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File Validation Tools

For content submitted in the NISO JATS Journal Publishing Tag Set or the NLM Journal Publishing Tag Set, PMC has compiled a set of tagging requirements. The resources and tools listed below assist in generating XML according to this style. Compliance with PMC style is preferred and facilitates a more efficient workflow through PMC.

Several File Validation Tools Going Away After December 2024

The Math Previewer, XML Validator and SGML Validator will no longer be available after December 2024. Please contact NCBI customer service with questions. – Posted 27 June 2024.

Stay informed about changes at PMC:

  • Tagging Guidelines

    Detailed instructions for tagging journal articles in XML beyond simply validating against the JATS or NLM DTDs. This resource should be used when marking up content for PubMed Central. (Updates to the Tagging Guidelines are announced through the PMC Tagging Guidelines mailing list).

  • Style Checker

    • The Online PMC Style Checker is an interactive tool which provides a detailed report of all items in an article tagged following the NISO JATS or NLM Journal Publishing Tag Set that do not comply with the PMC Tagging Guidelines. The report will list items as either warnings or errors. Errors must be fixed, while warnings are suggested fixes.
    • The downloadable NLM Style Checker is a set of XSL stylesheets that you can run locally to check PMC, Bookshelf, or NIHMS style compliance.
    • The NLM Style Checker API allows programmatic access to the NLM Style Checker.

  • Article Previewer

    The PMC Article Previewer is a great way to preview your articles to see how they will appear in PMC. The Previewer will also test whether your XML tagging generates warnings or errors. It runs many of the same processes that are used in the PMC production workflow.

  • Math Previewer

    Use this tool to create a GIF or PNG rendering of MathML or LaTeX code.

  • XML Validator

    Use this tool to validate XML files against a DTD. The DTD must be identified with a properly formed DOCTYPE declaration.

  • SGML Validator

    Use this tool to validate SGML files that will be submitted to PMC. The DTD must be identified with a properly formed DOCTYPE declaration, and the DTD must have previously been submitted to PMC.