assuming that you have kept your email up-to date. You can always reach a human by emailing to admin.
Second step in the Sign Up process is to log in the system with user ID and password. and enter your profile and topics of interests by using the links in the My Account pull down menu. You may change the user ID and the password. However, do not use a user ID which could identify you. For anonymity and privacy use a non-personal user ID("net-name"). Please record your user ID and password.
NOTE: If you have not completed your profile and indicated your topics of interests, ConfSys will not allow you to submit a paper.
Email feature of ConfSys
Each user of ConfSys, has an internal InBox that records all email sent by the system to the user. By default, these emails are also sent to the address you have used for your sign-up.Please keep your email address upto date. Email addresses of students usaully expire when they graduate!
Lost forgotten UserID/Password
Make sure to update your email address in ConfSys should you ever need to change it. This email address is required to send you the lost/forgotten userID and password. Just click on Forgotten Password link on the home page of ConfSys and enter your email address as recorded in ConfSys.Since your email registered in ConfSys is used to send you the forgotten UserID/Password, make sure to update your email address if it changes - do not create multiple accounts.
Log In:
Use your user ID and password to log-in. You may also reset your password at any time by using the "Profile" link under My Account.
Paper related tasks
To submit a paper, login to ConfSys. Choose the required event by using the "Change Conference" button to go to the environment for the event you want. The current environment is shown on the top-left side after "Current Conference Term:"Once in the appropriate event, use the "Author" menu and click on the Paper link. This would allow you to submit a paper, follow its progress etc. You may submit up-to three version of a paper for initial review. For accepted paper, you could upload the final(camera ready) version, the completed copyright form and for a meeting, the slides for the presentation.
Pressing the Paper Link will bring you to the Paper Submission Screen. It will list the paper(s) you have submitted, if any, to the current event. To submit a new paper, click on the "Submit a New Paper" button. This will bring you to a screen to submit a new paper. Here you are required to enter the title of the paper and its abstract. Please add the topic areas of your paper by choosing them from the menu given.
Use the file "Browse" button to choose the PDF file to be uploaded. Note the file should be PDF format and should include all the special fonts you have used in your paper. The name of the file should have the following pattern:
lastname_of_first_author_ACRONYM_OF_CONF_YY.PDF
e.g., desaiIDEAS11.pdf
In case of multiple papers, use 1, 2, 3, ... after the name.
e.g., deasai1IDEAS11.pdf for the first paper
deasai2IDEAS11.pdf for the second paper
Once the paper file upload is successful, ConfSys will show you a screen giving the details about the paper. You could update information of the submitted paper such modify the title, update the abstract, update the topics of the paper, add co:authors, change the author order, add a newer version(up-to three) for review. Such changes are allowed until the CFP date. All co:authors to be entered must be users of ConfSys and are entered using their email addresses and firstname.
You can retract(withdraw) a paper any time until the CFP is over.
You can submit another paper by returning to the pressing Paper link under the Author menu item and pressing the Submit a New Paper button.
Paper Status
In each paper's Paper Info page you can look at the status of a paper by examining the following lines and clicking on the link if applicable. Status:
Comments:
Decision:
Feedback
The comments could be seen by pressing the links in the respective lines. For examples, to see the reviewes' comment on a paper, go to the Paper Info page for that paper and click on the link "View Reviewer Comments And Review Results" next to the Comments line.
Copyright form Upload
In case of a meeting which requies a hard copy of the copyright
form(NOT on-line or in-line), ConfSys allows you to upload the
copyright form for papers at the same time as the paper. Make sure to
fill-in all applicable parts and sign the from. Scan it saving the scan
as PDF and upload it.
A sample of what is required to be filled in the copyright form is given here
Presentation Upload
ConfSys allows you to upload the presentation slide for accepted papers. The Program chair will inform you regarding the presentation format and number of slides and time allocated (space for posters).
Final Version (Camera Ready) Paper Format
Please follow the instruction sent by the organizers for preparing the final version of your accepted papers. Some typical templates are provided by the publishers.
Registration
Once the registration is open, you can register for an event by changing to the one of interest. Then, under the My Account menu item, press the My Registration link.You will see the registration options, list of papers, if any, and the record, if any, of your prior registrations.
If you are registering as an author for a paper, choose the paper you are registering the author registration option.
Note: You would be displayed only the options currently applicable to you.
As an author, you may add chardes for extra pages or guest etc.
Once all this is done, you may proceed to make payment using a third party secure system.
When your payment has been processed, your registration would be confirmed(may take a few hours!).
For more details please click here!
