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Journal Email NotificationsJournal Email Notifications

Overview

Digital Commons journals send automatic email notifications to authors, reviewers, and editors at the appropriate points as a submission moves from upload to publication. This page lists each notification, who receives it, and how it can be adjusted.

Most notifications are enabled by default with standard text for common workflows, including double-blind peer review, so no setup is needed to get started. You can tailor them in two ways:

When sending: For many notifications, editors can add comments or edit the text before sending. For decision letters, editors can also suppress the email.
Standard text: Consulting Services can customize the standard text, recipients, and on/off status of most notifications on request. They can also provide a full mail compendium of all email text. See “Customizing Email Notifications” for details.

If you have questions, contact Consulting Services as described on our Contact Us page.

List of Journal Email Notifications

Email notifications are listed in the expandable sections below along with each email's recipients and customization options.

Key considerations:

For works uploaded by editors: The default is to not send most emails related to the submission/publication process to authors. This can be changed by request so authors receive more updates.
Author email addresses: These need to be included with a submission in order for authors to receive notifications. The email address from an author’s account is automatically included when they submit their own work. See Author or Editor Submission Steps in a Journal for more information.
Editor mail permission: The Receive email notifications permission needs to be in place for editors to receive most notifications. This is typically assigned to editors in the setup process. See Managing Administrator Permissions or contact Consulting Services if you need to double-check or adjust permissions.

For a copy of email notification text, request a full mail compendium from Consulting Services.

Submission Notifications

Email	Recipients	Customization options
New submission uploaded	When author uploads: Authors; Editors with full permissions. When editor uploads: None (not sent by default). Not sent for batch upload.	Customizable by request
Word or RTF file converted to PDF	When author uploaded the submission: Authors; Editors with full permissions. When editor uploaded: Submitting editor; Editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Submission assigned to specific editor	Assigning editor; Assigned editor.	Can enter a comment when sending Standard boilerplate text not customizable
Revision submitted	When author revises: Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission. When editor revises: Editor revising the submission; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission. Not sent for batch revise.	Customizable by request
Unpublished submission withdrawn by author	When author uploaded the submission: Authors; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any); Reviewers with status of "committed" or “reviewed”. When editor uploaded the submission: Withdrawing author; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any).	Customizable by request
Unpublished submission withdrawn by editor	When author uploaded the submission: Authors (if Notify authors option is selected); Withdrawing editor; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any). When editor uploaded the submission: Withdrawing editor; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any).	Customizable by request

Peer Review Notifications

Email	Recipients	Customization options
Initial request to review	Reviewer; Editor sending the request; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Can edit when sending Customizable by request
Auto-reminder to respond to review request Default settings: Email is sent every 3 days; the maximum number of times is 1 by default.	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Auto-notification that more reviewers are needed Default setting: Email is sent after 5 days if maximum number of reviewers (as indicated on journal setup form) has not committed.	Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Review request withdrawn by editor	Reviewer; Editor withdrawing the request; Assigned editor (if any).	Customizable by request
Review request withdrawn automatically when enough reviewers commit Uses number of reviewers indicated on journal setup form.	Reviewers with a “requested” status when the maximum number of reviewers per article have committed.	Customizable by request
Re-request review after request has been withdrawn	Reviewer; Editor sending the request; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Can edit when sending Customizable by request
Reviewer commits to review	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Reviewer guidelines (sent when reviewer commits to review)	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any).	Customizable by request
Reviewer declines to review	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission. (When an editor clicks the decline for reviewer option, no email is sent.)	Customizable by request
Suggestions for alternate reviewers	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Can edit when sending Standard boilerplate text not customizable
Manual reminder to submit review (when review is not overdue)	Reviewer; Editor sending the request; Assigned editor (if any).	Can edit when sending Customizable by request
Auto-reminder to submit review (when review is not overdue) Default settings: Three reminders total at 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the review due date.	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Manual reminder to submit review (when review is overdue)	Reviewer; Editor sending the request; Assigned editor (if any).	Can edit when sending Customizable by request
Auto-reminder to submit review (when review is overdue) Default settings: Sent every 5 days; a maximum number of times can be set by request.	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Auto-reminder to editor that a review is late Default settings: First email sent one day after due date; then every 7 days.	Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Committed reviewer withdraws commitment to review	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Not customizable
Editor gives up on committed reviewer	Reviewer; Editor performing action; Assigned editor (if any).	Customizable by request
Review uploaded	Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Customizable by request
Review received	Reviewer; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission; Editor who submits on behalf of reviewer, if applicable.	Customizable by request
Request additional review from reviewer who already reviewed	Reviewer; Editor sending the request; Assigned editor (if any); if no assigned editor, all editors with mail permission.	Can edit when sending Customizable by request

