Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Before yesterdayOJS /OMP

Why Zenodo DOI for Academic Journals?

March 30th 2026 at 1:29 am

Zenodo is a free, open-access repository developed by CERN that allows researchers and publishers to assign Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to their publications — completely free of charge. Unlike commercial DOI providers, Zenodo offers unlimited DOI registration with no annual fees, making it an ideal solution for academic journals operating on limited budgets.

With a Zenodo DOI, your articles gain permanent, citable identifiers that are indexed by major academic databases, ensuring long-term discoverability and accessibility for the global research community.

How Zenodo DOI Works — What to Expect

It’s important to understand how Zenodo DOIs differ from services like CrossRef or DataCite. When you assign a DOI through Zenodo:

  • The DOI link (e.g., https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12345) resolves to the Zenodo record page, not directly to your journal website.
  • Zenodo stores a copy of your article (PDF and metadata) as an open-access archive on its platform.
  • Your journal URL is included in the Zenodo metadata, so readers can easily find and visit your journal from the Zenodo page.

This is different from CrossRef, where the DOI link points directly to the article on your journal website. With Zenodo, your article gains an additional presence on a trusted, CERN-hosted repository — providing extra visibility, long-term preservation, and credibility. Many journals use Zenodo DOIs as a cost-free alternative to commercial DOI services, and the Zenodo landing page serves as a secondary access point that complements your journal.

The Challenge: A Tedious Manual Process

While Zenodo provides an excellent free DOI service, the process of depositing articles is entirely manual. For each article, journal editors must:

  1. Log in to Zenodo and create a new upload to reserve a DOI
  2. Copy the DOI and add it to the article’s PDF and OJS metadata
  3. After publishing the article in OJS, return to Zenodo
  4. Manually enter all metadata — title, authors, affiliations, abstract, keywords
  5. Fill in publishing information — journal name, ISSN, volume, issue, page numbers
  6. Upload the PDF file
  7. Review everything and publish the record

This process takes 10–15 minutes per article and is highly prone to errors — typos in author names, missing affiliations, incorrect page numbers, or forgotten keywords. For journals publishing 30–100+ articles per year, this becomes a significant burden on editorial staff.

Our Solution: Zenodo DOI Sync Plugin for OJS

Based on direct feedback and requests from our OJS clients and the academic publishing community, we developed the Zenodo DOI Sync Plugin — a comprehensive integration that automates the entire Zenodo deposit workflow directly from within OJS.

What previously took 10–15 minutes of manual data entry per article now takes a single click and a few seconds. All metadata is pulled directly from OJS, eliminating human error and ensuring consistency between your journal and Zenodo records.

We continue to actively develop this plugin and provide dedicated support based on user feedback and evolving Zenodo API requirements.

Key Features

🔑 Secure Token-Based Authentication

The plugin connects to Zenodo using your personal access token — no passwords stored, no complex OAuth flows. Simply generate a token from your Zenodo account and paste it into the plugin settings. Each journal can have its own Zenodo account and token.

🏷️ One-Click DOI Reservation

Reserve a DOI from Zenodo without leaving OJS. The DOI is automatically saved to the article’s identifier field. No need to switch between OJS and Zenodo.

📋 Automatic Metadata Synchronization

With a single click, the plugin transfers all article metadata to Zenodo:

  • Title — in the article’s original language
  • Authors — with full names, affiliations, and ORCID identifiers
  • Abstract — with HTML formatting preserved (bold, italic, paragraphs)
  • Keywords — all subject keywords from the article
  • Journal Information — journal name, ISSN, volume, issue, page numbers
  • Publication Date — from the OJS publishing date

📄 Automatic File Upload

The plugin automatically uploads all galley files (PDF and others) from OJS to Zenodo. It handles file cleanup — removing old files before uploading new ones — ensuring your Zenodo record always matches your OJS content.

🌐 Zenodo Community Integration

If your journal has a Zenodo community, the plugin can automatically associate new deposits with your community. Simply enter your community slug in the settings, and every new DOI reservation will be linked to your community page.

🚀 Publish to Zenodo from OJS

Once your article is published in OJS, you can publish it to Zenodo with one click. The plugin handles metadata sync, file upload, community review submission, and publication — all in a single operation.

