Cray User Group

Instructions for Preparing
Publications and Presentations for
CUG Conferences and Workshops

Introduction

These instructions are for authors of papers to be presented at CUG Conferences. If you have not submitted the abstract of your paper, please go to the conference or workshop home page and use the "Call for Papers" page to submit it. Your conference Session Chair (or the Program Chair) will notify you of its acceptance.

Your presentation, both your paper and your slides, will be published in the CUG Proceedings on our secure web server and on CD-ROM. Your cooperation in preparing your presentation to accommodate our production method will help produce a timely, readable, and cost-efficient Proceedings. Please prepare and submit your paper and slides in electronic format according to these guidelines.

Your deadline is no later than the Friday before the conference. When you register at the conference, we will confirm receipt of your paper and slides and work with you to resolve any production issues that remain. We publish papers on our secure web server on a first-in, first-out basis and then produce our CD-ROM after all papers have been published on the server. Materials recieved for publication after May 23, 2008 will not be published on the Proceedings CD-ROM but may be published on cug.org.


If you would like attendees to be able to read and/or print a copy of your paper and/or slides while they are at the conference, then send it in PDF format using the instructions below to the Proceedings Publisher no later than April 18. Your paper will be posted to the Proceedings section of cug.org which requires a username and password. If an attendee does not have a username for CUG Proceedings online, we will provide one on their arrival at the conference so they can access your materials during the conference.

Please follow these instructions carefully to ensure inclusion of your paper in the Proceedings. If you have problems complying with these instructions, contact Bob Winget, Proceedings Publisher.

Here is a step-by-step outline of the process:

  • Prepare your paper using the HTML and/or desktop publishing (DTP) guidelines.
  • Prepare your slide presentation using an application (e.g., PowerPoint or Keynote) and output it to a PDF file.
  • If you prepare your paper using the DTP guidelines, output it to a PDF file.
  • If you need to send more than one file, compress them using .zip, .sit, or .gzip to a file called [your_last_name].zip, .sit, or .gz.
  • Send your file as an e-mail attachment to Bob Winget no later than the Friday before the conference. Receiving it before you arrive at the conference will help us process your registration quickly.
  • If your file is larger than 10 megabytes, please contact the Proceedings Publisher for assistance.
  • Each author will be expected to proofread his or her paper online prior to publication. Papers will not be edited for typos, grammar, spelling, punctuation, or format.

Instructions

General Requirements

The suggested paper size is 7,000 words or less. This is equivalent to 15 single-spaced pages (including all figures, tables, references, and appendixes).

How to Choose a Production Method

Consider these questions

    • Are hyperlinks or other hypertext features important in the body of your paper? Use HTML.
    • Does your paper include mathematical expressions that don’t display well in HTML? Does it include EPS, TIFF, or PICT files? Does it include complex tables? Use Desktop Publishing software—e.g., Word, FrameMaker or some other text editor that integrates text and graphics well.
    • Do you want to maximize the value of your paper allowing the best possible viewing online and in print? Use both HTML and Desktop Publishing. We will publish your paper in both HTML and PDF format.

HTML

Desktop Publishing (DTP)

    • We encourage you to use a word processing or page layout program if your paper does not need to include hypertext or hyperlinks. Here are DTP guidelines, templates, and a sample paper. Papers submitted in these formats will be published in Adobe PDF format and may be linked to a simple HTML title page that will link to the paper. The author may submit an HTML title page in addition to the PDF file that includes links to resources such as e-mail or other hyperlink resources. Here is an example of such a title page.

How to prepare Slides

The importance of good slides for your presentation can not be overstated. They not only enable you to get your points across clearly, but they also serve as a means to keep the audience's eyes and attention focused toward the front of the room. How to Prepare a Slide Presentation provides you with the necessary information to create quality slides for your presentation and for inclusion in the CUG proceedings.

How to prepare PDF files

You may use whatever application or utility you prefer to create PDF files (e.g. PDF Writer, OS X saved as PDF, or Acrobat Distiller). Whichever approach you use, please be sure to create your file using the Acrobat Distiller job options (text file) provided here. These job options are shown in Distiller screen prints. The single most important specification is for font inclusion. Please be sure your PDF is created with the option set to include all fonts. Without this, systems that do not have your fonts resident will have difficulty displaying your files and significant information may not display at all. If you export your files to postscript before distilling them as PDF's, you must specify the inclusion of all fonts in your postscript file.

A note about hyperlinks in PDF documents

If you include hyperlinks in your paper or slides and want them to work from within the PDF file you create, you will have to either use a program that allows you to create and maintain these links or edit your PDF file using a program like Acrobat Pro. For example, Microsoft Word allows you to create active hyperlinks in Word documents and export them to PDF's with the links. In Word, first check the settings for Office and select "Embedded Tags in PDF." Then click on the Acrobat toolbar icon. Here are screen shots of the Settings window and the Word Acrobat toolbar icon. Other programs like InDesign and Quark Xpress also support exporting files directly to PDF's and include an option to maintain hyperlinks.

File Naming Conventions

We support Macintosh, Windows, and Unix Rockridge file names, directories, and file systems. We ask that you use the following naming conventions:

  • Directory structure must be less than 7 levels deep
  • Use file names that relate to your paper using the principal author's name. For example: if the author's last name is "Garcia," then file names might include
Type of File Extension
Examples
HTML source .htm Garcia.htm
PDF files .pdf Garcia.pdf
figures .gif or .jpg Garcia_fig1.gif (jpg)

Guidelines for Presenters

When your paper and slides are ready, go to the Guidelines for Presenters where you will find information on how to present papers at a CUG conference.

Contact for Assistance

Bob Winget
CUG Office

(revised Monday, January 7, 2008)