The EMS Editorial System for Journals is a modular electronic system intended to facilitate the work of the journal editors. The core element of the system is the Editors' Office. Basically, it consists of the list of all articles in their various stages of evaluation. The list is populated by entries made by the authors themselves. The list is visible by all editors, who can order and manipulate it in many ways, as described in this manual. The system also provides some help for the EMS staff concerned with the production of the articles, but this is not described in this manual.
The system assists the editors in their work, but it cannot take on some of the usual elements of the review process. All communication with the author, after submission of the article and until rejection or acceptance remains the editors' responsibility, as well as the selection of and communication with the reviewers. There is no automatic upload of revised versions or review reports, but such documents are easily uploaded by the editor in charge of the article.
Journals have different editorial procedures that are the responsibility of the respective boards. It is possible to adapt the system, within limits, to the needs of a particular journal (see permissions). The EMS Editorial System for Journals may occasionally be improved, but it is our intention to keep it simple and straightforward enough to be used without requiring much, if any, training from its users.
There is some intended redundancy in the manual, where it seems likely to facilitate reading and understanding.