📊 DOI Management Dashboard

A dedicated management page in the OJS sidebar gives you a complete overview of all articles and their Zenodo status:

  • Filter by Zenodo status (Draft / Published), OJS status, or issue
  • Search by title, DOI, or article ID
  • Sort by any column
  • Sync or publish individual articles directly from the dashboard
  • Color-coded status badges for instant visual overview

🔄 Legacy DOI Scanner

Already have articles with Zenodo DOIs that were created manually? The built-in scanner finds all existing Zenodo DOIs in your journal, checks their current status on Zenodo (draft or published), and updates the local database — so you can manage everything from one place.

🌍 Multi-Language Support

The plugin interface is fully translated in English and Turkish, with support for additional languages. All labels, messages, and notifications adapt to your OJS language setting.

🔒 Role-Based Access Control

Only Site Administrators and Journal Managers can access Zenodo features. Authors, reviewers, and other users cannot see or interact with DOI management tools.

What’s Included

  • ✅ Full plugin with all features described above
  • ✅ Installation and configuration support
  • ✅ Zenodo account and token setup assistance
  • ✅ Community configuration help
  • ✅ Free updates for compatibility and improvements
  • ✅ Ongoing technical support

Continuous Updates & Important Notes

This plugin is actively maintained and regularly updated to keep pace with OJS releases and Zenodo API changes. All updates are provided free of charge.

A note about Zenodo: Zenodo is an independent service operated by CERN with its own policies and eligibility criteria. While Zenodo offers free DOI registration for most academic content, they may apply restrictions on certain types of publications or journals at their discretion. Such policies are determined solely by Zenodo and are outside the scope of this plugin. We recommend checking Zenodo’s policies to confirm eligibility for your journal.

Compatibility

  • OJS Version: 3.3.x
  • PHP: 7.4, 8.0, 8.1
  • Zenodo API: InvenioRDM REST API

Get the Plugin →

The post Why Zenodo DOI for Academic Journals? first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

Review Certificate Pro: Professional Reviewer Certificates for OJS 3.3

February 16th 2026 at 11:42 pm

Generate professional, verifiable PDF certificates for peer reviewers directly from your OJS dashboard. Multilingual support, QR verification, bulk operations, and more.

Every Reviewer Deserves Recognition

Peer review is the backbone of academic publishing. Reviewers dedicate hours of their expertise — yet most journals offer little more than a thank-you email in return.

What if you could hand every reviewer a professionally designed, verifiable certificate — without leaving your OJS dashboard?

That’s exactly what Review Certificate Pro does. See Certificate Templates


What Is Review Certificate Pro?

Review Certificate Pro is a premium plugin for Open Journal Systems (OJS) 3.3 that automates the entire reviewer certification workflow. Generate multilingual PDF certificates, verify them with QR codes, track downloads, send notification emails — all from a centralized management interface integrated directly into your OJS backend.

No external tools. No manual PDF editing. No spreadsheets.

Screenshot of the management dashboard showing the certificate list with filters, bulk toolbar, and action buttons

 


Key Features at a Glance

Professionally Designed PDF Certificates

Each certificate is generated as a high-quality A4 landscape PDF with:

  • Triple border frame with gold corner ornaments
  • Journal logo and ISSN/e-ISSN
  • Reviewer’s full name and article title
  • Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor signatures
  • Unique verification code
  • QR code for instant verification

Sample certificate PDF showing the full design with borders, signatures, QR code, and verification code

 

Multilingual — Not Just English

The plugin generates a separate PDF for each active language in your journal. If your OJS runs Turkish and English, every reviewer gets both versions with a single click.

Want to add Russian, Arabic, Spanish, or any other language? Just create a locale folder — the plugin detects it automatically.

QR Code Verification

Every certificate carries a unique verification code and a scannable QR code. Anyone — reviewers, institutions, funding agencies — can verify a certificate’s authenticity instantly.

The public verification page supports two flows:

  • QR scan / direct link: Instant results, no challenge required
  • Manual code entry: Protected by a math-based anti-bot challenge

Verification page showing a successful verification result with certificate details

 

Centralized Management Dashboard

Forget navigating submission by submission. The management dashboard lists every review assignment across your entire journal in one place.

  • Filter by issue, by status, or search by reviewer name
  • See at a glance: who has a certificate, who has been notified, who has downloaded
  • Direct links to each submission’s workflow page
  • Pagination for journals with thousands of reviews

 

Bulk Operations

Select multiple reviewers and:

  • Bulk Generate: Create certificates for all selected eligible reviews
  • Bulk Notify: Send notification emails to all selected reviewers who haven’t been notified yet

A progress indicator keeps you informed: (3/12)...

