Troubleshooting

Accessing/using the e-Thesis form in Minerva

1. I can't login to the e-Thesis Submission form.

   If all 3 (three) statements below apply to you, you should contact GPS:

   1. I'm in a graduate thesis program.
   2. I'm a masters student and have received copies of all the examiners' evaluations from my supervisor(s) OR I'm a doctoral student and have successfully passed my oral defense.
   3. I haven't submitted final corrected paper copies.

   If 1 (one) or more of these statements does not apply to, you are ineligible for e-thesis submission.

2. The instructions state that an e-mail will be automatically sent to me if my supervisor(s) approve or reject my e-thesis, but I haven't received any.

   All e-mails will be sent to your official McGill Username (firstname [dot] lastname [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca) e-mail account. If you are not using that account, then you should forward your e-mails to an e-mail address which you use. Please see the instructions under Regulations.

3. When I click on "Submit for Approval", I get an error message.

   Your supervisor has not activated his/her official McGill Username (firstname [dot] lastname [at] mcgill [dot] ca) e-mail account. You can either ask your supervisor to do so, or contact GPS. We can change the status to "Submitted for Approval" and ask your supervisor to activate his/her account.

4. My supervisor has approved my e-thesis, but when I login to Minerva, I can no longer access the e-thesis submission form. 

   Once your supervisor approves your e-thesis, GPS will then review it. If your e-thesis is approved by GPS, we will indicate in Banner that final copies have been received. As a result, you will no longer be able to access the e-thesis submission form.

Corrections

1. There's a mistake in my name.

   Please see the Verification of Data section.

2. There's a mistake in my thesis title.

   Please see the Verification of Data section.

3. I copied my abstract into the Minerva form, but it looks different after I save it.

   The Minerva form can only save plain text. Any special formatting, including bold, underline, italics, as well as mathematical/chemical formulae and images will not be saved.

4. I copied my abstract into the Minerva form, but it's truncated.

   The Minerva form can only save a maximum of 4000 characters.

5. I've submitted my e-thesis for online supervisor approval but want to make changes to the thesis details/file.

   Once you submit your e-thesis for online supervisor approval (by clicking on "Submit for Supervisor Approval") you cannot change the thesis details (language, abstracts, UMI code) or e-thesis file. If your supervisor hasn't approved/rejected your e-thesis, you should ask your supervisor to reject the e-thesis so that you can make the required changes. If your supervisor has already approved your file, you will need to contact GPS. You can check the status of approvals on the Minerva e-Thesis Submission form. Please note that your supervisor(s) will have to approve your new e-thesis, within the Deadline for Submission of Final Copies.

Problems generating a pdf/a

1. I'm using LaTeX to write my thesis and can't generate a pdf/a file. Will GPS accept a standard pdf?

   Since pdf/a generation from LaTeX is very problematic, GPS will accept standard pdf's from LaTeX users; all other software users must provide their thesis in pdf/a format.

2. I can only upload one file.

   Minerva will only permit one file - and it must be a .pdf file in pdf/a format - to be uploaded at any point in time. Your e-thesis must consist of a single file with the .pdf extension. In order to change the file on the server, you will have to delete the uploaded file first. Please see the Step-by-Step Instructions.

3. I can only create a pdf/a draft file. Is that okay?

   If you are using Version 7 of Adobe, you will need to download the upgrade for that version from the Adobe web-site which will permit you to create 1a and 1b pdf/a's.

4. I created my pdf/a in Version 7, and when I check if it's compliant in Version 7, I get a "no error" message, but if I check it in Version 8, I get "Inadequate namespace URI for PDF/A" and "PDF/A entry missing" error messages. Is that okay?

   There is a problem with Version 7 - even the upgraded version. We will accept a pdf/a that returns only those two (2) error messages.

5. I'm having problems creating a pdf/a version from Word. What's wrong?

   Check your document for any hyperlinks. Wherever there is a hyperlink, you will have to remove it. Right-click on the hyperlink, and select "Remove hyperlink".