Unknown error

The submission fails with ScholarOne error code -1, an unknown error.

Why it happens

A submission can fail with an unknown error for one of several reasons:
  • The submission contains files with extensions that do not match the files' format, or the extension is not included in the filename.
  • The submission contains files with names that exceed 128 characters in length.
  • The manuscript contains an award ID that exceeds 50 characters in length.
  • The submitter has supplied duplicate grant numbers in the Is this research supported by funding? question during the Match Organizations submission step.
  • A grant number contains spaces or other unnecessary characters after the number.

To resolve

Procedure

  1. From the Submissions tab in the Admin Tool, click Proxy Author for the failed submission.
  2. On the Submission Overview page, check for issues mentioned above.
    1. In the Manuscript Files section, verify the following:
      • The name of each file does not exceed 128 characters in length.
      • The name of each file includes the appropriate file extension. For example, .pdf for PDF, .docx for DOCX, and so on.
    2. In the Affiliations section, verify the following:
      • There are no award IDs that exceed 50 characters in length.
      • There are no duplicate grant numbers.
      • Grant numbers do not contain unnecessary characters, such as spaces.
  3. If any of the above issues are present, return the manuscript to draft and address any issues found.
    In the case of award IDs that exceed 50 characters in length, you may have to return the manuscript to the author and ask them to shorten the IDs.
  4. Submit the manuscript.
  5. If the submission fails again, resubmit the manuscript as new.
  6. If that also fails, contact Author Portal support.