A: We attempt to make Editorial Manager as flexible as possible in terms of equipment and software compatibility. Editorial Manager may be compatible with older hardware and software; however, support for older platforms is not guaranteed. In many cases older equipment and applications may prove inefficient and cumbersome.

Minimum Specifications for Work Stations

Windows Computer:

• Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista
• Internet Explorer 6.0 and later
• Firefox 0.9 and later

Macintosh Computer:

• Macintosh: OS X
• Firefox 1.0 and later
• Safari 3.0 and later

Other Supported Specifications

• Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher

Recommended Specifications for Work Stations

Windows Computer

• Pentium III or later
• 500mHz or faster
• 512MB RAM or more
• 17" color monitor, 1024x768 resolution preferred (recommendation only-lower resolution and size are acceptable)
• Ethernet connection to LAN or cable modem (10 Mbps)
• Windows 2000, 2003, XP or Vista operating system

Macintosh Computer

• PowerMac G4 or G5
• 500mHz or faster
• 512MB RAM or more
• 17" color monitor, 1024x768 resolution preferred (recommendation only-lower resolution and size are acceptable)
• Ethernet connection to LAN or cable modem (10 Mbps)
• Mac OS X

Application Software

• Application software released five or more years ago are not supported
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or later
• Internet Explorer 6.0 or later (Windows)
• Safari 3.0 or later (Macintosh)
• Firefox 2.0 or later (Linux)
• E-mail software

Internet Connection

Editorial Office and Editors

Effective use of Editorial Manager in the Editorial Office requires a connection between each workstation and the Internet with a bandwidth of at least 128 Kbytes/second. While EM will technically run with lower speed connections, we believe that the resulting reduced efficiency will make the use and performance of Editorial Manager unacceptable to the Editorial Office. Accordingly, we strongly encourage the Editorial Office to assure Internet connectivity through one of the options listed below (other options should also be acceptable, provided that they satisfy the performance requirements):

• Minimum upstream (transmission) and downstream (reception) speeds of 128 Kbytes/second at all times.
• Permanent (i.e., full-time) ISDN, DSL or cable modem connection.
• Institutional Ethernet LAN connection with 10 megabit/second bandwidth
• Appropriate ISP or domain server services (please consult with your IT staff)
• Commercial-grade e-mail service that permits document attachments to e-mail

Editors, Author, Reviewers

Dial-up modem connection will work. However, a cable modem, DSL or local area network connection will provide the best performance. Authors may need to upload large image files as part of their submission, and a standard dial-up connection will have slow performance.

Submission File Formats that can be built into a PDF

Submission files (manuscript, figures, tables, etc.) are uploaded into EM and are built into a PDF. The PDF is used in the peer review process so that Editors and Reviewers do not have to download individual files that may be very large, or may not be compatible with software installed on their computers. EM can incorporate a wide range of submission file formats into a PDF, including: Word, WordPerfect, RTF, TXT, LaTeX2e, AMSTex, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, EPS, Postscript, PICT, PDF, Excel and PowerPoint.

Many other file types, including multimedia files such as video and audio files, can be uploaded to EM. However, some file types do not build into the PDF, but rather, the PDF will contain a hyperlink that will allow the user to download the file to their computer for viewing.