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What are the guidelines for supplementary files (figures, multimedia appendices, additional material for reviewers/editors only)?

Editorial Director
Updated

Figures

File requirements

  • You should leave figures in the manuscript file during the initial round(s) of peer-review, but also upload high-quality figures in PNG format as supplementary files.
  • On the Summary tab for your article, in the top Submission section, upload a supplementary file and select Figure as the file type.
  • You will not be able to upload a JPG, .docx, PDF, .gif, .pptx, etc. file to be used as a figure.
  • After acceptance (during copyediting) all figures will be removed from the manuscript and we will only use the images/captions uploaded to the system. Please ensure all figures intended to be published are uploaded in the system: 

Screen clip of example submission summary tab with "SUPP. FILES" "Add a Supplementary File" link highlighted

  • Figures should not have any transparent sections; our system will render them incorrectly.
  • The maximum file size is 5MB and the maximum dimensions are 1200 x 1200 pixels. Images that are larger than this could be uploaded as a Multimedia Appendix file instead.
  • If you need help to resize an image, please read How to resize an image and convert to PNG format ?
  • For manuscripts discussing web-based or mobile interventions we usually require 1-2 screenshots of the intervention as figure. Also, upload an "illustrative" figure or photo to be used for our homepage and the table-of-contents (we call this a "TOC image", see below), but make sure this is uploaded into the correct category (not Figures, see below).
  • If a figure featuring a person shows identifiable features of the model (ie, the model's face, tattoos, etc), then we require the authors to obtain and provide permission from the model for their image to be published. If the model is under 18, then permission should be given by their legal guardian.

Captions

  • Each figure must have a caption which can be entered into the "Caption" field in the figure’s metadata. Use sentence case for the caption (as opposed to title case) with a period at the end.
  • Captions should be succinct. Lengthy explanations should be moved to the body of the manuscript. On the other hand, each figure should be designed so that it can be easily understood by the reader without consulting the main body of the manuscript.
  • Please do not include figure numbers and captions as part of the image files. If they are, authors will be asked to remove the caption from the image file and upload a new image file as supplementary file.
  • Figure captions in the “caption” field should not include figure label/numbers, like Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. These labels will be added automatically by our script during typesetting. If you add "Figure 1" to the caption, then this will result in a duplicate label ("Figure 1. Figure 1...").

Use of Color

Color figures are permitted and encouraged. However, authors should be advised that the use of color alone to code different categories of data (eg, red vs blue) is problematic as some readers may print out a black-and-white copy, so we would prefer a different symbol or the use of different shades, and a legend providing sample symbols/colors. Please avoid including statements in the captions such as, "the green line shows x, the blue line shows y," as it may be unclear what line/symbol belongs to which category in a b/w printout. This may be avoided by (in addition to using different color)

  • using different symbols for data points belonging to different categories (circle, diamond, square)
  • using different line types (dotted vs continuous) for different categories
  • a legend with sample symbols/sample color (so that even in a b/w printout it can be deduced which shade of grey belongs to what color)
  • annotating lines/datapoints directly within the chart

Mentioning figures in the body of the text

All figures must be mentioned in the text or else our system will not insert the figure uploaded into the database into the final manuscript. It takes a lot of time and resources for typesetters to do this manually, so please ensure each figure is mentioned as "Figure x". Expressions like, "as the following figure shows," or "as shown in the figure above," must be replaced with "as Figure x shows." In addition, the figures may be moved around during typesetting to optimize layout, so please do not allude to the figure's location in the text (ie, "as shown in the figure in the next paragraph”), and instead use a neutral statement that does not mention a location in the text.

When referring to multiple tables, figures, or textboxes, use either a hyphen to show a range (ie, Figures 1-4) or list each figure separately (eg, "Figure 1-3, Figure 6, Figure 8"). Other words (ie, "Figures 1 through 4") or punctuation (ie, Figures 1–4 [en dash]), will not be picked up by our scripts.

Do not use Figure 1a, 1b, etc, for separate figures. It is acceptable for one figure to be logically split up into parts when each part is very small. In this case, ensure only ONE figure file with all the figure parts included is provided (ie, figure parts merged into one figure and each part named A, B, C, etc). If figure parts are to remain as separate figure files, they must be renumbered as individual figures (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, etc).

 

AI-generated images

Use of artificial intelligence tools for generating figures should be disclosed in the figure caption, in addition to appropriate citation of the prompt used and a link (citation) to the source image (eg, https://labs.openai.com/s/GXp12yQLynbHxc4jLGoY2Ong, which will be added to the final reference list). Your production staff will be able to guide you with appropriate formatting.

Screen clip of Figure caption editor

 

 

Forest plots: For figures containing a forest plot typically generated using statistical software), reference citations corresponding to the studies mentioned in the plot must be cited in the figure caption—this is required for enhanced accessibility (see example below).

Figure 1. Forest plot of 6 studies comparing the effectiveness of serious games with that of no or sham interventions on verbal learning [29,30,31-34].

Screen clip of Figure 1 forest plot example

Forest plots may also be presented as tables; in this case, reference citations should be placed alongside the authors’ names (see example here).

 

Related:

 

Multimedia Appendix

Multimedia Appendices (MAs) are published at the end of a paper.

Note: MAs are not copyedited by the publishing team, and it is therefore the authors' responsibility to ensure relevance, accuracy, and completeness of each MA file.

