How do I give my editors access to view a manuscript?

By default, Scholastica is configured to blind  all non-admin editors from viewing the manuscripts that are submitted to your journal. Unless granted access, editors (except the admin editor) will not see any manuscripts that are submitted to your journal. This is helpful in situations where an editor has a conflict of interest around a submission - perhaps they are the author or a co-author on the article. It's also helpful if your journal invites guest editors that don't need to see all of your submissions — just the ones that you want them to see.

Keep reading to learn how to manage the viewing privileges of your editors.

1. Set viewing permissions when initially inviting an editor to the journal

  • Click on the "Settings" and select "Manage Editors"
  • Once you've clicked "Invite New Editor":
    • Enter the editor's email address in the To field.
    • Enter a message inviting them to become an editor of your journal.
    • Click Send Invitation.
  • Now you'll set the permissions for each editor to ensure they have access to the papers that are appropriate for them. The three levels of viewing permissions are: Screenshot of Editor permission table
    Setting manuscript access when inviting editors
    • No default access to submissions: Editors set to this level are not granted access to view any manuscripts automatically. You can manually grant access to specific papers on a case-by-case basis for editors with this level of permission.
    • Automatic access to new submissions only: Editors set to this level are only granted access to manuscripts submitted after this user was invited to gain editor access to the journal account. I.e. Journal A has received 10 submissions in March. Eddie Editor was invited to become an editor on April 1st. A new paper is submitted on April 2nd. Eddie will only have access to the new paper submitted on April 2nd and will not see the previously submitted papers unless manually granted access by another editor.
    • Automatic access to all submissions past, present, and future: Editors set to this level are automatically granted access to all papers that have ever been submitted to the journal.
  • Select the appropriate viewing permissions for each editor, then click Save and close.

Please note: The admin editor can always edit editor manuscript permissions later on the Configuration Options page.

2. Update the settings for your editors, post-invitation

Setting default viewing permissions can also be done from the Settings page of your journal by the admin editor. The admin editor has exclusive access to this page and is the only one that can make this update. 

  1. Go to Settings and select Journal Settings from the dropdown
  2. Click Configuration Options
  3. Click Manuscript Accessfrom the sidebar
  4. Scroll through the list Automatically grant access to the following editors when a new manuscript is submitted
  5. Check the names of all editors that should always have access to every submission that the journal receives
  6. Click Update journal to save your changes

If you need to grant an editor access to papers that were submitted prior to their joining the journal you can grant them 'historic access'

  1. Go to Settings and select Journal Settings from the dropdown
  2. Click Configuration Options
  3. Click Manuscript Accessfrom the sidebar
  4. Scroll down to Grant an editor access to historical submissions
  5. Select the name of the editor to whom you'd like to grant historic access from the dropdown
  6. Click Update journal to save your changes
    Please note: After you've made the update it may take a few minutes to take effect.

3. Grant editor access to a specific manuscript from the Manuscript Table 

  1. Under the Assigned To column click on the drop down menu 
  2. Choose the editor that you would like to assign the manuscript to

NOTE: If the editor already has access to the manuscript, a green bar will show at the bottom of the page. If the editor did not previously have access to the manuscript, an orange bar will show at the bottom of the page (see image below). If you've granted access to the wrong editor by mistake, you can undo that action by clicking "Undo" in the orange bar at the bottom of the screen.

4. Grant editor access to a specific manuscript from the Manuscript Work Area

  1. Under Assigned Editor click on the drop down menu
  2. Choose the editor that you would like to assign the manuscript to

NOTE:  If the editor already has access to the manuscript, a green bar will show at the bottom of the page. If the editor  did not previously have access to the manuscript, an orange bar will show at the bottom of the page (see image below). If you've granted access to the wrong editor by mistake, you can undo that action by clicking "Undo" in the orange bar at the bottom of the screen.

5. Confirm the editors that have access to a specific manuscript

  1. Open the manuscript you would like check 
  2. Click on the 'eye' icon to the left of the manuscript title to quickly see the editors that have access
  3. Check/uncheck the boxes to add/revoke access to multiple editors at once
  4. Click save

Please note: You cannot change visibility on a manuscript for yourself or for the admin editor (i.e. you cannot hide papers from yourself or the admin editor). If you need to be blinded from a manuscript, another editor will need to blind you from it.

To learn more about being an editor, check out our Editor Guide.