How to Publish an Issue in OJS 3: From Galley to Going Live

Your Articles Are Accepted and Copyedited. Now You Publish.

Your articles have been peer reviewed, revised, and copyedited. If you're ready to publish issue OJS, there are several important steps to complete first. You need to upload article galleys, configure the table of contents, set publication dates, and verify everything before making the issue live.

Many journal editors have articles sitting in "Ready for Production" status for weeks because they are not sure how to move forward. Others publish issues with incomplete metadata, missing article PDFs, or incorrect ordering in the table of contents. These mistakes reduce discoverability and look unprofessional to readers and indexing services.

Publishing an issue correctly in OJS involves a specific sequence of steps. Done in the right order with attention to detail, your issue publishes cleanly and is immediately discoverable by Google Scholar, DOAJ, and other indexing services.

This guide walks you through the complete issue publication process in OJS 3 from production through going live, written by OJS specialists who have published thousands of issues across journals in 20+ countries.

If you want an expert to manage your issue publication workflow in OJS, visit ojsguru.com for a free consultation.

Understanding the OJS Publishing Workflow

Before publishing, understand the workflow stages that lead to publication.

OJS Submission Workflow Stages:

1. Submission, author submits article, editor desk reviews
2. Review, peer review by external reviewers
3. Copyediting, article edited for grammar, style, formatting
4. Production, formatted files (galleys) are created and uploaded
5. Published, article is published in an issue and publicly visible

You are here: Moving articles from Production to Published status.

Step 1: Confirm Articles Are Ready for Production

Before uploading galleys, confirm articles have completed copyediting.

Go to each article in the Copyediting stage.

Verify:

• Copyediting is marked complete
• Author has approved copyedited version
• All revisions have been incorporated
• Final version is ready for formatting

Click Move to Production to move the article to the Production stage.

Step 2: Understand Galleys and File Formats

A galley is a formatted version of an article ready for publication. OJS supports multiple galley formats.

Common Galley Types:

PDF Galley (most common)

• The formatted article as a PDF file
• Includes page numbers, headers, footers
• Looks like a published article
• Users can download and print

HTML Galley

• Article formatted as an HTML web page
• Allows inline viewing in browser
• Better for mobile devices
• Provides better indexing for full text search

XML Galley (advanced)

• Article in JATS XML format
• Provides structured metadata
• Required by some indexing services
• More complex to create

For most journals, create:

• PDF galley (required, what readers expect)
• HTML galley (optional but recommended for discoverability)

Step 3: Prepare Article Files for Upload

Before uploading to OJS, prepare your article files.

For PDF Galleys:

1. Take the copyedited manuscript (Word, PDF, or other format)
2. Format it with:

• Journal header/footer with issue information
• Page numbers
• Article title, authors, abstract on first page
• Proper margins and spacing
• High-quality images (300dpi minimum)

1. Save as a PDF file
2. Name the file clearly: AuthorLastName_YearArticleTitle.pdf

For HTML Galleys:

You have two options:

Option A, Convert PDF to HTML:

• Use an online PDF to HTML converter
• Clean up the HTML in a text editor
• Manually fix formatting issues

Option B, Export from Word to HTML:

• Save the copyedited Word document as HTML
• Clean up extra formatting tags
• Manually adjust layout if needed

Quality Check: Before uploading, verify:

• All text is readable and properly formatted
• Images display correctly
• Tables and figures are in the right location
• No garbled text or formatting errors
• File size is reasonable (under 50MB)

Step 4: Upload Galleys to an Article

In the Production stage, upload your formatted files.

Go to the article you want to publish and click the Production tab.

Click Add Galley

A form appears:

Galley Type

• Select PDF, HTML, XML, or other

Label

• Enter what readers will see: "PDF" or "Full Text" or "HTML Version"

Locale (Language)

• Select the language of the galley (usually English)

Upload File

• Click to upload your PDF, HTML, or other file from your computer

Public ID (optional)

• A short code identifying this galley (usually leave blank)

Click Save

The galley will appear in the article's Galley list. Readers will be able to download or view it when the article is published.

Create multiple galleys if needed:

Click Add Galley again to upload an HTML version in addition to the PDF, for example.

Step 5: Set Article Publication Details

In the Production tab, confirm all article publication information is correct.

Check:

Pub ID (Publication ID)

• Usually auto-generated, leaves blank
• Used to identify the article uniquely

Pages

• Enter page numbers if applicable (e.g., "145-160")
• OJS auto-generates page numbers if not provided

DOI (if applicable)

• If your journal assigns DOIs, this should already be populated
• Verify it is correct and will resolve properly

Permissions and Licensing

• Confirm copyright holder and license are correct
• This information appears with the published article

Step 6: Create or Schedule Your Issue

Before articles can be published, they must be assigned to an issue.

Go to Issues in your main editorial menu

Click Create Issue or select an existing issue

For a New Issue:

Enter:

Volume

• Current volume number (e.g., 5)

Issue Number

• Issue number (e.g., 1 for the first issue, 2 for the second)

Year

• Publication year (e.g., 2026)

Issue Title (optional)

• Special thematic title if applicable (e.g., "Special Issue on AI Ethics")

Issue Description (optional)

• Brief description of the issue's focus

Open Access (if applicable)

• Select if this issue is open access

Click Create

Step 7: Add Articles to the Issue

After creating an issue, add articles to it.

In the Issue view, click Add Articles to This Issue

A dialog appears showing all articles in the Production stage (ready to be published).

Select the articles you want to include in this issue by checking the boxes next to them.

Click Add Articles

The selected articles are now associated with this issue.