Decision Notifications

Email	Recipients	Customization options
Accept submission	Authors; Editor who registers decision; Assigned editor (if any). Optional at time of sending: All editors with mail permission; Submitter; Reviewers with a status of “committed” or “reviewed”.	Can edit or suppress email when registering a decision Customizable by request
Accept submission with minor revisions	Authors; Editor who registers decision; Assigned editor (if any). Optional at time of sending: All editors with mail permission; Submitter; Reviewers with a status of “committed” or “reviewed”.	Can edit or suppress email when registering a decision Customizable by request
Author guidelines (sent with “Accept” and “Accept with minor revisions” decisions)	Authors; Editor who registers decision; Assigned editor (if any). Optional at time of sending: All editors with mail permission; Submitter; Reviewers with a status of “committed” or “reviewed”. Not sent if the editor suppresses the email by checking the Do not email the decision letter box.	Customizable by request
Request minor revisions after acceptance	Authors; Editor requesting revisions.	Can edit or suppress email when registering a decision Customizable by request
Major revisions required for acceptance	Authors; Editor who registers decision; Assigned editor (if any). Optional at time of sending: All editors with mail permission; Submitter; Reviewers with a status of “committed” or “reviewed”.	Can edit or suppress email when registering a decision Customizable by request
Reject submission	Authors; Editor who registers decision; Assigned editor (if any). Optional at time of sending: All editors with mail permission; Submitter; Reviewers with a status of “committed” or “reviewed”.	Can edit or suppress email when registering a decision Customizable by request

Publication Notifications

Email	Recipients	Customization options
Submission published/posted	Authors; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any); Reviewers.	Customizable by request
Published submission removed by editor	Authors; Editor removing submission; Assigned editor (if any).	Can edit when sending Customizable by request

Email

Recipients

Customization options

Submission published/posted

Authors; Editors with mail permission; Assigned editor (if any); Reviewers.

Customizable by request

Published submission removed by editor

Authors; Editor removing submission; Assigned editor (if any).

Can edit when sending

Customizable by request

Customizing Email Notifications

While Digital Commons notifications do not require customization, your journal may have specific needs for tailoring emails to your content or workflow. For most emails described above, you can:

Request changes to the boilerplate text to include specific language or instructions
Specify whether certain notifications should be enabled or disabled
Adjust who receives certain emails

To request customization, follow the steps below. In the first step, you will contact Consulting Services for a full compendium of all email text. They can help you adjust emails and related settings according to your preferences.

How to Submit a Request to Consulting Services

Steps for requesting changes:

Request a mail compendium from Consulting Services.
The compendium is a Word document, so you may use the track changes feature in Word to record the specific changes you want to request. This will help to clarify your edits to Consulting Services.
Be sure to keep variables in place. Digital Commons emails use variables for elements like author names, manuscript numbers, and anonymized email addresses. These appear in brackets in the compendium. Leaving them in place ensures all mail components are preserved.
If your site has more than one journal, indicate the specific journal(s) where you’d like the requested changes applied.
Reply to Consulting Services and attach the modified Word document. It’s helpful to include a list of the emails you modified in the document. Also list any emails you'd like to enable or disable that aren’t set that way by default.

For more information about notifications, or for any questions, contact Consulting Services through the methods listed on our Contact Us page.