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Overview: TUprint requirements

Responsibility for content and legal aspects lies with the authors. The authors provide an Acrobat PDF file that is ready for publication.

The following technical aspects must be observed:

Generally

Content copyable & searchable

The text-based content is machine-readable, it is searchable and it can be marked up and copied

  • Textual content must not be embedded as an image. Embed contributions for article-based (“cumulative”) dissertations as text or embed the corresponding files.

No password protection

The file is not protected with a password or Digital Rights Management (DRM) functions.

Embedded fonts

The fonts used in the file are embedded. In Acrobat Reader this can be checked in the document properties (open with Ctrl+D or File → Properties) in the Fonts tab.

  • All listed fonts are labelled embedded or embedded subgroup.

Take note of Type 3

Documents that use Type 3 fonts will not be accepted for publication on TUprints, as these low-quality fonts can lead to display problems and error messages in the PDF.

Document properties (PDF-Metadata)

Information on title, keyword and author is correct.

File name

The file name does not contain umlauts, spaces or special characters.

Personal data

Please handle personal data with care and check which details are necessary.

  • It is not necessary to publish a curriculum vitae, affidavit or similar for thesis papers.
  • The publication of a scan of your signature is not recommended.

Embed usage licence

Please embed your chosen licence (typically on the first or second page), so that third parties can understand how your document may be reused.
Example:

  • The publication is available under the following Creative Commons licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
    Attribution - Non-commercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International
    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
  • You can find further information on author's rights or Creative Commons (CC) licences ➔ on our website.

Dissertations

Format templates

TU Darmstadt offers format templates for qualification documents. Further information can be found under the following links:

Title page

Title page and second page contain mandatory information. The requirements for the title page can be found ➔ here (TU Darmstadt, Department II - University Law).

The licence information

The licence information on the second page corresponds to the licence in the "Declaration".

Best Practices

Use stable and precise citation links (e.g. DOI links) that lead to the landing page of the publication. This allows users not only to download the document, but also to view further information such as metadata, versions or additional material.

  • For example: https://doi.org/10.26083/tuprints-00012346
  • Further information on citation links can be found ➔ here.

PDF-Properties

In most word processing programmes, the most important metadata can be stored directly and further settings can be made. This can improve findability on the Internet by search engines and readability for third parties.

Metadata in PDF

  • Please ensure that information on the title, author and keywords is included wherever possible. It is recommended that you specify the main language of your document to ensure accessibility.
  • Further information on specifying metadata in the PDF can be found ➔ here.

Licence

Specifying the licence in the metadata ensures that permitted uses can be traced automatically, e.g. for text and data mining.

  • Further information about the licence can be found ➔ here.

PDF/A compatibility

To ensure better long-term archiving, your document should be saved in PDF/A format.

  • Recommended versions: 2a, 2b, 2u or 1b, 1a

Document navigation with bookmarks

For easy navigation in the document, at least the headings on the first level should be referenced as bookmarks. Use style sheets for headings in your word processing programme to generate the bookmark bar automatically. This can be omitted for small documents (less than 30 pages).

  • You can find further information on navigating the document ➔ here.

View when opening

Settings can be made for the view when opening. Make sure that the navigation or bookmark window opens and that the first page of the document is opened. Typical settings for a PDF file that contains bookmarks can be seen in the screenshot:
Darstellung der Einstellungen in den Dokumenteigenschaften.