Step 8: Arrange Table of Contents

Set the order articles will appear in the issue.

In the Issue view, you will see your articles listed.

Drag and drop articles to reorder them, and the order you set here is how they will appear in the table of contents.

Typical ordering:

• Research articles first (by section if you have multiple sections)
• Reviews and commentaries
• Book reviews or other special content last

Save your ordering.

Step 9: Configure Issue Details

Set the publication date and visibility.

In the Issue settings, look for:

Publication Date

• Set the date the issue will be published
• This appears in the issue metadata
• Use the date when the issue will go live publicly

Issue Status

• Unpublished, articles are not visible; working in progress
• Published, articles are publicly visible

Leave as Unpublished until you are ready for the issue to go live.

Step 10: Publish Individual Articles

Articles must be individually marked as Published before the issue goes live.

Go to each article in the Production stage.

Click Publish Article

This moves the article from Production status to Published status.

A confirmation message appears. The article is now published and will appear in the issue when the issue itself is published.

Repeat for all articles in the issue.

Step 11: Publish the Issue

Once all articles in an issue are published, publish the issue itself.

Go to your Issues list

Find the issue you want to publish

Click Publish Issue

A dialog asks to confirm the publication date.

The issue is now live. All articles in it are publicly visible on your journal website.

The issue appears in your journal's Issues archive.

Articles are now indexed by Google Scholar, DOAJ, and other discovery services.

Step 12: Post-Publication Tasks

After publishing, complete these important follow-up tasks.

Send Publication Notifications

Go to Tools → Email and send a "New Issue Published" notification to your subscribers.

Update Your Homepage

Add a link to the newly published issue on your journal homepage.

Announce on Social Media

Post on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook announcing the new issue. Include:

• Issue number
• Featured articles
• Link to the issue

Submit to Indexing Services

If not already automated:

• Check that Google Scholar indexed the issue (takes 2-4 weeks normally)
• Verify DOAJ has harvested the new content via OAI-PMH
• Manually submit to disciplinary databases if required

Archive Previous Issue (optional)

If you have a current issue limit, move older issues to an archive.

Common Issue Publication Mistakes

Mistake 1: Publishing without PDF galleys

You publish an issue but forget to upload PDF files. Readers cannot access the articles.

Fix:

• Upload at least one galley (PDF preferred) before publishing
• Test by clicking the galley link to confirm it downloads/views correctly

Mistake 2: Wrong article order in table of contents

Articles appear in random order instead of a logical sequence.

Fix:

• Drag and drop articles in the Issue view to set correct order
• Research articles should appear first, followed by other content types
• Within article type, order by section if applicable

Mistake 3: Publication date in the future

You publish an issue but set the publication date 2 months in the future. Indexing services don't index it yet.

Fix:

• Set the publication date to today or the intended go-live date
• Do not pre-publish with future dates
• Schedule the issue if you want to publish on a specific future date

Mistake 4: Incomplete article metadata

Articles publish but lack author names, abstracts, or keywords. Indexing services cannot properly index them.

Fix:

• Verify all metadata is complete before moving to Production
• Check each article has title, authors, abstract, and keywords
• Do not publish articles with incomplete metadata

Mistake 5: Publishing without testing

You publish an issue without checking that PDF links work, table of contents displays correctly, or articles are discoverable.

Fix:

• Before publishing, click through the issue
• Download a PDF galley and verify it opens
• Check the table of contents displays correctly
• Verify the issue appears in your Issues archive

Issue Publication Best Practices

Maintain consistent publication schedule

Publish on the same date each cycle (e.g., first of each month, quarterly, etc.). Readers and indexing services expect regularity.

Use consistent naming

Volume 1, Issue 1, Year 2024, not "January 2024" or "First Issue." Consistency helps indexing services track your publication history.

Always include PDFs

At minimum, provide PDF galleys. PDF is the standard format for academic articles.

Create a publication checklist

Before publishing each issue:

• All articles have complete metadata
• All articles have at least one galley (PDF)
• Table of contents is in correct order
• Publication date is set correctly
• Issue status is set to Published

When to Call in a Professional

OJS issue publication is straightforward once you understand the workflow, but some journals benefit from professional support:

• You have a high-volume publication schedule and need efficient workflows
• You want to ensure consistent quality and metadata across all issues
• You are setting up issue publication for the first time
• You need help creating PDF and HTML galleys from copyedited manuscripts
• You want an expert to review your issue publication process

OJS Guru manages complete issue publication workflows, from article formatting through issue publication through post-publication tasks.

👉 Get a free consultation at ojsguru.com

Summary

Publishing an issue in OJS involves coordinating multiple steps in sequence: confirming articles are ready, uploading galleys, creating an issue, adding articles, arranging the table of contents, and publishing. The 12 steps covered in this guide take you from production-ready articles to a live, discoverable issue:

1. Confirm articles are ready for production
2. Understand galleys and file formats
3. Prepare article files (PDF, HTML)
4. Upload galleys to articles
5. Set article publication details
6. Create or schedule an issue
7. Add articles to the issue
8. Arrange table of contents
9. Configure issue details and publication date
10. Publish individual articles
11. Publish the issue
12. Complete post-publication tasks

Done correctly, your issue publishes cleanly, appears immediately in indexing services, and provides a professional reading experience for your audience.

If you want an expert to manage your issue publication workflow, contact OJS Guru at ojsguru.com. We publish journal issues regularly and we'll ensure yours meets the highest standards.

OJS Guru is a professional Open Journal Systems service provider specializing in OJS installation, customization, migration, and technical support for research journal publishers in 20+ countries. Visit ojsguru.com to request a free consultation.