Only proposals submitted by internet are accepted. Submission is based on our LaTeX template file and a style file for the current semester. Only these current versions are accepted by the proposal acceptance system!

Latest NEWS for submissions during the current semester:

• The application procedure has changed. Please submit your standard application files now via our web page. The submission by e-mail is no longer accepted.

What to submit?

• Filled-out LaTeX-File template.
  Please note: The template-file was created under UNIX. If you edit the file with a WINDOW editor you might have to use the command dos2unix to convert the file format before submitting it.
• Optional: PostScript files with figures (plain postscript as specified in LaTeX file; do not compress e.g. with gzip!)
• If applicable: Bibliographic data for publications based on Calar Alto observatory could be included at the end of the LaTeX application, if not already submitted separately to the TAC secretary. Please note that observers are obliged to inform CAHA about any publications resulting from observations at Calar Alto. Details on the required format are given on our web page and in the LaTeX template.

How to submit?

• Submit your files via our web page.
• The first file to be uploaded must be the plain LaTeX-file, with filename extension .tex, followed by other files (figures), if needed.
• Send only one application per submission.
• Your own macros have to be incorporated into the main LaTeX-file and NOT be uploaded as separate TeX-Files, i.e. you must not submit more than one LaTeX-File for a given application!

If in doubt whether your proposal will be successfully processed at CAHA, we strongly recommend to submit a rudimentary application (applicant (name...e-mail) and title of proposal are needed, rest may be left empty) with a dummy figure in TEST mode as soon as possible. Then we have enough time to react on potential problems.

When to submit?

Our proposal acceptance system accepts proposals from about August 1^st with deadline September 15^th for the spring semester and about February 1^st with deadline March 15^th for the autumn semester until

midnight (24:00) on the day of the deadline.

Turn-around close to the deadline may be slow! It still is the applicants responsibility to have the correct (!) LaTeX-File received at CAHA before the deadline. Late proposals will automatically be rejected by the system.

What will happen after submission?

• After receiving the files, the line \document is searched to identify the LaTeX-file. All text in the  LaTeX-File before \document is discarded as is the text following the \EndOfApplication command. It is also checked that the most recent style file is used. Comments (text behind % in a line) are removed. If all this is successful, LaTeX is run twice to get cross-references right.
• If a LaTeX-error occurs, the LaTeX log file together with the LaTeX-File as received, are returned. No files are stored in case of errors! Please correct the error and re-submit everything.
• If the LaTeX-command \TestRun is active in your LaTeX-file, your application will not be queued into the proposal system, even if it is processed without error! No records are kept at CAHA in this case. You will be notified about the result of the trial LaTeX-run at CAHA (positive or with log-file in case of a LaTeX-problem) together with the postscript file, if produced successfully from your application.
  
  If all is to your satisfaction, you have to de-activate \TestRun in the LaTeX-File and  RE-SUBMIT the whole  proposal including any postscript files for figures!
  
  The trial run mode allows to check the layout, as different LaTeX-versions may produce slightly different layouts. Since we now check the layout (i.e. that the allocated space is not overrun) this is crucial for a successful submission. Proposals which work fine at your site not necessarily run through at CAHA, if the text is very close  to the critical margin.
• If LaTeX is run without problems dvips is used to create the printable version of the application including optional figures. A short verification mail including title and identification of the proposal is sent to the P.I. The printable postscript file as created at CAHA is sent under separate mail, to avoid problems with potential size limits for incoming e-mails on your host. If you do not receive this second mail, please check the size limits for incoming mail on your system.
  If you do not get any response within a reasonable time, please contact us!
• Eleven (black-and-white) copies will be printed at CAHA from the PostScript output file and passed on to the referees.
• The LaTeX file is used to fill the database used at CAHA for administrative purposes (e.g. DFG application for  travel funds!).

Additional material to support your application

If you want to supply additional material (if absolutely necessary) to your referees, e.g. preprints or progress reports, please send it as an e-mail attachment to uthiele@caha.es.

Alternatively you may send 2 copies by ordinary mail to

Some features of the style file and the application procedure you should know:

• The language for the text printed in the application has to be in English
• A trial run mode is available. It is enabled by a command in the LaTeX-File.
  Note: Successful trial-runs have to be re-submitted with the trial-run-flag disabled!
• Page restriction is checked during the LaTeX run. To see the desired page layout you might want to run the empty template file through LaTeX. A LaTeX error is generated if a page overflow (e.g. in the title page or scientific justification) occurs. If text length is critical you want to make use of the trial run mode to check page layout as generated at CAHA!
• It is checked, whether all commands have been included (e.g. none has been deleted by accident). In case this occurs, please refer to the original template file to correct the error. It is checked during our acceptance procedure, if your LaTeX-file ends with the command the \EndOfApplication, which performs this check. All text before the  \documentclass and after the \EndOfApplication lines are removed automatically, as are all comments with the exception of your bibliographic data following the \EndOfApplication command. These will be saved separately.

What you should NOT do !