Abstract Submission FAQ Sheet

 GENERAL ABSTRACT FAQ

Q.    Where and how do I submit an abstract?
A.  All abstracts must be submitted electronically on the ASAS Southern Section Meeting Web Site:  http://www.asas.org/southern/2004/index.html

Q. What is the deadline for General abstracts?
A.
11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Wednesday, October 15, 2003.

Q.  What is the deadline for Invited Abstracts?
A. 
11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Wednesday, October 15, 2003.

Q.  How do I edit the abstract after the submission deadline?
A.  Edits after the submission deadline must be approved by the section chair.

Q.  Where do I find the name of a program section chair?
A.  A list of program section chairs with contact information can be found on the web site: http://www.asas.org/southern/2004/index.html

Q.  When will I know the day and time of my presentation?
A.  As soon as the program is finalized, the program will be posted to the web site http://www.asas.org/southern/2004/index.html

 ABSTRACT CONTENT FAQ

Q. Will I be able to submit my abstract in a language other than English?
A. No, we only accept abstracts that are written in English.

Q.    What should I do if I have more than fifteen authors for the abstract?
A.  Put in 15 authors and submit your abstract. Print your preview page; write in the authors that need inserted and where they should be inserted. Write the tracking number on the preview sheet and fax to headquarters (217-398-4119) with a cover sheet stating what needs to be done.

Q.    What should I do if I have more than five institutions or companies for the abstract?
A.  There is room for 15 institutions this year.

Q.  How do I check for 2300 keystrokes?
A.  Your word processor has a word count feature where you can check the character and space count before inserting special coding.

Q.  What is included in 2300 keystrokes?
A.  Title, authors, institutions, body, key words and table, if included, counts toward the 2300 keystrokes.

Q.  Is the special coding included in the 2300 keystrokes?
A.  No, special coding is not included in the keystroke count.

Q.  The guidelines state abstracts of more that 2300 keystrokes (characters and spaces) will be rejected.  Will my abstract be rejected if over the 2300 keystrokes?
A.  When you hit the submit button, you will get a message stating if you have information missing or your abstract exceeds the limit.  You will have the option to adjust your keystrokes and add missing information at that time.

 ABSTRACT CODING AND WEBSITE ERROR FAQ

Q. What do I do when I'm submitting an abstract and get a "500 internal server error"?
A. When this happens the first thing you must do is double check your abstract. Certain characters when copied and pasted from word processors will cause errors in the submission. Check your abstract for apostrophes and quotes, then if you find any replace them by deleting them and typing the character back into place. Word processors sometimes format these characters differently than what gets input when you use your keyboard to type it into place. If you are still getting an error open up a plain text editor such as notepad (for windows) or textedit (for mac) and cut and paste your abstract into it. Then from notepad or textedit cut and paste back into the abstract text box. If all of this fails, contact us at web@assochq.org and we will attempt to help you.

Q. What if my name has an apostrophe or foreign characters?
A. This shouldn't be a problem until you get to the field that asks for the "Corresponding Author's Last/Family Name", in this field you should make sure that all apostrophes and odd characters are removed from your name. The reason for this is that the text that is put into this field will be used for login purposes, should you need to edit your abstract at a later time. Apostrophes and odd characters will not be recognized in the login and you will be unable to edit your abstract.

Q. Why doesn't the coding show up in the title box when I click a special character?
A. The script that generates the coding will only work in the abstract box, regardless of where your cursor is located. This means if you need special characters in your title, you will need to cut and paste them from the abstract body text box.

Q. Why aren't my special characters showing up where I want them in my abstract?
A. If you have cut and paste your abstract into the text box, and are going back through to insert your special characters the script puts the coding at the end of the existing text. This means, if you click a certain character you will need to cut and paste the coding into place from the end of the text.

Q. I need to use a plus/minus symbol (±) in my abstract but I cannot locate it in the special characters table. What should I do?
A. The correct coding for the plus minus symbol is $\pm$ You must type it in, it does not appear in the selection of symbols.

Q. Even though I have entered my characters correctly, they are not displaying properly on the preview. What should I do?
A. Often this problem is caused by web browser incompatibility. The best way to check is to either upgrade your browser or try a different browser altogether. The system has been tested on all major browsers, although it tends to work the best on Internet Explorer version 4.0 and above.