Perfect for journals that want to issue certificates retroactively for past volumes.

Email Notifications with Preview

Customize the notification email template with placeholders like {reviewerName}{articleTitle}{journalName}, and {verificationCode}.

Before sending, click the preview button to see exactly what the reviewer will receive. If it looks right, send it directly from the preview modal.

Email preview modal showing the populated email with To, Subject, and Body fields

Download Tracking

Know whether a reviewer has actually downloaded their certificate. Download counts are displayed in both the workflow tab and the management dashboard — so you can follow up with reviewers who haven’t collected theirs.

Reviewer Self-Service

Reviewers don’t need to contact the editorial office. Once a certificate is generated, download buttons appear automatically on:

  • The reviewer’s completed review page
  • The reviewer’s submissions list

They can download their certificate in any available language, at any time.

Retroactive Support

Already published 50 issues before installing the plugin? No problem. Review Certificate Pro reads from the existing OJS review_assignments table. Any completed review for a published article is eligible — regardless of when it was completed.


How It Works

  1. Install the plugin via OJS Settings > Website > Plugins
  2. Configure your Editor-in-Chief name, optional Managing Editor, and email template
  3. Generate certificates from the workflow tab or the management dashboard
  4. Preview and send notification emails to reviewers
  5. Reviewers download their certificates from their OJS account

That’s it. Five steps from installation to happy reviewers.


Built for Security

  • CSRF protection on all actions
  • Role-based authorization (Site Admin, Journal Manager, Sub-Editor)
  • Parameterized database queries — no SQL injection
  • HMAC-signed verification tokens with expiry
  • PDF files stored outside the web root
  • Certificate context isolation per journal

What’s Included with Your Purchase

Lifetime license Single OJS installation, no recurring fees
All future updates New features and compatibility updates included
Installation support We help you install and configure the plugin
Priority email support Technical issues resolved promptly
Customization guidance Advice on adapting the plugin to your journal’s needs

Requirements

  • OJS 3.3.0.x
  • PHP 7.4 or 8.1+
  • TCPDF library (included with the plugin — no extra setup)

Get Review Certificate Pro

Ready to give your reviewers the recognition they deserve?

$99 — Lifetime License

One payment. Lifetime updates. Full support.


Looking for more OJS plugins? Check out our full plugin catalog.

The post Review Certificate Pro: Professional Reviewer Certificates for OJS 3.3 first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

Why Your Journal Should Be on RePEc (And How to Get There)

February 15th 2026 at 12:07 pm

If you’re running an academic journal in economics, finance, business, or any related social science field, there’s one platform you simply can’t afford to ignore: RePEc — Research Papers in Economics.

But here’s the thing most editors and publishers don’t realize: RePEc isn’t just another database. It’s a massive, volunteer-driven ecosystem that can dramatically boost your journal’s visibility, your authors’ profiles, and your publication’s credibility. And the best part? It’s completely free.

Let’s break down what RePEc is, why it matters for your journal, and how you can get started — especially if you’re running your journal on Open Journal Systems (OJS).

So, What Exactly Is RePEc?

RePEc is a decentralized, open initiative that enhances the dissemination of research in economics and related disciplines. Founded in 1997, it has grown into one of the largest open bibliographic databases in the social sciences.

The numbers speak for themselves: over 2,350 archives from 104 countries have contributed roughly 5 million research items from more than 4,200 journals and 5,600 working paper series. Over 70,000 authors have registered, and 75,000 email subscriptions are served every week.

Unlike traditional indexing services, RePEc works on a beautifully simple model. Publishers place structured metadata files on their own servers, following a standardized format called ReDIF (Research Documents Information Format). RePEc’s system then mirrors and distributes this data across its network of services.

Why Should You Care as a Journal Editor or Publisher?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Being listed on RePEc doesn’t just mean your articles sit in yet another database. It means your content flows into an entire ecosystem of services, each one amplifying your journal’s reach.

