Guides for the Editing and Publishing of Soil Survey Reports

The following materials are posted as suggestions to assist in the editing, typesetting, and publishing of soil survey reports. They are not official policy.

Contents

DOC files require Microsoft Word and PDF files require Acrobat Reader.

Process

• Sample checklists for processing manuscripts:
  Long_checklist.doc (32 KB) or Long_checklist.pdf (25 KB)
  Short_checklist.doc (25 KB) or Short_checklist.pdf (11 KB)
  Cartographic checklist.doc (53 KB) or Cartographic_checklist.pdf (100 KB)
   
• Sample checklist for internal consistency in manuscripts:
  Consistency.doc (43 KB) or Consistency.pdf (6 KB)
   
• Various other checklists - Editing, final typeset copy, glossary, instructions to the printer, list of references, manuscripts, and page proofs:
  Other_samples.zip (5 KB)
   
• Flowchart showing nontext elements of soil surveys:
  Nontext.pdf (39 KB)
   
• Flowchart of things that happen after editing:
  Flow_after.pdf (40 KB)
  • Notes on flowcharts regarding nontext elements and things that happen after editing:
    Flow_notes.pdf (57 KB)
     
• Outline of the press process for surveys that go to GPO:
  Press.doc (29 KB) or Press.pdf (11 KB)
   
• What editors need to know about cartographic materials.
  Editors_carto.pdf (19 KB)

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Editing

• "First, do no harm. A guide to editing soil surveys," by Stan Anderson:
  No_harm.pdf (46 KB)
   
• One editor's guide to compound words:
  Compound.doc (33 KB) or Compound.pdf (19 KB)
   
• "Some landform terminology information," by Pattie West:
  Landforms.pdf (4 KB)
   
• "Things to watch out for in FOCS tables," by Pattie West (document describes errors that are representative of problems in tables generated from a database):
  Table_errors.pdf (35 KB)
   
• Approved technical terms are specified in the "Soil Survey Manual," which is available at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/manual/.
  • "The Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils" is a condensed text that includes approved technical terms. It is available at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/fieldbook/. 

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Prewritten Materials

• Prewritten material for NASIS tables, 2001 (provided by the NSSC, May 2001):
  PWM_NASIS.zip (91 KB)
   
• Prewritten material for Soil Data Mart tables, 2005 (provided by the NSSC, March 2005):
  PWM_SDM.zip (94 KB)
   
• Maverick tables (templates for nonstandard tables in text-only format):
  Maverick.zip (270 KB)

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Typesetting

• "Formatting Requirements for Typesetting Soil Surveys," by Aaron Achen:
  Typesetting_format.pdf (143 KB)
   
• Typesetting - General directions on how to typeset soil surveys using PageMaker:
  hints.doc (79 KB) or hints.pdf (46 KB)
   
• @ codes - A description of the @ codes used with the blueberry swaps and master pages:
  2005-at-codes.doc (126 KB) or 2005-at-codes.pdf (149 KB)
   
• Replacement codes for the format tags command:
  2005page-stf.zip (2 KB)
   
• Master pages - PageMaker templates and imagery for typesetting:
  2005templates.zip (1.2 MB)
   
• A checklist for typeset copy:
  Typesetting_checklist.doc (32 KB) or Typesetting_checklist.pdf (19 KB)

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Imagery

• Soils Textural Triangle:
  soiltri.zip (72 KB)
   
• Soils Textural Triangle (20-picas wide):
  tri20p.zip (56 KB)
   
• Soil Survey Centennial Logo (Color and Black & White):
  centlogo.zip (455 KB)
   
• Color imagery for the cover - NRCS drop, USDA logo, and NRCS letters (RGB color for CD, Web, and office printing):
  cover_color_RGB.zip (73 KB)
   
• Color imagery for the cover - NRCS drop, USDA logo, and NRCS letters (EPS, which can be converted to CMYK color for press):
  cover_color_EPS.zip (619 KB)
   
• Black and white imagery for the cover - NRCS drop, USDA logo, and NRCS letters:
  cover_BW.zip (22 KB)
   
• Image from the page "How To Use This Soil Survey" in black and white at 600 DPI and 1,200 DPI:
  How_to.zip (650 KB)

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Press

• The text of a letter signed by Mike Golden regarding press options:
  Golden.pdf (432 KB)
   
• A checklist of steps for submitting electronic files for press:
  prntins.doc (40 KB) or e_to_press.pdf (41 KB)
   
• GPO form 952 for submitting electronic files for press:
  952.pdf (196 KB)
   
• Instructions to the printer for camera-ready copy:
  prntins.doc (11 KB) or prntins.pdf (3 KB)
   
• Instruction sheet to the printer for illustrations:
  Ill_ins.doc (12 KB) or ill_ins.pdf (3 KB)

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Electronic Distribution

• Preparing PDF files for soil survey (the standard method for CD and the Web Soil Survey):
  PDF_for_SS.pdf (7 MB)
   
• Concise directions for preparing historical replicas:
  Historical Replicas.pdf (14 KB)
   
• Directions for NRCS editors to submit PDF files of Soil Surveys to the Soil Data Mart:
  PDF_to_SDM.pdf (247 KB)

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Miscellaneous

• Directory of MO leaders and editorial personnel:
  Directory.doc (518 KB) or Directory.pdf (369 KB)
   
• Saving NASIS tables as Word files:
  NAStab.doc (11 KB) or NAStab.pdf (3 KB)

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Cartographic Schedules

• Status of detailed soil maps:
  map_status_dsm.pdf (186 KB)
   
• Status of general soil maps, soil legends, and indexes to map sheets:
  map_status_gsm.pdf (180 KB)
   
• List of maps that have been sent to the printer:
  maps_to_printer.pdf (185 KB)
   
• List of surveys that have been recently sent to GPO:
  text_status.pdf (276 KB)
   
• List of detailed maps on hold:
  maps_on_hold.pdf (168 KB)

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Links

• FTP site containing editorial materials at NSSC
• Online soil surveys
• Web Soil Survey
• National Soil Survey Handbook: Manuscripts
• ePublishing - GPO site describing electronic publishing (a must-see site if you are going to press without camera-ready copy)
• National PLANTS Database - Query the database for correct spelling of plant names
• Some editing sites, mostly containing basic information on grammar and usage: Common errors in English usage, 11 Rules of writing, and A guide to grammar and style
• Scantips - A site about scanning
• ONLINE! - A method for using The Chicago Manual of Style to cite electronic sources

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Questions?

Contact Aaron Achen, editor, MO–15

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