IEEE Access submission files: a source-to-PDF checklist

An *IEEE Access* submission asks you to upload both an editable source file and a PDF. That sounds straightforward until the title page changes in one file, a late figure replacement reaches only the other, or the author list is corrected after the PDF was exported.

The journal's current submission checklist treats the pair as one matched package: the manuscript should use the required IEEE Access template in double-column, single-spaced form; the Word or LaTeX source and the PDF are both required; and their content must match. This guide turns that requirement into a practical cross-file check before upload.

Always confirm the current IEEE Access submission guidelines before submitting. Journal instructions can change, and the official page remains the controlling source.

Start from the required template

IEEE Access asks authors to prepare the manuscript in its required template, using a double-column, single-spaced layout. The journal provides both Microsoft Word and LaTeX template routes.

Choose the source format your team can maintain reliably. A Word manuscript should remain a real editable document. A LaTeX project should retain the source files needed to compile the submitted PDF. In either case, the source is not merely an archive copy: it is one of the required submission files.

Before detailed review, confirm that the manuscript is actually using the current IEEE Access template rather than a visually similar file from another IEEE publication or an older local folder. Template confusion is easiest to fix before figures, biographies, and final references are locked into place.

Treat the source file and PDF as one package

The journal requires a Word or LaTeX file and a PDF, and says the content in the two files must match exactly. A conservative workflow is to designate one editable source as the master, export or compile the PDF from that master, and then freeze both files while the final comparison is performed.

Check more than page count. Compare the parts most likely to drift:

• title, subtitle, author names, affiliations, and corresponding-author details;
• abstract, section headings, acknowledgments, and other end matter;
• figure order, figure panels, captions, and in-text callouts;
• table contents, notes, numbering, and callouts;
• equations, symbols, cross-references, and numbering;
• references, citations, and any late corrections; and
• author biographies placed after the references.

If you find a mismatch, correct the master source and regenerate the PDF. Avoid patching the PDF independently, because the two versions can drift again on the next export.

The journal's checklist also sets a 40 MB maximum for the required manuscript files. Check the final files themselves, not an earlier export. If a file is unexpectedly large, inspect embedded images and duplicated assets without degrading material below the journal's requirements.

Reconcile the author information in both files

IEEE Access says all authors should appear in both the source file and the manuscript PDF. The submission system should also extract the full author list successfully.

Run one deliberate author-line comparison after the scientific content is otherwise stable. Look for differences in name order, initials, diacritics, affiliations, and corresponding-author designation. Do not infer or add contributors during formatting. Authorship decisions belong to the authors and the journal's policies.

The submitting author must have an ORCID iD connected to the submission account, with a public and populated ORCID profile. This is an account-level check rather than a manuscript-formatting task, so it should be confirmed by the submitting author directly.

Short biographies are required for all authors and should appear in the article below the references, as shown in the journal's template. Confirm that the source and PDF contain the same biography set and that a late author correction did not leave an unmatched biography behind.

Confirm keywords and manuscript type before the portal asks

The submission workflow requires between three and ten manuscript keywords. Prepare the final keyword set before upload so it can be checked for accuracy and entered consistently.

The author must also choose a manuscript type. IEEE Access lists several types and says that authors who are unsure should select “Research Article.” Do not choose a category from the title alone. Review the journal's descriptions with the corresponding author, especially for reviews, surveys, methods papers, perspectives, and other specialized types.

These portal fields may not all live inside the manuscript file, but they still belong in the pre-submission package. Recording the agreed keywords and manuscript type in a private team checklist reduces last-minute improvisation without inserting administrative notes into the manuscript itself.

Check acronyms, references, and language as connected details

IEEE Access requires abbreviations and acronyms to be defined the first time they appear in the article, even if they were already defined in the abstract. Review the abstract and main text as separate reading contexts. A definition in one does not automatically satisfy the other.

The journal also asks authors to reference research carefully, include only relevant sources, verify accuracy, and check for retracted references. Formatting can make the reference list and citations consistent, but it cannot establish that a source is accurate, relevant, or still valid. Those judgments remain with the authors.

The checklist emphasizes a thorough grammar review before submission. A useful final pass separates language review from layout review: first read for meaning and clarity, then inspect the exported PDF for broken symbols, clipped lines, awkward column flow, and displaced display items.

Prepare conditional files before the submission session

Some requirements apply only to certain papers. If the work includes supplementary material, have those files ready for review and upload. If the article includes video, the journal says it should be submitted with the article for peer review and sets a 100 MB maximum for video files.

For a manuscript previously rejected after peer review with encouragement to update and resubmit, IEEE Access requires a separate, complete list of updates. For each reviewer comment, that document should identify the concern, the authors' response, and the change made. Build this record from the actual response process; do not reconstruct it from memory at the upload screen.

The journal does not set a general page limit, but it strongly recommends staying under 20 pages for readability. It notes that longer manuscripts can take longer to review and may move additional content to supplementary material. Authors with a special reason to exceed 20 pages should review the journal's pre-submission-inquiry instruction and its stated exceptions before proceeding.

Run a final source-to-PDF comparison

Use a short, repeatable sequence after the last substantive edit:

1. Save the final editable source in a clean submission folder.
2. Export or compile a fresh PDF from that exact source.
3. Open the PDF on its own and confirm that it renders completely.
4. Compare the title page, author list, abstract, headings, figures, tables, equations, references, and biographies against the source.
5. Confirm the selected manuscript type, final keyword set, ORCID readiness, and any conditional upload files.
6. Check the final file sizes and use clear, stable file names.
7. Stop editing either version unless you are prepared to regenerate and compare the pair again.

This process does not replace the journal's checklist. It gives the checklist a practical order: establish one source of record, generate the required PDF, and verify that the upload pair still tells the same story.

Keep formatting separate from research decisions

Articlo formats author-provided manuscripts and checks them against stored journal requirements. It does not write research, verify references, decide authorship, select a manuscript type, make submission decisions, or guarantee acceptance. Authors remain responsible for the research content, ethical and authorship decisions, reference accuracy, and the journal's current instructions.

You can review the IEEE Access preparation path or run a free readiness check to identify file and formatting issues before upload.