This blog will provide you 3 simple steps to download and install OJS (Open Journal Systems) for hosting your journal. Suited for University Journals and small scale publishers.
Are you planning to start a new journal on OJS? Or running an already existing one? This guide will help you get started quickly.
Introduction
OJS (acronym: Open Journal Systems) is an open-source Journal management software developed by PKP. It is primarily used by small and medium-sized journals around the world.
You should use OJS if you belong to any of the following categories:
New Journals
(that are yet to publish an Issue)
Journals that are moving from Print to Online
(and are looking to increase their online visibility.)
University Journals
(that predominantly run on volunteers guided by a professor)
A small to medium Subscription Journal
(less than 20 members)
An open-access Journal
(with a small Editorial team)
This guide covers the installation instructions for OJS version 3. Before you install, confirm the current production package and the PHP/database versions listed on the official PKP download page for that release.
This is a simple bare-bones guide to help you get started with OJS to host your journal.
Quick Note: SciSpace provides secure and scalable hosted OJS solutions at affordable prices. It is suited for journals that don’t want operational burden or don’t have an IT team. You can read more about top OJS hosting solutions here.
Step 1: Get OJS 3 package
Before you start installing the OJS 3 software, the first step involves getting the software package itself from the official sources. We recommend 2 sources from which you should directly download the package.
This approach is usually preferred by more tech-savvy journals that have an IT team. Go to the Github Repo of OJS.
Ensure that you are on the “Master” branch.
Click on “Code” to reveal options to download. You can download the highlighted ZIP file. Otherwise, f you have Git set up on your terminal, you can use the command mentioned below:
“git clone https://github.com/pkp/ojs.git”
Image Source: Official Github Repo for OJS
Step 2a: Install PHP
OJS 3.x requires a PHP version supported by the release you install. Check the PKP documentation for that version; do not assume PHP 7.2 is still current.
OJS 3.x requires a PHP version supported by the release you install. Check the PKP documentation for that version; do not assume PHP 7.2 is still current.
You can download the latest version of PHP on their downloads page. Follow the installation instructions given within their official documentation.
Image Source: PHP Download repository
Step 2b: Install MySQL
If you already have a running version of MySQL, you should skip this step.
OJS needs a supported MySQL or MariaDB version for your release. Install the current production database listed in the PKP requirements, not a legacy 4.1 server.
We recommend getting the latest version of MySQL from their official repository. This will help you get access to the latest features of MySQL without any frills.
This is their official repository. Remember to pick your operating system in the dropdown highlighted below.
Apache is a free, open-source web server software. This is what will frontend interface for your OJS system and would be receiving/ replying HTTP requests.
If you already have the Apache server running, you can skip this step.
Click on the red highlight below to download the Apache server. Use this tutorial to complete the installation process for the Apache server.
We recommend choosing Linux as your OS for the server as it is efficient, reliable, and easier to maintain.
For journals that don’t have an IT team, managing a web server is a tedious task. Talk to us at SciSpace, and we can provide you a hosted web server.
Image Source: Apache Repository
Step 3: Install the OJS package
After all the system requirements in step 2 are met, we can safely go and begin the installation of the downloaded OJS 3 package.
Go to the server where Apache, MySQL, and PHP are installed.
Within the same server, choose a folder location for your OJS installation. If you have a Linux server running, a recommended approach is to choose “/usr/share/ojs” as your home directory.
Extract the OJS tar.gz to that particular directory.
You would need to change permissions.
Make the following files and directories (and their contents) writeable (i.e., by changing the owner or permissions with “chown” or “chmod”):
- config.inc.php
- public
- cache
- cache/t_cache
- cache/t_config
- cache/t_compile
- cache/_db
Create a directory to store all the uploaded files (submission files, etc.) and make this directory writeable using “chown” or “chmod”.
It is recommended that this directory be placed outside of the webserver location (“/usr/share/ojs”)
[Recommended] Review config.inc.php for additional configuration settings.
SciSpace (Formerly Typeset) is a software developed to streamline publication workflows. Using SciSpace, publishers are able to automatically convert author submissions to any publication format, including JATS XML. SciSpace publisher offers solutions to generate XML-first articles that comply with major scientific databases like PubMed, Crossref, and Scopus.
SciSpace publisher works with over 400+ journals worldwide and offers solutions for generating XML-first articles. See how you can simplify your workflow and save over 80% of the time and cost of producing journal articles.
Since 2015, SciSpace has enabled publishers, institutions, and universities to establish online journals using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) software.
source
Additionally, our platform also includes additional services for small and medium journals to streamline their production workflow and save the cost and effort.
XML (JATS, CrossRef, PubMed, SciELO, Redalyc) generation to improve your online visibility and make you compliant with the indexing bodies.
Generate the Final production PDF.
Provide capacity to extract HTML, ePUb within few seconds.
Auto-fill your DOIs and interlink them automatically in the export (PDF, XML)
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