This is the submitter's chapter — the one part of the chain an event manager does not perform, but should understand, because most support questions come from here.
Where they work
Submitters live in the participant hub. Their event card lists every abstract they hold, its status, the deadline counting down in venue time, and — later — the decision. There is no separate submission website to remember; the same address serves drafting, confirming and, if they are also a reviewer, reviewing.
The form
Four steps, saved as a draft continuously and on every step change. A submitter can leave and come back as often as they like.
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Details
Title, track, preferred presentation type, keywords, and each of the sections you configured. Word counts are shown against their limits as they type.
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Authors
The full author list in order, each with affiliation, and exactly one marked as the presenting author. The submitter cannot remove themselves from the list.
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Disclosures
Each author individually attests either that they have no relationships to declare, or lists them by company and relationship type — consultant, speaker, stock, royalties, other. An abstract cannot be submitted until every author's disclosure step is complete. "No disclosures" is an answer; leaving it blank is not.
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Supporting files
Only if you allowed them. Figures, tables or supplementary data, within the count, size and format limits you set. Re-uploading a file with the same name replaces it as a new version rather than using up another slot. On a blind call where reviewers will see files, this step carries a warning to keep identifying information out of the files and their names.
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Review and submit
A read-back of everything before sending. If the server rejects the submission, the form returns the submitter to the exact step containing the problem.
If you configured a submitter questionnaire, it appears as an extra step before the final review.
Session proposals are a different shape
Where you have enabled them, the submitter first chooses whether they are submitting an individual abstract or a session proposal. The choice is fixed once made.
A proposal is submitted by the chair and describes a whole session: a title, a format, a description of why these talks belong together, and then the talks themselves. Each talk is a full abstract in miniature — its own title, its own abstract text within your word limit, and its own author list with one presenting author and disclosures for everyone. The chair completes their own disclosure at the session level; the talk speakers complete theirs on their own talks.
The configured abstract sections do not apply to a proposal, and neither does the preferred-format question. The talks are the content.
What is checked at submission
- Every configured section is present, non-empty and within its word limit.
- The preferred type is one you allow, and the track is one you opened.
- Exactly one presenting author.
- Every author's disclosure is complete.
- Required questionnaire answers are answered.
- The window is open — or within the grace period.
- The submitter is under their submission limit, and on an invite-only call, invited.
On success they receive an immediate confirmation email.
The switch gates reading as well as writing on the submitter's side, so disabling it after submissions have arrived means those people can no longer list or download the files they uploaded. Staff and reviewers are unaffected, and nothing is deleted — the files still carry over on conversion. Decide before the call opens rather than during it.
Changing or withdrawing
- A draft can be edited or deleted freely while the window is open.
- A submitted abstract can be edited only if you enabled editing after submission — and only until a reviewer is assigned, which locks it permanently.
- An abstract sent back for revision becomes editable again, whatever the lock and whether or not the window has closed. See below.
- A submitter can withdraw at any point, including after the window closes and including mid-revision. Withdrawal is available right up until a decision has been sent; a waitlisted submitter keeps the option.
Revising and resubmitting
When the committee asks for changes, the submitter's dashboard says so, shows the deadline, and offers an Edit & Resubmit button. The wizard reopens with a banner, the final button reads Resubmit, and the same completeness checks run again. Files can be changed too — text and attachments unlock and lock together.
The revision deadline replaces the submission window for that abstract, so a revision can legitimately arrive after the call has closed. Once the deadline passes the abstract locks again and the note changes to say the committee will decide on the version it has.
Their to-do list
The hub surfaces the things a submitter owes you, with the deadline attached and overdue items called out. For an abstract submitter that is: finish the disclosures, submit before the deadline, revise and resubmit if the committee asks, and later, confirm your acceptance.