1. For authors
  2. Preprint template

Preprint template

LaTeX users

Authors are free to use the LaTeX class of their choice when they first submit an article to JTCAM for review. However, accepted articles will have to comply with the JTCAM LaTeX template for preprints which comprises the main_preprint.tex file, a refs.bib file (and a refsbibtex.bib file for BibTeX users), a jtcam_preprint.cls file together with exemplary figures and plots. The layout of accepted publications will take a more elaborated form. Authors should be aware of the following:

  1. The JTCAM LaTeX template for preprints is compatible with the standard LaTeX article class and BibTeX engine for bibliography generation.
  2. The default engine for compilation is pdfLaTeX. Accordingly, graphics with .eps or .ps file extensions should first be converted into the .pdf format.
  3. The default engine for bibliography generation is BibTeX. However, the more recent Biber engine is recommended. See the `OptBiber' option in the template.
  4. In the cited bibliographic entries, full journal names are mandatory. Abbreviated journal names are not accepted. DOI links or any permanent electronic identifiers assigned to a cited document should be indicated.
  5. A very recent LaTeX distribution (like Texlive 2020) is highly recommended to avoid compilation glitches.
  6. Newly introduced `software' bibligraphic entries, defined through the advanced softwate-biblatex package which requires the Biber engine, can be used in the .bib file. See the `OptSoft' option in the template and a video tutorial.
  7. The base color of an accepted paper in JTCAM is (RGB)=(10,40,80) which is the dark blue used in the header of this webpage. Authors are welcome to choose colors (for instance, in their graphics) in harmony with this dark blue.

As already explained in the JTCAM LaTeX template for preprints, authors should be aware of the following:

  1. They are responsible for creating a .bib file of the cited bibliographic entries. In addition to authors' names, full journal name, volume, issue/number, page range, year and DOI (when available) are requested. For books, the edition, publisher and ISBN identifier entries are requested as well.
  2. They are responsible for creating high quality vector graphics when appropriate. For complete integration within the JTCAM template, they will be asked to export their graphics to the TikZ/PGFPlots format:
    • For Matlab users, please see the matlab2tikz plugin.
    • For Python users, please see the tikzplotlib plugin.
    • For other graphical solutions, please see how to export to the PGFPlots/Tikz format.

Non-LaTeX users

It is highly suggested to prepare a manuscript to be submitted to JTCAM with LaTeX. However, manuscripts prepared in Word/OpenOffice will also be considered and will be internally reformatted using the official LaTeX template. Authors should be aware of the following:

  1. They are responsible for creating a .bib (also called bibtex format) file of the cited bibliographic entries. See for instance text2bib, jabref, Zotero, or Endnote2bib. Most publishers can export citations in the bibtex format. In addition to authors' names, full journal name, volume, issue/number, page range, year and DOI (when available) are requested. For books, the edition, publisher and ISBN identifier entries are requested as well.
  2. They are responsible for creating high quality vector graphics when appropriate. For complete integration within the JTCAM template, they will be asked to export their graphics to the TikZ/PGFPlots format:
    • For Matlab users, please see the matlab2tikz plugin.
    • For Python users, please see the tikzplotlib plugin.
    • For other graphical solutions, please see how to export to the PGFPlots/Tikz format.

Graphics and Colors