The manuscript submission process is broken down into a series of four primary tasks that will allow you to 1) upload files, 2) enter author and manuscript information, 3) validate any converted files and 4) submit your manuscript and associated information.To standardize submissions the system converts all figure and article files into PDF format. There are certain files which our production department is able to accept but the conversion engine cannot convert. If you are experiencing problems with non-PDF file types, please wait until the conversion engine has attempted to process the files; then use the ‘UPLOAD PDF’ link on the submission page to upload a PDF version of the source files. Please note that our system cannot convert encrypted files. We recommend Unicode or ISO character setting.PLEASE NOTE: the submission process is not complete and your manuscript will not be received by Nature editors until you have approved the converted files. Upon initiating a new submission (excluding revisions) you will have 14 days to complete the submission. After this time, partial submissions will be deleted from the system.