Send questions to: centrack-help@ams.org© Copyright 2005, American Mathematical Society
Privacy Statement
What does this system do?
Centrack provides AMS journal editors with a centralized location to:
Editors can perform the following tasks through Centrack:
Centrack allows each journal to be set up by its Managing Editor according to the operational style of the journal. All editors have access to the system and can view manuscripts that they have been assigned. Any further access is managed by the Managing Editors of the journal.
Please note that this system is not intended to facilitate communication between editors and authors, to maintain a record of changes to the manuscript itself, or to provide access to review comments.
Some potential questions on how to navigate Centrack
What do I need before I start?
To use Centrack, you must be an editor for an AMS journal and you must have an AMS Web Account, with an AMS username and password. See the AMS User Account Help Index for information on establishing an AMS Web Account.
Whom do I contact for help?
For help understanding how Centrack integrates with your journal's editorial review process, please contact your Managing Editor. For help with technical or account problems, please contact centrack-help@ams.org.
What will I see when I first enter the site?
When you first go to http://www.ams.org/centrack you will see the AMS Sign-In form. Sign-in with your AMS Web Account username and password. Details on establishing an AMS Web Account can be found on the Creating a New Account page.
Once logged in you will be brought to the Centrack home page. From this page you can look through your manuscripts, listed according to their status as described below, and take actions on manuscripts (editors for more than one AMS journal are initially brought to a selection screen where they can choose which journal they wish to work on).
How are manuscripts entered into Centrack?
Authors submit a form that contains contact and manuscript information and an initial submission PDF.
For all journals except Bulletin of the AMS, this form is processed by AMS staff. They check the submission for completeness and forward it to an editor, at which point it is visible under Centrack. Editors may choose to submit the form on behalf of the author. This can be done from Centrack using the Add Manuscript link located on the second line of navigational links.
Bulletin has its own author submission form, which is processed by the Editorial Board before the manuscript becomes visible under Centrack. Bulletin's Add Manuscript link links to a form intended for use by editors only; it collects contact and manuscript information (no PDF). Information submitted via this form is immediately available under Centrack.
How do I update or edit information on a manuscript previously entered into Centrack?
You can edit manuscript information or upload a new current copy of the manuscript PDF on the View/Edit Screen. To access this screen use the View/Edit link located in the second column of the Manuscripts in Review area.
How is information stored in Centrack?
Information on active manuscripts or manuscripts for which decisions have been made in the past year is organized in the following three areas:
Is there an archive of information on manuscripts with final activity taken beyond one year?
Yes, this information is stored in the Centrack archive which can be accessed at the second level of navigation links.
How do I find a manuscript?
By using the sort functions available on the various tables you can easily find a manuscript. For example, to find a manuscript by author name, click on Sort under the column Author. The table will then list the manuscripts in ascending order by author name.
Is there a way to tag or flag a manuscript requiring special attention?
Manuscripts requiring exceptional or immediate attention can be tagged with the attention flag. This flag appears after the Paper ID in the first column of the various summary tables. Flags can be added from the View/Edit Screen.
How do I send a manuscript back to the Managing Editor?
If you were incorrectly assigned a manuscript, you can request that the Managing Editor reassign the manuscript. From the View/Edit Screen, click Go next to Request Manuscript be Reassigned.
How do I assign a manuscript to another editor?
Provided you have permission to assign manuscripts, manuscripts can be reassigned from the View/Edit Screen at any time following the addition of a manuscript.
Manuscripts can be assigned to another editor or to oneself. When the assignment is entered into Centrack an email window is activated which can be used to notify an editor of the assignment. This email message is not a requirement of Centrack and you can opt out of the email by using the cancel button located at the end of the message.
How do I get a personal copy of my manuscript data?
The system allows you to download the following comma-delimited text files.
How will the AMS know if a manuscript is accepted, rejected, or withdrawn?
AMS staff receive automatic notification when a final acceptance, rejection, or withdrawal event is logged (or when one of these events is deleted). In addition, acceptance and withdrawal events allow you to send an optional, customized email message.
A reference copy of the accepted manuscript must be forwarded to the AMS for the production process to begin. Editors may upload the accepted version of the PDF file before marking the paper as accepted and indicate in the email to the AMS that the current PDF file is the version of the manuscript that should enter the production stream.
Another option is for editors to send hard copy of the accepted manuscript to the AMS at the following address:
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTS
American Mathematical Society
201 Charles Street
Providence, Rhode Island
02904-2294
Editors should indicate the name of the journal, the accepting editor, the received and revised dates, and author contact information when sending in hard copy.
How do I download a report?
By clicking on the Download Reports link located on the second line of navigational links on the Centrack home page you will be brought to the download menu. Choose the appropriate link for the report you wish to download.
How do I withdraw a manuscript?
You can withdraw a manuscript in order to terminate the review process. You may also withdraw a manuscript if there is a substantial error in the manuscript information or history that cannot be corrected. You will not be able to assign, update, or log an event against the manuscript once it has been withdrawn.
To perform these operations go to the Add History link from the View/Edit Screen and select Paper withdrawn from the event pull down menu. Then complete the form and submit.
What are the various levels of access permissions within Centrack?
Who can assign access permissions?
The Managing Editor is responsible for establishing the access level for each editor who will use Centrack. Anyone provided with Administer access can use Centrack's Grant Access Screen to administer specific access permissions for each editor.