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Authoring and editorial phase
The Authoring and Editorial phases are special attributes for reviews in Archie that determine who
can edit the document. The Authoring phase means that only authors (and a Review Group’s Super
Users) can edit the review, while the Editorial phase gives access to those with editorial roles.
Review Write phase
A review has an overall Write Phase that determines who can check it out and check it in again ‐ in
effect who can edit the Archie document. By changing the Write phase, the right to work on the
review can be transferred between the author team and the editorial team.
When authors submit a review to the editorial base for approval, the Write Phase changes to
Editorial. This prevents the authors from modifying the review while the editorial team is working
with it.
When a review has been approved for publication, it is usually returned to the Authoring phase,
allowing the authors to access it for updating.
Reviews that you cannot access because of their Write Phase will appear as 'Locked' in the Check Out
window.
See Checking out and Checking in.
Access to viewing versions in Archie
In addition to the overall Write phase of the review, each version has a separate Read Phase that
determines who can read that version.
Example: A review that is in the Editorial Write Phase can only be checked out and back in by editorial
users, and whenever an editorial user checks the review in, the version created will have the version
Read Phase Editorial. Such versions cannot be read by authors, so if an author decides to view the
review’s History, she cannot see the most recent versions (which in this example would be editorial
drafts), but only those version with an Authoring (or Shared, see below) Read phase.
Versions that have changed from Authoring to Editorial, or the opposite, will have the Read Phase
'Shared'. This allows people from both the author and the editorial team to view (but not check out)
such a version. Without this attribute, authors would not be able to see the versions they just
submitted, because the versions would have moved to the Editorial Read Phase.
Working with co‐authors
Within each team of authors, you should agree on how you will store and exchange reviews. A
number of possible strategies are outlined below, but you can combine elements from each,
depending on the preferences within the team.
Warning: avoid combining strategies in ways that will lead to uncertainty about who has the current
version of a review.
Strategy 1: Use Archie
All authors check the review back into Archie when they are not actively working on it.
Strategy 2: Exchange files by email
The lead author has the review checked out from Archie and coordinates contribution from the other
authors by sending it to them individually.
My Reviews
You can use the My Reviews window to list and access all Cochrane reviews that you are involved in ‐
i.e. have a document role for.
Note: My Reviews is only available in the Standard mode.
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61
My Reviews will suggest the best action for a review based on its Archie status and the presence of
any local versions. For example, if a review is checked out by you and the latest version is saved on
your local computer, the Open button will be available.
My Reviews consists of 4 main areas:
The list of reviews you are involved in. If a review is checked out by another person, this
review will be greyed out.
Review version details. This shows details for the latest review version in Archie and any local
version found.
Review details. This option shows the properties of a review.
Tip: Click the DOI number to go to the latest published version in The Cochrane Library.
Tasks in progress. This lists all tasks assigned to you which are currently in progress. Overdue
tasks are shown with a red due date.
T
O OPEN
M
Y
R
EVIEWS
1. Click
in the toolbar.
The My Reviews window opens.
T
O MODIFY CONNECTION PREFERENCES
1. Click
.
The Preferences window opens to the Connection tab.
2. Set up RevMan to connect to the Archie server. See Connection preferences.
T
O CHECK OUT OR OPEN
A REVIEW
1. Choose a review that you want to work on and click the Check out / Open button.
T
O SET
M
Y
R
EVIEWS AS STARTUP WINDOW
See Interface preferences.
See also Checking out.
Checking out
When you check out a review from Archie, you always get the latest version of it, and it becomes
locked so others do not edit it at the same time as you. Authors end editors can only check out
reviews that they have a relevant Archie document role for (but some editorial base staff will have
wider permissions).
Tip: My Reviews allows you to both check out reviews, and keep track of any local versions.
T
O CHECK OUT A REVIEW
1. Click the Check Out button
on the toolbar.
The Check Out window opens and RevMan retrieves a list of reviews you can access. The
name of the server you are connecting to is displayed at the top of the window. If you are
using a different server than the standard server (archie.cochrane.org), the server name will
be shown in red. See Connection preferences for more on server settings.
2. If you wish to only see reviews from a particular Review Group, choose the group from the
Review Group pull‐down list.
3. Click the review you wish to check out.
You can only check out reviews that are listed as 'Available', or are checked out by yourself,
see 'Review availability' below.
Tip: To sort the reviews by one of the attributes, click the relevant column header.