Visibility Across Multiple Platforms

When your journal is indexed in RePEc, your articles automatically become discoverable through a wide range of services and platforms. This isn’t just one website — it’s an entire network:

Core RePEc Services:

  • IDEAS — The largest open bibliographic database in economics. Your articles become fully searchable and browsable here, complete with author profiles, citations, and download statistics.
  • EconPapers — Another major gateway to the full RePEc database, offering search and browsing with a different interface and user base.
  • CitEc — Citation analysis for all items in the RePEc database. Your articles get tracked for citations, building a measurable impact trail.
  • NEP (New Economics Papers) — A free email, RSS, and Twitter/X notification service covering over 90 specific fields. When you publish a new working paper, researchers in relevant fields get notified automatically.
  • LogEc — Detailed download and access statistics for your items and authors. You get real data on how your content is being consumed.
  • CollEc — Co-authorship centrality rankings for registered authors.
  • RePEc Biblio — A hand-selected bibliography of important articles and papers in economics.
  • EDIRC — A directory of economics institutions, linking members to their publications on RePEc.
  • RePEc Genealogy — An academic family tree for economics.
  • EconAcademics.org — A blog aggregator for discussion about economics research.
  • RePEc Author Service — Where authors register and maintain their profiles, linking their work across the entire system.
  • MPRA (Munich Personal RePEc Archive) — Authors at institutions without a participating RePEc archive can submit papers here.

Third-Party Platforms Using RePEc Data:

But the reach doesn’t stop at RePEc’s own services. Because RePEc bibliographic data is in the public domain, your content also feeds into:

  • Google Scholar — The go-to search engine for academics worldwide.
  • EconLit — The American Economic Association’s premier database.
  • EconStor — A digital publication server for open-access economics literature.
  • OpenAIRE — The European open science infrastructure.
  • ResearchGate — A massive social networking site for researchers.
  • EBSCO — A leading research database provider.
  • OpenAlex — An open catalog of the world’s scholarly works.
  • OAISter/WORLDCAT — OCLC’s union catalog of digital resources.
  • Microsoft Academic Search and Sciverse — Additional academic search platforms.

That’s a lot of exposure from a single indexing effort.

Author Engagement and Retention

Authors care about where their work is visible. When your journal is on RePEc, your authors can link their publications to their RePEc Author Service profiles, track citations through CitEc, monitor download statistics via LogEc, and receive notifications about new citations. This kind of author engagement is gold for journal editors trying to attract and retain quality submissions.

Rankings and Impact Metrics

RePEc maintains its own ranking system based on various criteria — citations, downloads, and more. Being part of this system gives your journal and its authors measurable, transparent impact metrics that complement traditional measures like Impact Factor.

It’s Free — Seriously

Unlike many indexing services that charge hefty fees, RePEc is entirely volunteer-driven and free for all parties. No submission fees, no listing fees, no annual charges. It’s sustained by a global community of volunteers who believe in open access to research.

Is It Only for Economics?

This is a common misconception. While RePEc started with — and is strongest in — economics, it welcomes related disciplines as well. If your journal publishes research in:

  • Finance and banking
  • Business and management
  • Public policy
  • Agricultural economics
  • Environmental economics
  • Health economics
  • Political economy
  • Econometrics and statistics
  • Development studies
  • International trade
  • Urban and regional economics
  • Law and economics

…then you absolutely belong on RePEc. The key criterion is that your content should be relevant to the economics research community in some way. Many interdisciplinary journals are already on RePEc, and the platform actively encourages related fields to participate.

If you’re unsure whether your journal qualifies, the best approach is to review the existing archives and see if journals similar to yours are already listed — chances are, they are.

How to Get Your Journal on RePEc

The process of joining RePEc involves creating a “RePEc archive” on your server. Here’s the general workflow:

  1. Register as a provider — You’ll need to set up an archive with a unique identifier.
  2. Create metadata files — These are structured text files (using ReDIF syntax) that describe your journal, its issues, and individual articles.
  3. Host them on your server — The files need to be accessible via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP.
  4. RePEc mirrors your data — Once everything is set up, RePEc’s system automatically picks up and distributes your metadata.

The technical requirements follow the Guildford Protocol and use the ReDIF (Research Documents Information Format) specification. While the format is straightforward, it does require attention to detail — correct template types, proper field formatting, and a specific directory structure.

OJS Users: There’s an Easier Way

If you’re running your journal on Open Journal Systems (OJS), you know that managing technical integrations can be a headache. Setting up RePEc metadata manually — creating ReDIF templates, maintaining directory structures, generating index files — is doable, but it’s tedious and error-prone.

That’s exactly why we built the RePEc Pro Export Plugin for OJS.

