User Account Management

This PKP School video explains the user dashboard in OJS. To watch other videos in this series, visit PKP’s YouTube channel.

When a user log into the system, they will be taken to their Dashboard. From here, users can change their profile information or account settings, as well as see all of the functions of the system to which they have access. For example, a Reviewer will only see the submission they have been assigned to review, while an Editor will see all of the submissions in the editorial workflow. More information about roles and permissions levels is available in the Users and Roles chapter.

Registering with a Journal #

This PKP School video explains how to register and log in to a journal in OJS. To watch other videos in this series, visit PKP’s YouTube channel.

Unregistered visitors to a journal can normally register as a Reader, Author, and/or Reviewer. Journal Managers are able to remove the ability for visitors to self-register, in which case a notice will appear stating that registration is currently closed (see Journal Settings), but Journal Managers can always register users at any time, and for any role.

To register with a journal, click the Register link on the upper right corner.

This will open the Registration Form for you to complete with all required information.

All fields with an asterisk (First Name, Last Name, Affiliation, Country, Email, Username, Password, Repeat Password) are mandatory. If the journal is multilingual, you will need to select your preferred language.

You will be automatically registered as a Reader and an Author. You will be given the option to register as a Reviewer as well.

You will not be able to self-register for an Editorial Role (e.g., Editor, Section Editor, Copyeditor, Layout Editor, Proofreader, or Journal Manager). If you need to be enrolled at that level, contact a current Journal Manager or Site Administrator.

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Viewing and Changing your Profile #

This PKP School video explains how to manage a user profile in OJS. To watch other videos in this series, visit PKP’s YouTube channel.

To view and edit your profile, log in and click your Username link from the upper right corner. Choose the View Profile link.

From here, by choosing the different tabs, you can update your personal details, contact information, change your roles, add a personal image (which some journals may publish along with your article or on a list of editors), determine your notification settings, or update your password.

Under Notifications, you can configure what kinds of notifications you receive from the journal when events occur, such as a new journal issue is published or there is activity on a submission you’re involved in.

• Check off “Enable these types of notifications” if you want to see a notification of this event on your dashboard when you log in to the site
• Check off “Do not send me an email for these types of notifications” if you do not want to receive an email notification about this event

The API tab on the user profile allows you to use OJS’s REST API to interact with external applications. However, most users will not use the API and can ignore this tab.

Resetting your Password #

You can reset your password by:

1. Logging into the journal
2. Selecting your username and View Profile from the upper right corner of the screen
3. Choosing the Password tab
4. Entering your current password and then your new password twice
5. Hitting Save

Your password is now changed.

If you forgot your password #

Retrieving your password is a three-step process:

First you need to request a new password:

1. Click the Login link at the top-right corner of the navigation bar
2. Click the Forgot your Password link on the following page
3. Enter your email address
4. Click Reset Password

Then you need to check your email account and confirm your request:

1. Open your email account
2. Open the confirmation email message from the journal (you may need to check your Spam folder)
3. Click the link to confirm that you did indeed request your password to be reset. You will be taken back to the journal in question, and the system will email you a new password.

Now you can retrieve you new temporary password and log in:

1. Go back to your email account
2. Open the email message containing your temporary password (you may need to check your Spam folder)
3. Log in to the journal with your temporary password
4. Fill in a new password when prompted by the journal

If you need further assistance, contact the journal’s editorial team. A list of contacts should be available on the About page.