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4. If you know that you only need to look at the review, and will not be making changes that
should be checked back in again, select the option to Download a Copy of the Review
Without Checking it Out.
5. Click OK.
If you are checking out a review, a confirmation window will appear (this can be disabled
under General preferences).
The Check out window closes and the review is retrieved from the server.
Warning: If you are no longer actively working on a review, remember to check it back in again, so
that other people can work with it.
Tip: In rare cases you may need to revert to a previous version of a review, and continue working
from that. If so, you should contact your Review Group, who will be able to arrange this.
Review availability
A review's availability on Archie determines whether you can check it out.
Availability
Description
Available
The review is currently not checked out by anybody, and in a Write Phase that
gives you access.
Checked out by you
You have already checked this review out, but you can check it out again. This
may be useful if you do not have a local copy of the review, or wish to revert
to the version you originally checked out.
Checked out
Another user has checked out the review. To see who has checked it out, you
must view the review's properties in Archie.
Locked
The review's Write Phase prevents you from checking it out. See Authoring
and editorial phase.
Tip: If a review is unavailable for check‐out, you can still download it as a copy.
See also Using Archie to manage reviews, My Reviews
Checking in
When you check in a review, it is transferred from RevMan to Archie, where it is stored as a new
version. The review becomes available for check‐out by others, and messages may be sent out.
If you choose to submit the review for editorial approval, the Write Phase of the review will change to
Editorial, meaning that you cannot modify the review while the Review Group is working with it.
T
O CHECK IN A
R
EVIEW
1. Click the Check in button
on the main toolbar.
The Check In Wizard opens. The name of the server you are connecting to is displayed at the
top of the window. If you are using a different server than the standard server
(archie.cochrane.org), the server name will be shown in red. See Server preferences for more
on server settings.
2. Enter a version description.
The description should be as brief and accurate as possible. Since your name and the date
are automatically recorded, you need not include this information. But if the version you are
checking includes changes made by other persons, you can include their initials.
3. Do one of the following:
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Sharing and submitting reviews
63
If you wish to check in a version that is still being drafted, you can click Finish at this
point.
The review is checked in and the wizard closes.
If you wish to submit the review for editorial approval or include a message with the
check in, click Next
4. To submit the review for editorial approval, select Submit for Editorial Approval.
Note: When you use this option the review will movie into the Editorial phase, preventing
you from modifying it further. See Authoring and editorial phase.
5. Click Next.
If you are submitting the review, a validation check is run at this point. If validation errors are
found, it will not be possible to proceed. To see the errors that need to be corrected before
you can submit, click OK to view the validation report.
6. Type in a message (optional).
The message will go to those members of your Review Group that have chosen to receive
check‐in messages.
7. Click Finish.
A confirmation dialog appears, showing a brief report from Archie.
Tip: If you need to take action based on the information in the Check‐in report, you may
want top copy the contents of the report so you can paste it in elsewhere. To do so, click
Copy Text.
8. Click OK.
Note: Although RevMan closes the review when you check it in, any copies that you saved locally will
remain on your computer.
See also Using Archie to manage reviews, Versions
Submitting reviews
When you are ready to submit your review to your Review Group, you can do this in two ways:
The preferred way is to check in the review, and choose the Submit for Editorial Approval
option as part of the check‐in.
Save the file and send it as an email attachment.
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64
Storing reviews locally
Saving versions of reviews locally
You can store your reviews in two ways:
Over the internet, by using Archie. This method is only available for registered Cochrane
reviews.
Locally, by saving the review as a file on your computer (or a connected device, such as a
memory stick).
The preferred method for storing and sharing Cochrane reviews is to use Archie, and whenever you
work on a Cochrane Review, it should be the most recent version, checked out from Archie. However
even if a review is generally being stored and managed on Archie, there might be times when you
prefer to work on it, or to exchange it, as a local file.
Note: Even if you work primarily by storing your reviews on Archie, a local backup will also be saved at
regular intervals. See Local backups.
Some situations where storing reviews locally can be useful are:
If you will be without an internet connection for a while but need to be able to work on the
review.
If you are sure that no‐one else will need to work on the review for some time.
If your document is not a Cochrane review.
Warning: If you work on a locally stored copy of a review that is currently not checked out from
Archie, other people may make changes to the review at the same time since it is available for editing
on the server. In such cases, it might be difficult to integrate your changes into the current version of
the review. You will receive a warning you if open a Cochrane review that has not been checked out
from Archie.