Our plugin automates the entire RePEc integration for OJS-based journals. Instead of manually creating and maintaining ReDIF files, the plugin handles everything:

  • Automatic ReDIF template generation for your journal articles
  • Proper directory structure creation and management
  • Index files that are HTTP-accessible for RePEc’s crawler
  • Metadata mapping from your OJS article data to RePEc’s required fields
  • Ongoing synchronization — when you publish new issues, the metadata is automatically updated

No need to learn ReDIF syntax, no manual file management, no worrying about whether your templates are properly formatted. Install the plugin, configure your RePEc archive details, and you’re ready to go.

Get the RePEc Pro Export Plugin →

The Bottom Line

In academic publishing, visibility is everything. RePEc offers a proven, trusted, and completely free pathway to get your journal’s content in front of the researchers who need it most. With automatic distribution across platforms like IDEAS, EconPapers, Google Scholar, and many more, a single integration effort yields returns across the entire academic discovery ecosystem.

For OJS users, our RePEc Pro Export Plugin makes the technical side effortless, so you can focus on what matters: publishing great research.

Your authors are already looking for their work on RePEc. Make sure they can find your journal there too.


This post is brought to you by OJS Services, helping academic journals thrive with professional OJS solutions.

The post Why Your Journal Should Be on RePEc (And How to Get There) first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

ORCID iD and Phone Number at Registration: Plugin for OJS 3.3

February 9th 2026 at 4:12 am

If you manage an academic journal on OJS, you already know the problem: a new author registers, submits a manuscript — and then you realize their ORCID iD and phone number are missing from their profile. You send an email asking them to update their profile, wait for a response, and sometimes follow up again. This small gap in the registration workflow costs time for everyone involved.

Registration Fields is an open-source OJS plugin that closes this gap by adding ORCID iD and Phone Number fields directly to the user registration form.

The Problem

OJS stores both ORCID iD and phone number in user profiles. These fields exist in the system and are used by DOI registration, Crossref deposits, and editorial communication. However, OJS only allows users to fill in these fields after registration, through the profile editor. There is no built-in way to ask for this information during signup.

For journals that require ORCID iDs — an increasingly common policy — this creates an unnecessary extra step. Authors register, then must be reminded to go back and add their ORCID. For editorial offices that need phone numbers for communication, the same problem applies.

What the Plugin Does

The Registration Fields plugin adds two optional fields to the OJS registration form, positioned between the profile section and the login credentials section:

ORCID iD and Phone Number fields appear on the registration form, above the Login section.

Each field can be independently enabled or disabled, and each can be set as required or optional. The configuration is done through a simple settings panel accessible from the plugin management page:

The settings panel lets you enable, require, or disable each field independently. A debug mode is available for troubleshooting.

Values entered during registration are saved directly to the corresponding OJS profile fields — the same fields used by ORCID integrations, Crossref, and the editorial contact system. No new database tables are created; the plugin simply writes to what is already there.

Key Features

ORCID iD validation accepts three common input formats — bare identifier (0000-0000-0000-0000), full HTTPS URL, or HTTP URL — and normalizes all of them to the standard https://orcid.org/ format on save.

Phone number validation accepts international formats with country codes, supporting digits, spaces, plus signs, dashes, and parentheses.

Theme compatibility is handled through flexible pattern matching with a built-in fallback mechanism. The plugin works across OJS themes including Default, Manuscript, Bootstrap3, Health Sciences, JournalPlus, NIVO, and AXIS. If a theme uses an unusual HTML structure, the fields are still rendered before the form’s closing tag.

Debug mode can be enabled from the settings panel to write diagnostic information to the PHP error log. This helps identify exactly how the plugin is interacting with a particular theme, making it easy to troubleshoot without modifying any code.

Who Is This For?

  • Journals requiring ORCID iDs at submission — Collect them upfront instead of chasing authors after registration.
  • Editorial offices that communicate by phone — Have the number from day one.
  • Journal managers who want cleaner author profiles — Reduce incomplete registrations without adding manual follow-up steps.

Technical Details

The plugin integrates with OJS through its hook system — no core files are modified. It uses output filtering to inject fields into the registration form, server-side validation for all inputs, and a deferred save mechanism to ensure data is written after the user record is created. All input is sanitized and escaped, and the plugin includes CSRF protection for its settings form.

It is compatible with OJS 3.3.0.0 through 3.3.0.22 and PHP 7.4 through 8.2.

