We provide below some of the more Frequently-Asked-Questions (and answers) with regard to the NOAO proposal process.
How can I get the latest proposal materials?
Proposal materials, including detailed instructions for each semester, are available from our Web site at http://www.noao.edu/noaoprop/noaoprop.html. Forms and materials are no longer available by FTP or by email. We ask that all investigators first fill out some general, investigator, and run information on the Web form and then have the partially filled out and customized LaTeX template emailed to them if they wish - otherwise completed proposals may be submitted directly from the Web.
Where can I get the current style file for the LaTeX template?
The current style file can be obtained from a link on the sidebar of the proposal home page at http://www.noao.edu/noaoprop/noaoprop.html or from our FTP directory at ftp.noao.edu in the file noaoprop/nprop27.sty.
I have forgotten my login and password - what can I do?
If you have forgotten your login and password for a proposal from any semester that you would like to access write to us at noaoprop-help@noao.edu. We need to know the semester of the proposal that you are interested in along some information that will allow us to identify the correct proposal.
I am having problems moving around the Web form and information that I enter is not being saved. What can I do?
We have a couple of suggestions that you might try. If these do not help write back to us.
Using the "Browse..." button on the proposal form blows my browser window away. What can I do?
We have noticed this with some versions of Netscape running under SunOS. In these particular situations we were able to type the full path name into the form explicitly and have the file upload successfully.
May I use color PostScript for my figures?
You may use color PostScript files for your figures but be aware that we print the proposals on a black/white printer. However, color will appear in online versions of the proposal (proposals are available to TAC members over the Web in HTML, PS, and PDF formats).
I think that my proposal is better understood if my figures appear in color. Can you include the figures in color if I send them?
Substituting color pages is a time consuming process for us since we produce twelve copies of each proposal. If you feel strongly about color figures send email to us at noaoprop-help@noao.edu. Don't leave this to the last day or so before the deadline since there will be less chance we can accommodate you the closer we get to the deadline. In most cases, adding a note to the caption like "please see online version of proposal for color figure" would be the preferred option.
I am trying to put in Spanish acute accents on vowels like "i" and "o" in the \affil and \city section. I am using the usual LaTeX commands \'o and \'{\i}. This results in either the letter not being printed or else the line to be broken at that letter and the occurrence of garbled letters on the next line.
When used within the affiliation field (and maybe other address-related fields) of the proposal form, the accent symbols \`, \' and \= need to be specified as \a`, \a' and \a= since some of these fields are in a tabbing environment in our style file.
Help, as well as any comments and/or suggestions, may be directed to noaoprop-help@noao.edu
Last updated: 24Sep01