Examples of what could be uploaded as an MA include questionnaires, datasets, videos or screencasts, a Powerpoint file, tables too long for the body of the manuscript, PDF files showing multiple screenshots (in this particular case, please also use 1-2 screenshots as figures in the paper), files containing the source code of a computer program, or informed consent documents.

File requirements

  • The acceptable file extensions for Multimedia Appendix are .png, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .txt, .mov, .mp4, .avi, .zip, .rar, .7z.
  • If you upload any image, you can upload a PNG file type with a maximum file size of 5MB. There is no restriction on the width and height of the image.
  • If you upload any movie, you can upload a .mov, .mp4 and .avi with the maximum file size of 200MB.
  • Word documents are accepted as a file; however, our system will automatically convert them to PDF files. Sometimes if a Word file with a table is automatically converted to a PDF by our system, parts get cut off due to the margins. We recommend converting the Word file to a PDF before uploading so you can ensure the file appears as intended.
  • If you upload any other acceptable format, the maximum file size is 255MB.
  • One file per appendix. Multiple files should not be zipped (compressed, packed) together, they should be uploaded as separate supplementary files and referred to as separate Multimedia Appendices in the manuscript
    • Exception: if there are multiple separate files all containing computer code, they may be left packed and referred to as one Multimedia Appendix

Captions

Captions of MAs are generated from what is entered in the “caption” field in the database for the file. You can edit this caption at any time. Please do not include the MA label/number in the caption, like Multimedia Appendix 1 or Supplementary file 2, etc. These labels will be added automatically by our script during typesetting. If you add "Supplementary file 1" to the caption, then this will result in a duplicate label ("Multimedia appendix 1. Supplementary file 1..."). In addition, MAs should be mentioned in sequential order in the main manuscript.

Of note, we allow multiple items in a single Multimedia Appendix file. However, please ensure that each individual item (eg, figure or table) is named as "Table S1, Table S2, Figure S1, Figure S2) within the Multimedia Appendix. Each appendix must number items as S1, S2, S3... (separate numbering for figures and tables in one file) in order of appearance. If you wish to specifically cite these supplementary tables or figures in the text to draw the reader's attention to them, please refer to them as follows:

"...as shown in Figure S1 in Multimedia Appendix 1"

"...performed better than the control group (Table S2 in Multimedia Appendix 3)" 

 

References in Multimedia Appendices

  • References cited within a multimedia appendix (MA) should have a corresponding, stand-alone reference list within that same MA file, even if some references overlap with the main manuscript's reference list.
  • Exception: If an appendix contains references for studies included in the main analysis (eg, included/eligible studies in a review article), ensure that these are also included in the main manuscript's reference list and cited appropriately within the main text.
  • If citations in the main text appear out of order, they will be automatically renumbered sequentially during typesetting. Authors do not need to renumber references manually in the manuscript.
  • Your copyeditor will inform you if any further revisions to your references are necessary.

See also:

Additional Material

Additional material is NOT published.

We recommend to upload a tracked-changes version, and also the responses to the reviewers, as an additional file. Also, upload potentially overlapping material/publications submitted or published in other journals (make sure to outline in your notification to the editor how this paper is different, and why "salami-slicing" into multiple publications is justifiable).

CONSORT/CONSORT-EHEALTH (for RCTs only), PRISMA (systematic reviews) and other reporting checklists should also be supplied, if available. (See also What kind of reporting guidelines should I follow for my article?).

 

Table-of-contents (TOC) image

A TOC image does not have to be uploaded on initial submission, but after the initial peer-review or acceptance we will require a "cover" image which we can publish in the Table of Contents and our homepage.

File requirements

  • Do not upload a JPG, .docx, PDF, .gif, .pptx, etc. file as a TOC image. Only PNG is permitted.
  • The maximum file size is 5MB.
  • The minimum dimension is 300 x 225 pixels.
  • The maximum dimension is 1200 x 900 pixels. If you need help to resize an image, please read How to resize an image and convert to PNG format?

Sourcing a TOC image

TOC guidelines

TOC metadata

  • Description: A description is not mandatory. If the TOC image uses a screenshot of an app, computer program, or website, please describe it.
  • Source: Name of website (eg, “Pexels” or “Wikimedia Commons”) or “Image created by the authors” if the author took the photo.
  • Copyright: Name of person who took the photo (eg, “Bill Smith” or “The Authors”)
  • Source Image URL (if applicable): If sourced from a website, please link to the page with the image, not just the homepage of the website because our staff need to be able to confirm the copyright information. For example, if this photo was purchased from iStock, a link to the iStock homepage will not suffice and the authors will be asked during proofreading to provide the link to the exact photo.
  • License: If the authors created the image, select “CC-BY” if you wish to give it the same license as your article and figures. If you instead want more protection on your image rights, select “Licensed by JMIR” which indicates you gave us, and us only, permission to use this photo. Only if the author has purchased the photo, select “Licensed by the authors”. If this option is selected, authors will need to upload a proof of purchase, such as a receipt or an email confirmation, to your supplementary files not for publication.

Screenshot TOC Edit a Supplementary File Metadata showing fields metioned

License to Publish

After your manuscript is accepted, please sign and upload the License to Publish, see Where can I find the publication forms for authors and where do I submit them?

 See also:

 

Arro pointing at Add a Supplementary File on Submission Summary tab

 

Screen clip of Supplementary File Metadata with "License to publish form (upload after acceptance)" selected in the "Type" dropdown list

 

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