Installation

  1. Download the latest release from GitHub.
  2. In OJS, go to Settings → Website → Plugins → Upload a New Plugin.
  3. Upload the .tar.gz file and enable the plugin.
  4. Click Settings to configure which fields appear on the registration form.

The plugin is free, open-source (GPL v3), and available in English and Turkish.


Developed by OJS Services.

The post ORCID iD and Phone Number at Registration: Plugin for OJS 3.3 first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

Login with Email Address in OJS: Email Login Plugin

January 30th 2026 at 1:06 pm

We frequently hear this complaint from journal managers using OJS: “Our users keep requesting password resets, but they haven’t actually forgotten their passwords!”

The root cause is simple: OJS requires a username to login. However, almost every website today allows login with an email address. Users naturally enter their email address in OJS and receive the “Invalid username or password” error.

This results in:

  • 📧 Unnecessary password reset requests
  • 😤 User frustration
  • ⏰ Wasted time for journal managers

The Solution: Email Login Plugin

We developed the Email Login Plugin to solve this problem. With this plugin, users can now login using either their username or email address.

How It Works

  1. User enters their email address in the login field
  2. The plugin automatically finds the username associated with that email
  3. Login proceeds normally

The user doesn’t notice any difference – they can simply login with their email address now!

Features

Email login – Users can now login with their email address
Username support – Existing behavior unchanged, username login still works
Automatic form update – Login form label changes to “Username or Email”
Secure – SQL injection protection and input validation
No core modifications – No issues with OJS updates
Bilingual support – English and Turkish


Installation

Installation takes just a few minutes:

  1. Download the .tar.gz file from GitHub releases
  2. Go to Settings → Website → Plugins in OJS admin panel
  3. Click Upload A New Plugin
  4. Select the downloaded file
  5. Enable “Email Login” under Generic Plugins

That’s it! Your users can now login with their email addresses.


Compatibility

Requirement Version
OJS 3.3.0 – 3.3.0.22+
PHP 7.3 or higher

Security

Security was a priority during development:

  • Prepared Statements protect against SQL injection attacks
  • Email addresses are validated and sanitized before database queries
  • Disabled accounts cannot login via email
  • Error messages don’t reveal whether an email exists in the system

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will existing username login continue to work?
A: Yes, nothing changes. Users can login with either username or email.

Q: Will the plugin break when I update OJS?
A: No, the plugin doesn’t modify core files. It’s unaffected by OJS updates.

Q: What happens if the same email is used for multiple accounts?
A: OJS already prevents the same email from being used for multiple accounts.


Download

📥 Download Email Login Plugin v1.1.0

📖 GitHub Repository


Support

For questions or issues with the plugin:

The post Login with Email Address in OJS: Email Login Plugin first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

Removing “View of …” from Article PDF Titles in OJS 3.3

December 13th 2025 at 2:33 pm

In Open Journal Systems (OJS) 3.3, some journals notice that when an article PDF is opened using the
PDF.JS Viewer, the browser tab title appears as “View of Article Title”.
While this is expected behavior, many journal editors and article authors find it unnecessary or distracting.

In some cases, the same article may appear in Google search results both with and without the
“View of …” prefix, which can be confusing and may give the impression that they are different pages.
At the moment, there is no confirmed evidence that this has a direct negative impact on Google Scholar.
However, from an editorial and presentation perspective, many journals prefer to display only the article title.

Why does “View of …” appear?

The PDF viewer page title is built using a translation key in the OJS locale files:
article.pageTitle. In the default English locale, this key is often defined as:
View of {$title}. That’s why the browser tab title becomes “View of …”.

Why this can be undesirable

  • It may look unprofessional or unnecessary to editors and authors.
  • Google search results may show the same article twice (with and without “View of …”).
  • Readers may assume the entries represent different articles.
  • Presentation may feel inconsistent across languages.

What NOT to do

You can remove the prefix by editing core files such as locale/en_US/locale.po
via FTP/SFTP. However, this is not update-safe. Future OJS upgrades can overwrite core locale files,
causing the “View of …” prefix to return.

Recommended solution: Custom Locale Plugin (Update-Safe)

The cleanest approach is to override the translation string using the Custom Locale Plugin,
so you do not modify core files and your change survives updates.

Step 1: Enable the Custom Locale Plugin

Go to Administration → Website Settings → Plugins, then enable
Custom Locale Plugin.

