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OJS for EveryoneThe Practical GuidebookRSYN Research LLP

Tutorial: Create and Publish an Issue

Role: Editor / Journal Manager
Time: 20–40 minutes
OJS Version: 3.5+

This tutorial explains how to create a new journal issue, assign accepted articles to it, set publication dates, and publish it online.

Before You Start​

  • At least one article has been accepted and is in the Production stage (galley files ready).
  • You are logged in as an Editor or Journal Manager.

Step 1 — Create a New Issue​

  1. Go to Issues in the left sidebar (or navigate via Journal Management → Issues).
  2. Click Create Issue.
  3. Fill in the issue details:
FieldExampleNotes
Volume14The journal volume number
Number2The issue number within the volume
Year2025Publication year
TitleSpecial Issue: Open ScienceOptional — leave blank for regular issues
DescriptionBrief issue descriptionOptional
Cover ImageUpload imageOptional; JPG or PNG, recommended 800×1000 px
  1. Tick the checkboxes for any identifiers to display (Volume, Number, Year, Title).
  2. Click Save.

Step 2 — Schedule Articles to the Issue​

Each accepted article must be scheduled to an issue before it can be published.

  1. Navigate to Submissions → Active and open an article that is in the Production stage.
  2. Click the Publication tab.
  3. In the Issue section, click the Issue dropdown and select the issue you just created.
  4. (Optional) Enter a Section and Page Numbers (e.g., 1–15).
  5. Scroll up and click Schedule for Publication.
Repeat for Each Article

Repeat Steps 1–5 for every article you want to include in this issue. Articles can be from different sections.

Step 3 — Add a Table of Contents to the Issue​

  1. Go to Issues → Future Issues.
  2. Click the issue you created.
  3. The Table of Contents tab shows all scheduled articles.
  4. Drag and drop articles to reorder them within sections.
  5. Use the arrows or drag handles to set the display order.

Step 4 — Review Galley Files​

Before publishing, verify that each article's galley files (PDF, HTML, XML) are correct:

  1. Open each scheduled article.
  2. Click the Publication → Galleys tab.
  3. Download each galley file and check:
    • Article title, author names, and affiliations are correct
    • DOI (if used) is present and correct
    • No formatting errors
  4. If corrections are needed, click the galley entry and upload a corrected file.

Step 5 — Set Publication Metadata (Optional)​

For each article:

  1. Open the article and click the Publication tab.

  2. Review and edit these fields:

    • Title / Abstract — verify they are final
    • Contributors — check author order and ORCID iDs
    • Keywords — verify completeness
    • Permissions & Disclosure — set copyright year, license URL, and copyright holder
    • Identifier (DOI) — enter or generate the DOI if using CrossRef

  3. Click Save after any changes.

Step 6 — Assign DOIs (if using CrossRef)​

If your journal registers DOIs with CrossRef:

  1. On each article's Publication → Identifiers tab, click Assign next to DOI.
  2. OJS generates a DOI based on your configured pattern.
  3. After publishing the issue, export metadata to CrossRef via Tools → Import/Export → CrossRef XML Plugin.

See the Enable DOIs with CrossRef tutorial for full setup instructions.

Step 7 — Publish the Issue​

No Undo

Publishing an issue makes all scheduled articles publicly visible. Make sure all files and metadata are correct before proceeding.

  1. Go to Issues → Future Issues.
  2. Click the issue title.
  3. Review the Table of Contents one final time.
  4. Click Publish Issue.
  5. In the confirmation dialog, click OK.

OJS will:

  • Move the issue to Issues → Back Issues (or set it as the Current Issue)
  • Assign publication timestamps to all scheduled articles
  • Trigger new-issue notification emails to subscribed readers (if configured)

Step 8 — Set as Current Issue (if applicable)​

If this is the most recent issue:

  1. Go to Issues → Back Issues.
  2. Find the issue you just published.
  3. Click the blue Current button (or the arrow icon) next to it.
  4. Confirm — OJS updates the journal homepage to show this issue.

After Publishing​

  • Articles are now publicly accessible at their permanent URLs.
  • Google Scholar and indexing bots will discover the new content on their next crawl.
  • If DOIs were assigned, register them with CrossRef.
  • Send an announcement to readers if you have announcements enabled.

Troubleshooting​

ProblemSolution
Article does not appear in issueEnsure the article is in Production stage and has been scheduled to the issue
Publish Issue button is missingCheck your role — you need Editor or Journal Manager permissions
Galley files show errorsRe-upload corrected files before publishing; check PDF with a PDF reader
DOI not generatingVerify DOI plugin settings under Settings → Distribution → Identifiers
Readers not receiving notificationsCheck that the journal has Reader notifications enabled and SMTP email is configured

Next Steps​