See Opening a review and Saving a review.
Opening a review
You can open reviews in four formats:
'.rm5' is the standard file format used by RevMan 5 for saving reviews.
'.rm4' is the file format used by RevMan 4 for exporting one or more reviews.
Note: Only the Windows version of RevMan 5 can open .rm4 files, and only if the proper
ODBC driver is installed on your system. If you try to open a rm4 file, and do not have this
driver, an error message will inform you how to obtain the driver.
If you open an .rm4 file that contains multiple reviews, RevMan 5 will only open one of the
reviews. If you wish to open the other reviews in such a file, you must import the file to
RevMan 4 and export the reviews as single files.
'.r4x' is a file format that was used by RevMan 4.3 and Archie for exchanging single reviews .
'.xml' is a generic file format used by many different applications. Archie and RevMan 4.3
once used '.xml' for review files, but this was changed to '.r4x'. RevMan can only open '.xml'
files that were created by Archie or RevMan 4.3.
T
O OPEN A REVIEW
:
1. Click the Open button on the toolbar.
The Open window will show the last location where you opened or saved a file.
2. Choose the file to open and click Open.
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Storing reviews locally
65
Tip: You can choose how files are displayed in the Open and Save dialogs. Click
to use List view,
or
for Details view. The chosen setting will be used as the default the next time you use Open or
Save.
Tip: Use File > Recent files to choose from the most recently used reviews.
Saving a review
Reviews can be saved as document files on your computer. See Saving versions of reviews locally for
more information on when to do this.
T
O SAVE A REVIEW
Click the Save button
on the main toolbar.
If it is the first time you save this review, you will be asked to specify a file name (RevMan will suggest
the review's title). If you have previously saved this review, the existing file will be overwritten.
T
O SAVE A REVIEW WITH A NEW FILE NAME
1. Choose File > Save As.
You will be asked to specify a file name.
Tip: You can choose how files are displayed in the Open and Save dialogs. Click
to use List view,
or
for Details view. The chosen setting will be used as the default the next time you use Open or
Save.
Files are saved in .rm5 format. This is the only format for saving whole reviews. You can export parts
of a review in various other formats, see Exporting text, Exporting references and Exporting data.
Local backups
While you have a review open, RevMan will save a local backup of it at regular intervals. The default is
every 10 minutes, but this can be changed under Files preferences.
If your computer crashes so that your review is not saved successfully, you will be given the option to
open the latest backup of the review the next time you open RevMan.
RevMan backup files are ordinary rm5 files with file name 'backupXXXXX.rm5' where XXXXX is a
number. The backup files are by default saved in your temporary folder. You can see, or modify, the
location under Files preferences.
Backup files in the currently specified backup directory are automatically deleted after 7 days (by
default).
If you need to access a backup file, simply open it in RevMan. You may have to look at the date the
file was modified to find the right one. Once you have found the file you need, save it with a different
file name, or you will risk that it is deleted as part of the removal of old backup files.
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66
Printing
Printing reviews
When you print a review, you can choose which sections to include in the printout, and a print mode
that controls how those sections are presented.
For example, you can create a printout that contains both content and notes, but only for the for the
Results and Figures sections.
T
O PRINT A REVIEW
1. Click the Print button on the toolbar.
The Print window opens.
2. Select the print mode.
Tip: Use Preview to see what information the selected mode contains.
If your selected mode does not apply for particular sections, those sections will be grayed
out in the Sections to Print pane
3. Select the sections to print.
You can deselect or select sections by clicking the check box in front of them.
Tip: If you only wish to include a few sections in your printout, begin by deselecting all
sections (using the top‐level section, e.g. Intervention Review), and then select the ones you
want.
4. Click OK.
The Print window opens.
5. Click Print.
See also Page setup, Print preview and Printing single sections.
Print preview
T
O OPEN A PRINT PREVIEW
1. Open the Print window.
2. Click Preview.
Preview options
Most of the preview options will only affect how the preview is presented, not how the review is
actually printed. The only exception is the orientation and page setup settings, which will be used if
you print from within the preview window.
Fit and Zoom
Selecting the Fit option will automatically scale the preview page so it fits in the preview window.
To specify a specific scaling, select Zoom and either:
Type in a value in the field and press enter to apply it.
Use the pull‐down list to choose from preset values.
Use the up or down arrows to increase or decrease the scale in steps of ten.
Margins
Selecting this will highlight the margins.
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