TrackChair

Chair Help

This page is a short guide to TrackChair for conference chairs and managers. It focuses on the basics of paper management. You may also find the other help sections useful: Author Help, Reviewer Help, and Review Assigner Help.

How do I get an overview of my track status?

The dashboard page for your track is designed for just this purpose. To get to this page, first log in to TrackChair. Then, click on the "Dashboard" link in the green "Account" section of the sidebar on the right side of the page.

Your dashboard will list any tracks you are a chair for. Click on the track title to be taken to the track dashboard, which contains two tables: papers and reviews.

In the first table, papers are listed by status (withdrawn, submitted, and so on). The number is a link which takes you to a paper search, to find those papers. From there you can go to each paper's page, or add them to your set.

The second table is more complicated. It lists the number of papers by number of reviews: less than two, two, and more than two. The row indicates review progress: assigned and further, accepted and further, and completed. At the start of the review process, focus on the first row; a few weeks later, the second row; and near the deadline, the third row.

These tables allow you to see, at a glance, how your track is progressing. Remember that you can click on any of the numbers in the tables to view all the papers with the relevant status.

What can TPC members do to help me?

Each track can have associated TPC members, to assist you in the reviewing process. The normal role of a TPC member is to find appropriate reviewers for papers.

Once you assign a paper to a TPC member, they have full control over it. For example, they can add keywords, correct the title of the paper, and assign reviewers. All of these actions are logged for your security.

You can manage the list of TPC members from your track dashboard: click on the "TPC members" link in the orange Actions section of the sidebar on the right.

See also: Review Assigner Help, and How do I assign reviews?

Can TrackChair help me to match papers to TPC members?

Yes! TrackChair can automatically match papers to TPC members. This is done by comparing paper keywords to TPC member interests, and the suggestion algorithm tries to spread the TPC load as broadly as possible.

To use this feature, first visit your track dashboard. Then, click on the "suggest TPC member assignments" link. Please note that this page may take a few seconds to load if your track has hundreds of submitted papers.

Some papers may have no keywords matching your TPC members. These are listed at the bottom of the page. All other papers are listed underneath the suggested TPC member's name.

To assign papers to the suggested TPC member, simply ensure that the box next to the paper title is checked, and click on the "Assign papers" button. Uncheck the box if you do not want to assign one of the listed papers to this person.

See also: How do I assign papers to TPC members?

How do I assign papers to TPC members?

You can assign a TPC member to a single paper, or to many papers at once.

For a single paper, first visit the paper page. Click on the "Reviews" link in the orange "Actions" section of the sidebar. This page lists any reviews, reviewers, and TPC members assigned to the paper. Click on the "assign TPC members" link.

Choose a TPC member and click "Assign TPC member". The TPC member will receive an email informing them of the paper assignment, with links to the paper and to TrackChair documentation. You will receive a copy of this email.

At the bottom of the page, TrackChair also offers suggestions for TPC members, matching paper keywords and account interests. Click the "Assign" button next to the TPC member's name to assign them the paper.

For multiple papers, please see: How do I find papers?, and Can I modify multiple papers at once?

How do I assign reviews?

You can assign reviews for a single paper, or for many papers at once.

For a single paper, first visit the paper page. Click on the "Reviews" link in the orange "Actions" section of the sidebar. This page lists any reviews, reviewers, and TPC members assigned to the paper. Click on the "assign reviewers" link.

To assign a review, you can either choose one of your contacts, or type in the details of the reviewer. The reviewer will receive an email requesting their assistance with reviewing, including links to the paper and to TrackChair documentation. You will receive a copy of this email.

At the bottom of the page, TrackChair also suggests potential reviewers, matching paper keywords and account interests. Click the "Assign" button next to the reviewer's name to assign them a review.

For multiple papers, please see: How do I find papers?, and Can I modify multiple papers at once?

How do I find papers?

From your track dashboard page, click on any of the links in the "Papers" table. For example, click on the link at the bottom of the yellow "Submitted" column to show all currently submitted papers.

To search for papers, click on the "Show search form" link at the top of the page. You can search by paper title or abstract, keyword, status, category, average score for a review question, and number of reviews. The search is logical AND on each of the terms, so if you don't care about status or category, leave them blank.

See also: How do I get an overview of my track status?, Can I modify multiple papers at once?

Can I modify multiple papers at once?

Yes! This is one of TrackChair's most useful features: the paper set. From the paper search page, you can check the boxes next to the papers you are interested in and click "Add selection to set". Hint: the "Toggle selection" button allows you to quickly select all the papers.

Once in your set, you can do several things to the group of papers. For example, you can assign reviews, modify the paper status (i.e. accept or reject the papers), add and remove keywords, and more. If your set is non-empty, the sidebar will reflect this, with a list of actions you can perform on the papers in the set.

While we believe the paper set is very useful, it's also a new concept to most people. If you have any difficulties with it at all, please let us know and we'll try to help.

See also: How do I find papers?

How do I email authors?

You can email authors of papers in your paper set. Add the paper or papers to your set, and click the "Email" link in the blue "Paper Set" section of the sidebar.

Enter a relevant subject, type your message, and click preview for an example message. Each message will automatically show the paper title and a link to the paper page, and a signature with your name and TrackChair page will be added to the bottom of the email.

Once you are happy with the email, click "Save message" to finalise it. Then, click "Send email" to send it to all of the authors. If you have many papers in your set (more than 20 or so), this may take some time.

See also: How do I find papers?

Is there an advanced search?

Yes! Our solution is to allow you to process your paper data offline in a spreadsheet, or with software of your own. Once you have decided which papers to work with, you can put the Paper IDs back into TrackChair to add them to your set.

To do this, add all papers to your set. Then, click on the "Download" link in the blue "Paper Set" section of the sidebar to download a CSV-format Excel-compatible spreadsheet. This contains all the paper information we can think of; if we've left anything out, please let us know.

Once you have decided which papers you want to manipulate, make a note of their Paper IDs. Then visit the dashboard or papers page, and click on the "Add papers" link at the top of the blue "Paper Set" section of sidebar. Type or copy the Paper IDs into this text box, making sure to separate each number with a space or comma, and click "Add papers to set".

If you have any difficulties with this process, as always, let us know and we'll do what we can to help.

See also: How do I find papers?