Step 2: Find the correct locale file and key

Important note: the Custom Locale interface does not provide a direct global search box.
After selecting a language, OJS will show a list of locale files for that language.

  1. Open the Custom Locale interface and select the language English (en_US).
  2. After selecting the language, you will see the list of locale files. From the list, open
    locale/en_US/locale.po.
  3. Inside that file, locate the translation key article.pageTitle.
    You can also confirm this key by checking the same file via FTP/SFTP first and noting the exact label to override.

Step 3: Override the page title string

Once you find article.pageTitle, update its value from
View of {$title} to {$title}.
This removes the “View of ” prefix while keeping the article title placeholder intact.

Step 4: Clear cache

After saving the override, clear the OJS cache to ensure the new translation loads.
If you have server access, remove template/cache files from the OJS cache directory (common locations include
cache/t_compile). Then hard refresh your browser.

Result

After applying this override, the PDF viewer page title will display only the article title.
The “View of …” prefix will be removed, and because this is done through Custom Locale, it will remain
in place even after OJS updates.

Final note on indexing

There is no confirmed evidence that this behavior negatively impacts Google Scholar indexing.
Still, removing “View of …” can help keep your journal’s presentation clean and reduce confusion in general
Google search results when duplicate-looking entries appear.

The post Removing “View of …” from Article PDF Titles in OJS 3.3 first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

OJS Blog Plugin

August 23rd 2025 at 2:29 am

OJS Blog Plugin: Bring Editorial Voice to Your Journal

Academic journals are no longer just platforms for publishing articles. Staying relevant today means keeping readers engaged, sharing timely updates, and building a stronger editorial voice within the scholarly community. This is exactly where the OJS Blog Plugin comes in — transforming your journal into a hub of communication and interaction.

With this plugin, editors and administrators can go beyond research articles to share comments, videos, journal news, editorial notes, academic events, and publishing tips. It allows you to maintain your journal’s academic identity while offering a more dynamic, accessible, and interactive experience for your community.

The OJS Blog plugin brings a powerful and flexible blogging system to Open Journal Systems (OJS).
It enables editors and administrators to publish posts, share updates, and engage readers beyond scholarly articles.

Key Features

  • Post Management: CKEditor integration, featured & inline images, draft/published/archived status, SEO-friendly slugs & metadata
  • Categories: Categories, filtering with post counts, safe reassignment on delete
  • Layouts & Appearance: Single or double column layouts, top/left category menus, theme-friendly CSS styling
  • Multi-Language Support: English & Turkish included, fully synchronized with OJS locales
  • Performance & Security: DAO-compliant, optimized queries, caching, CSRF & XSS protection, secure file uploads

👉 [Buy Now] – [DEMO]

Why Choose OJS Blog?

This plugin is ideal for journals that want to:

  • Publish announcements, news, congresses, conferences, seminars, and editorial updates
  • Engage readers with insightful blog posts
  • Improve visibility with SEO-friendly content
  • Provide a more dynamic user experience alongside research articles

License & Support

  • License Type: Commercial Proprietary License
  • Scope: Single Journal License, Multi-Journal License
  • Support: Free technical support included
  • Special Offer: Included free with OJS Hosting Advanced Pro and OJS Hosting Ultimate Pro packages

🔗 View OJS Blog Plugin – License Terms

Compatibility

Works seamlessly with OJS 3.3+ versions.

🛒 Get Started Today

Bring your editorial voice to life and keep your community engaged with the OJS Blog Plugin.

👉 [Buy Now]

📌 The OJS Blog plugin is compatible with OJS 3.3+ versions.

OJS Blog Plugin – Screenshots & Feature Preview

OJS Blog Plugin

You can choose to display the posts in a single column or two columns, and place the categories either at the top of the page or on the left side, depending on your preference.

Blog Post Example
An example blog post with indexing updates and rich text formatting.

Blog Category View
Easily organize your content by creating categories such as Journal News, Editorial Notes, or Publishing Tips. Readers can quickly filter posts by category, making it simple to find the information that matters most to them.

Blog Management Panel – Posts
The administrative panel for managing blog posts with options to add, edit, or delete entries.

Blog Management Panel – Categories
Manage categories such as Journal News, Editorial Notes, and Academic Events directly from the admin panel.

Blog Settings
Comprehensive settings panel for customizing layout, categories, language, cover images, and display options.

The post OJS Blog Plugin first appeared on OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEM SERVICES.

❌
❌