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Troubleshooting

This page covers the most common issues encountered when using ActiveSLR, along with steps to resolve them.

File uploads

Upload fails immediately with a format error

Symptom: The file upload dialog shows an error as soon as you select the file, before any upload progress.

Cause: The file is not a valid RIS or NBIB file. CSV, Excel, Word, and plain-text files are not supported.

Solution: Export your references from your citation database or reference manager as RIS (.ris) or NBIB (.nbib). See Supported file formats for export instructions for major databases.

Upload stalls or shows a network error

Symptom: The upload progress bar stops partway through, or you see a generic network error.

Solution:

  1. Check your internet connection.
  2. For large files (above 10 MB), try a more stable network connection (wired rather than Wi-Fi).
  3. If the file is very large (above 50 MB), split it into smaller files using your reference manager's export options.
  4. Refresh the page and try the upload again. Uploads are not resumable - you must restart from the beginning.

Upload succeeds but records look incorrect

Symptom: The file uploads, but study titles are missing, authors appear in wrong fields, or the record count is much lower than expected.

Cause: The RIS or NBIB file may use non-standard field codes or have encoding issues.

Solution: Open the file in a text editor to inspect the raw content. Ensure it uses UTF-8 encoding and that field codes match the standard codes listed in Supported file formats. Re-export from your source database if possible.

Deduplication

Deduplication does not start after I click Run

Symptom: You click Run Deduplication but the status stays at "Not started" or "Pending" indefinitely.

Solution:

  1. Ensure at least one reference file has been uploaded to the project.
  2. Wait a few minutes - deduplication is queued asynchronously and may take time to start on busy servers.
  3. Refresh the page to check the updated status.
  4. If still pending after 10 minutes, contact support.

Deduplication completes but shows zero duplicates

Symptom: Deduplication finishes but reports no true or possible duplicates, even when you know duplicates should exist.

Cause: This can happen if all uploaded files come from a single database export (duplicates across databases are more common than within a single export), or if the records lack sufficient metadata (no DOIs or authors) for matching.

Solution: This may be a correct result if your file set has no overlap. If you believe duplicates are being missed, check that your uploaded files contain sufficient metadata fields (title, authors, year, DOI).

Screening

Keyboard shortcuts are not working

Symptom: Pressing I, E, or arrow keys during screening has no effect.

Cause: A text input field or dropdown has keyboard focus, capturing keystrokes before they reach the screening interface.

Solution: Click on the study card body (not a text field) to return focus to the screening interface, then try the shortcut again.

A study I screened has disappeared from my queue

Symptom: A study you were working on is no longer visible in the screening queue.

Cause: The study was likely screened by another reviewer in a double-screening project, or your decision was saved and the study moved to the screened list.

Solution: Check the Screened tab in the screening interface to find previously processed studies. You can reopen and change decisions there.

PDF viewer

PDF does not load or shows a blank page

Symptom: The PDF viewer displays a spinner indefinitely or shows a blank white area.

Solution:

  1. Check your internet connection - PDFs are served from a CDN and require an active connection.
  2. Try refreshing the page.
  3. Try opening the PDF in a different browser.
  4. If the problem persists, the PDF file may be corrupt. Re-upload the PDF from the study detail view.

PDF text is not searchable inside the viewer

Symptom: Using the search function within the PDF viewer returns no results even for text visible on screen.

Cause: The PDF may be a scanned image without an embedded text layer. PDF parsing may still be in progress, or may have encountered an error.

Solution: Check the PDF parsing status on the study card. If parsing failed, try re-uploading the PDF. For scanned PDFs, parsing uses OCR and may take longer than for digital PDFs.

Account and access

I did not receive the OTP email

Symptom: No email arrives after entering your email on the login or sign-up page.

Solution:

  1. Check your spam or junk folder.
  2. Ensure you entered the correct email address.
  3. Wait up to two minutes - email delivery can be delayed.
  4. Click Resend OTP on the verification screen to request a new code.

Symptom: Clicking an invitation link shows "Invalid invitation" or "Invitation not found".

Cause: The invitation was canceled by the sender, or the link was used already.

Solution: Contact the person who sent the invitation and ask them to send a new one from Organization Settings → Members → Pending Invitations → Resend.

FAQ