Configure Track Phases

What is a Phase?

A phase is one round of processing the submissions: authors submit and update their work, reviewers review it, chairs decide, and the results are released to authors. Authors can keep editing within a phase — every update snapshots a new version of the same submission, and a revised version is the same submission, never a second one. A new phase starts the next round: after decisions, authors are asked for a revised or camera-ready version, and a fresh pass of reviewing and deciding can happen on it.

The practical test when you're unsure whether something needs a new phase: are you starting another round for the submissions? If yes — a revision after decisions, camera-ready collection — add a phase. If not — a review deadline, an author editing window, author responses — it lives inside the phase your submissions are already in. Reviewing is the clearest example: reviews are part of every round, not a round of their own, so the review deadline is set on the phase your submissions are in.

Key Principles:

• Every track starts with a Submission & Review phase (Phase 1) where new submissions arrive and are reviewed — most tracks never need another
• Submissions can be in different phases at the same time
• Chairs have full control over moving submissions between phases
• Phase transitions are explicit and manual, not automatic

Common phases include:

• Submission & Review (Phase 1) - Authors submit their first version; reviewers review it here
• Revision - Authors submit a revised version based on reviews
• Camera Ready - Authors submit the final publication-ready version

Which Phase Pages Open To

Phase-based pages — Reviews & Decisions, Review Assignments (and auto-assign), Review Progress Matrix, and Compliance — open to your track's current phase by default: the furthest phase that currently holds submissions. Once you move a batch of submissions into a Camera Ready or Revision phase, those pages land on that phase automatically, so you don't have to remember to switch after each transition.

The Phase selector in each page's header is still there to override the default — pick any phase to work on it directly, and that choice sticks for that page. A track with no submissions yet simply opens to Phase 1.

The Phases Page

To manage phases, navigate to your track and click Settings → Phases. Each phase card keeps its configuration behind Phase Settings, with a one-line summary of the current values — so you can scan every phase at a glance and expand only the one you need. Each card's footer shows the phase's current state: how many submissions and review assignments it holds, and whether its decisions and reviews have been released to authors yet (release happens via Release on the Reviews & Decisions page).

One Structure for All Tracks

Which phases exist — their names, order, and count — is the conference's phase structure, and it is defined once for the whole conference:

• Single-track conference (most conferences): the track's Phases page does everything — structure and settings alike, exactly as described in this guide. The same page is also reachable from Conference Management → "Conference Phases"; both show the same thing.
• Multi-track conference: every track shares one structure. Adding, renaming, and deleting phases happens on the Conference Phases page (Conference Management → "Conference Phases"), and each change applies to all tracks at once. A track's own Phases page shows the shared structure with a note saying where it's managed — while deadlines, author editing, author responses, and review release stay editable per track, since each track runs its own schedule.

A track added later inherits the conference structure automatically, so it matches its siblings from the moment it's created.

When One Track Needs Its Own Structure

Most conferences never need this. If one track truly runs differently — say a posters track with a single round next to two-round tracks — a conference chair can flip that track's toggle under Custom Phases per Track. The track stops following the shared structure, and its track chairs can add and remove its phases on its own Phases page.

Turning the toggle back off resets the track to the conference structure: phases are renamed to match, missing ones are created, and extra phases are removed — refused if an extra phase holds submissions or reviews, so a reset can never destroy review history.

Add a Phase

Before adding one, apply the test above: a new phase starts another round for the submissions. If you only want a review deadline, you don't need a phase — set it in Phase Settings on the phase your submissions are already in.

On a multi-track conference, do this on the Conference Phases page — the dialog is the same, and the phase is added to every track at once.

1. Click "Add Phase" at the top of the page
2. Enter a Phase Name — name it after what authors will submit (e.g. Revision, Second-Round Review, Camera Ready) — and a description if it helps your co-chairs
3. Click "Create Phase"

That is all the dialog asks for. Deadlines and author responses are set on the phase card, so you don't have to decide them now — a camera-ready deadline usually depends on when reviews finish. The new phase appears with Phase Settings already open, ready for those values whenever you have them.

If you type a bare reviewing name — Review, Peer Review — the dialog shows a reminder that reviewing already happens inside every phase, so review deadlines never need a phase of their own. Qualified round names like Second-Round Review don't trigger it.

Delete a Phase

The trash icon on a phase card deletes it — available only while the phase is untouched (no submissions, review assignments, or reviews; Phase 1 can never be deleted). Deleting a phase also removes the form fields you added for it, since they never collected an answer. Fields from earlier phases are unaffected, and later phases keep their fields.

On a multi-track conference, the trash icon on the Conference Phases page deletes the phase from every track — and is blocked if the phase holds submissions or reviews in any track. Conference-level form fields scoped to the deleted phase are removed with it, the same way track fields are; if a track with custom phases still holds submissions or reviews at that phase position, the delete is blocked so those answers keep their fields.

Setting Phase Deadlines

Phase Settings holds three groups, each a box with the settings it governs:

The Revision Deadline sits under Author Editing because it refines it: editing is open — until this date. Turn Author Editing off and the deadline disappears, since a date changes nothing on a phase where nobody can edit.

Author responses are covered in their own guide: Enable Author Responses →

Each deadline has its own Enforced switch below the date (disabled until a date is set):

• Review Deadline (not enforced by default): turn Enforced on and reviewers can no longer create or edit reviews for that phase once the date passes. It starts off because blocking a late review means losing that review altogether — most chairs would rather chase it than lose it.
• Revision Deadline (enforced by default): once the deadline passes, authors can no longer edit their submissions in that phase.
• Not enforced: the deadline is informational — it's still shown to reviewers or authors as guidance, but nothing is blocked when it passes. The phase summary marks these with "(not enforced)".

