How to Use the ApaWizard: Step-by-Step Guide

Welcome to ApaWizard. Follow these steps to check and correct APA 7 style issues and to convert your APA-formatted Word documents into JATS XML.

1. Start with the Reference Checker

On the homepage, you’ll find two main tools: the Reference Checker and the ApaWizard converter (the DOCX to JATS XML tool). The Reference Checker is primarily used for APA 7 style validation: it matches in-text citations with the reference list and reports inconsistencies between them. It also verifies the presence and structure of abstracts, keywords, lists, tables, and figures, provided they follow APA 7 paper-format guidelines. Run your Word document through this tool first to identify and correct issues before converting to XML.

Use the Reference Checker: Simply upload your Word file and let the checker review it. It will highlight any formatting issues and show you which references match in the body of the text and which do not.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PREPARATION FOR YOUR WORD DOCUMENT IS: ALL MAIN SECTION TITLES (E.G., INTRODUCTION, METHOD, RESULTS, REFERENCES) MUST USE THE DEFAULT “HEADING 2” STYLE IN MICROSOFT WORD

Prepare Your DOCX: If you need more detailed guidance, click the Prepare Your DOCX File button. This page will give you all the instructions on how to fix your document formatting before conversion.

2. Use the ApaWizard Converter

Once your document is ready, move on to the ApaWizard. The wizard is a three-step process:

1. Step 1: Journal Profile Creation: Create a journal profile once. If you plan to convert multiple articles for the same journal, you only need to do this step once, and it will be saved under “My Journals.”
2. Step 2: Enter Article Metadata: Fill in the necessary details about your article. Some fields are mandatory to ensure the XML validates correctly.
3. Step 3: Upload and Convert: Upload your DOCX file and start the conversion. You’ll see a “Quick Rules” reminder and a couple of advanced options (like rendering tables as images). Once done, you’ll be able to download the converted XML in multiple formats.

3. Understanding “My Journals” and Daily Limits

In the “My Journals” section, you’ll find two tables:

• Journals Table: Here, you can view, sort, and edit your saved journals. You can also start new article conversions for an existing journal directly from here.
• Past Conversions Table: This table lists all your past conversions. You can edit a conversion, re-upload a slightly modified file (as long as it’s not substantially different), and download any of the XML versions or the marked DOCX document again.

Daily Limits: Registered users have unlimited access to the Reference Checker (guest users are limited to 20 checks per day). However, you can perform only one conversion-related action per day — such as creating a journal, converting a file, or editing a previous conversion.

4. What is the Marked DOCX?

When you run the checker or complete a conversion, you can download a “marked DOCX” version of your original file. This version highlights all references in red that are correctly matched. If a reference isn’t highlighted, it means there’s likely an issue with it (like a misspelling or a formatting problem), so you can easily spot what needs fixing.