For authors
Submission guidelines
Formatting rules, the EasyChair submission process, registration requirements, and camera-ready instructions.
Formatting rules, the EasyChair submission process, registration requirements, and camera-ready instructions.
Paper submission for NSTools 2026 is now closed. The steps below document the full process from initial submission through camera-ready upload, both for accepted authors finishing that process now and as a reference for prospective authors preparing for a future edition.
Why these specific rules exist. The ACM proceedings format, the 10-page limit, and the PDF-only requirement are not arbitrary house style — they match what the workshop’s co-sponsoring bodies require for a paper to be indexed and archived correctly. Formatting a submission to a different template, or exceeding the page limit without prior arrangement, is one of the most common reasons an otherwise strong paper is returned for revision before review even begins.
Paper format: submitted papers must be formatted according to the ACM conference proceedings format. Only PDF files are accepted. The page limit is 10 pages, and the camera-ready version must conform to the same guidelines as the submission. Authors of accepted regular papers who exceed the page limit will be charged an additional overlength fee.
Submitted papers are uploaded through the EasyChair conference management system. Authors without an existing EasyChair account can create one through the same submission link. Once uploaded, a manuscript can be updated until the submission deadline.
Papers eligible for the best student paper award must be explicitly flagged as “student papers” during submission, and are required to list a student as first author.
Watch the homepage for the call for papers announcing the next submission window.
If a paper is accepted, at least one author must register at the non-student rate, even if every author on the paper is a student. One registration covers up to two accepted papers for authors who have multiple papers accepted. Registration for NSTools uses the same page as registration for the co-located conference.
A paper will not be included in the proceedings unless the corresponding author has successfully registered.
Authors receive an invitation to register and upload the camera-ready (CR) version at the same email address used as the contact author in EasyChair. That same email should be used for both registration and upload; if someone other than the contact author will present the paper, the workshop organizers need to be informed so the presenter name can be updated in the registration system.
The same person who registers must upload the camera-ready paper. Within 72 hours of successful registration, authors receive instructions for uploading their final paper(s). If those instructions do not arrive, contact the workshop coordinator directly. After the camera-ready paper is uploaded, authors are asked to complete and sign a copyright form, returned by email or fax.
The ACM format NSTools requires is the same template used across most ACM-sponsored and ACM-co-sponsored venues, which keeps a paper’s formatting portable if it is later extended into a journal submission. Following a standard, community-maintained template rather than an ad hoc one also make papers easier to compare during review — reviewers are evaluating research content, not decoding an unfamiliar layout.