Existing phases keep whatever you already set; the defaults above apply to phases created from now on.

Track chairs are exempt from the revision deadline and can always edit submissions regardless of deadlines.

Close Editing Without a Deadline

To stop authors editing in a phase, turn Author Editing off. That is the whole setting — no date, no enforcement switch.

Use it when the phase was never about author work: a review-only round, or a phase you've moved submissions into while you decide. Authors are told plainly that the chairs have closed editing, rather than being shown a deadline they supposedly missed.

Track chairs can still edit a submission in a phase with editing closed, exactly as they can past a deadline.

How to Set a Deadline

1. Click "Phase Settings" on the phase card to expand it
2. Enter a date in Review Deadline or Revision Deadline
3. Pick a timezone (defaults to Anywhere on Earth)

Every field saves the moment you change it — there is no Save button, and no dialog to open.

To remove a deadline, click the × in its date field. An empty field means no deadline.

The same block is where you rename the phase or edit its description.

When a Deadline Reaches No One

Reviewers read the review deadline from the phase their assignment is in — a deadline set on any other phase never reaches them. If a phase holds a review deadline but no review assignments, while the track's reviewers work in a phase with no deadline, the phase card flags it:

Click "Move Deadline to Phase 1: …" to move the deadline — with its timezone and its Enforced switch — onto the phase the reviewers are in. The warning clears on its own once a deadline and its reviewers line up, including when you later assign reviewers into the flagged phase.

Deadlines set ahead of time on phases nobody has reached yet are fine — the warning appears only when no phase in the track pairs a deadline with its reviewers.

Where Deadlines Are Displayed

Authors see the revision deadline for their submission's current phase, helping them understand when their revision is expected.

Customizing Forms for Each Phase

Each phase can have different submission and review forms to collect appropriate information at each stage.

Why Different Forms?

Initial Submission: Collect core submission details

• Title, abstract, authors, keywords

Revision Phase: Add revision-specific fields

• Response to reviewers
• Summary of changes
• Updated manuscript

Camera Ready: Include publication requirements

• Copyright form
• Final formatting checklist
• Presentation preferences

How to Customize Forms

Forms are edited on their own page, not on the phase card: from your track, click Track Forms, then pick the phase from the selector in the top right and choose the Submission Form or Review Form tab. That page is also where you preview a form, so you can check your changes without leaving it.

• Customize Submission Forms →
• Customize Review Forms →

Note: Fields from earlier phases are automatically included in later phases. You only need to add new fields specific to the current phase.

How Submissions Move Between Phases

Track chairs control when submissions advance. Moves are forward-only: every phase keeps a permanent record of its reviews and decisions, so a submission never travels back through a phase. To rework a submission, act in its current phase — record a new decision, extend the revision deadline — or move it forward into a revision phase.

Key Concepts

• Each submission exists in exactly one phase at a time
• Decisions (Accept, Reject, Revision Required) are recorded but do not automatically move submissions — the chair moves them manually
• Submissions move forward only — correct course by acting in the current phase, not by moving back
• After a submission is moved, authors can immediately submit in the new phase (they see the new revision deadline, if set, on their submission page)

Step 1 — Open the Phase Transitions Tool

Navigate to your track, then scroll to the Review Management section and click "Reviews & Decisions".

On the Reviews & Decisions page, click "Phase Transitions" in the toolbar. You'll typically do this after making a round of decisions and being ready to advance submissions to the next stage.

Step 2 — Configure the Move

The Move Submissions to Next Phase dialog appears with three controls:

Use the Filter by Decision field to target a specific group — for example, set it to "Revision Required" to move only those submissions to your Revision phase, while accepted and rejected submissions stay in Phase 1.

Step 3 — Review and Confirm

Click "Continue" to see the list of submissions that will be moved, then confirm. The move takes effect immediately.

Undoing a Move

Fat-fingered a bulk move? Open "Phase Transitions" while viewing the phase the submissions landed in. If any of them are still untouched there — no reviewer assignments, reviews, decisions, or discussion — an Undo a recent move section appears; "Undo Move" sends them back to the phase they came from and restores their status. The section counts everything that moved into the phase and how much of it can still go back, so you can see at a glance which part of the batch is already locked in. Once work starts in the new phase, the move is permanent.

What Happens After Submissions Are Moved

• Authors can submit in the new phase right away. If a revision deadline is set on the destination phase, it appears in the sidebar of their submission page.
• Reviewers can be assigned fresh reviews for submissions in the new phase.
• A move can be undone while the new phase is untouched (see below). Once anyone acts in the new phase — an assignment, review, decision, or comment — the move is permanent.

Example Workflow

Phase 1: Initial Submission
  - Authors submit their work
  - Reviews are collected
  - Chair makes decisions (Accept / Revision Required / Reject)

Chair opens Phase Transitions and:
  → Moves "Revision Required" submissions to Phase 2 (Revision)
  → Moves "Accept" submissions to Phase 3 (Camera Ready)
  → Rejected submissions remain in Phase 1; no further action needed

Phase 2: Revision
  - Authors revise and resubmit (revision deadline visible on their page)
  - Chair assigns new reviews or re-reviews the revised version
  - Chair makes final decisions

Chair can then:
  → Move accepted submissions to Phase 3 (Camera Ready)
  → Keep submissions needing further rework in Phase 2 — record a new
    decision and extend the revision deadline; decisions are per-phase

Phase 3: Camera Ready
  - Authors upload their final publication-ready version
  - Ready for proceedings

Tip: You can run Phase Transitions multiple times. Move one decision group first (e.g. "Revision Required"), then open it again to move another group (e.g. "Accept"). Each run is independent.