Research Manuscripts Guidelines

I need an invitation letter for my visa. How do I request this?
International authors and attendees who need a visa letter should first complete the form and then download a copy of the letter directly from the form.

Do Speakers need to register for DAC? If so, which registration rates are acceptable?
Yes, each accepted manuscript must have one author register for DAC at the Research Speaker Rate; please reference your acceptance email for information on how to receive the Speaker Rate. This is a Full Conference Registration. Research Speakers may not use the Full Conference Student; Engineering Track or I LOVE DAC registration rates. Note that each accepted paper requires a unique registration.

ACM is the 2026 copyright holder for 63DAC so your final paper will be published on the ACM Digital Library for archival value after the conference.

The manuscript must be within 6 pages, excluding references, double-columned, 9 or 10-pt font, in PDF format only, be a readable file and follow the ACM Templates. The length and content of the submitted version and that of the final version (if accepted) should not be significantly different. All references must be listed in the additional reference page. Only one page of references is allowed. Inclusion of any content other than the references on the reference page will result in the desk rejection of the submission. The manuscript and the reference page must be formatted as a single PDF file.

You may not, in any way, revise the content of your manuscript other than to address minor formatting issues, or to add acknowledgements or references that would have invalidated a double-blind review. Also, there should be no change to the authors (addition, deletion, or reordering) from the initial manuscript submission.

Authors of accepted papers must complete the ACM Copyright Form, which will be emailed to the contact author in March. One copyright form is required for each accepted paper.

• Authors and co-authors are subject to all ACM Publication Policies

• Any issues/questions authors have regarding the copyright form or ACM Policy may be addressed to ACM.

ACM’s new open access publishing model for 2026 ACM Conferences!

Starting January 1, 2026, ACM will fully transition to Open Access. All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, will be 100% Open Access. Authors will have two primary options for publishing Open Access articles with ACM: the ACM Open institutional model or by paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). With over 1,800 institutions already part of ACM Open, the majority of ACM-sponsored conference papers will not require APCs from authors or conferences (currently, around 70-75%).

Authors from institutions not participating in ACM Open will need to pay an APC to publish their papers, unless they qualify for a financial or discretionary waiver. To find out whether an APC applies to your article, please consult the list of participating institutions in ACM Open and review the APC Waivers and Discounts Policy. Keep in mind that waivers are rare and are granted based on specific criteria set by ACM.

Understanding that this change could present financial challenges, ACM has approved a temporary subsidy for 2026 to ease the transition and allow more time for institutions to join ACM Open. The subsidy will offer:

• $250 APC for ACM/SIG members

• $350 for non-members

This represents a 65% discount, funded directly by ACM. This temporary subsided pricing will only be applicable to conferences scheduled for 2026. Authors are encouraged to help advocate for their institutions to join ACM Open during this transition period.

To further support authors during this transition, SIGDA will introduce a Financial Hardship Waiver (FHW) program for 2026. The initiative, jointly funded by ACM and SIGDA, will provide a limited number of waivers to cover APCs for eligible SIGDA-member corresponding authors. More details are available on the SIGDA website. Requests will be submitted after paper acceptance (through the ACM e-rights system) and evaluated by a SIGDA-appointed committee, based on ACM’s standard criteria.

Each paper presentation is allotted 12 minutes for presentation; Q&A will not occur during the session. All research manuscripts presenters will go to room 102 at the conference venue directly after their session to participate in Q&A with their poster.

• You are required to use the DAC template for all presentations

• ONLY PPT, PPTX, or PDF files are allowed

• Only landscape format may be used

• We do not allow any information in the footer except for the page number. Everything else will just distract from the content of the slides

• Company/University name and/or logo may only appear on the title (first slide) page

REVIEW PROCESS:

STEP 1: SUBMIT DRAFT SLIDES AND BIO FOR REVIEW
Deadline: April 29, 2026
Prior to the conference, the session chair will review each presenter's slides and provide feedback to the speaker. When the session chair has completed their slide review, the speaker will receive an email notification to log back into the review site to view the session chair comments. If you do not receive feedback, you can consider your slides approved and begin your recording and final slides.

STEP 2: UPLOAD FINAL SLIDES FOR PRESENTATION AND ARCHIVE
Deadline: June 4, 2026
All speakers are required to upload their final presentation slides so they can be included in the DAC Archive pages on dac.com. Research presentation slides from this upload will also be loaded onto the presentation computers in the meeting rooms for your use during the presentation. Updates to your presentation will not be accepted after June 4, 2026.

Research presenters are required to bring a poster describing their work for the Q&A portion of the session; the poster will be placed in room 102 at the conference venue. This provides an opportunity for extended discussion with interested members of the audience. Authors have the option to print their presentation slides for posting, rather than create an additional poster. These slides must still fit in the designated poster dimensions once assembled.

Each author is allocated a 42” tall x 36” wide area for a poster.

• Half of one poster board is allocated to each presentation.

• Posters must be mounted using push pins provided by the organizing committee.

• Do not use foam core material for your poster or any other thick/heavy material.

• Poster presenters are responsible for printing their own poster and carrying or shipping it to the conference.

• The title of your poster should be done in block letters which are AT LEAST 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) high.

• All text must be easily readable from a distance of 1 to 2 meters. Make the lettering at least 1 cm high, smaller lettering will not be legible from a distance of 1 to 2 meters.

• All graphs and charts should be AT LEAST 25 X 30 cm (approximately 8.5 x 11 inches) or larger.

• It is a good idea to sequentially number your materials in the poster. This will indicate to the viewer a logical progression through your poster.

• Provide an introduction (outline) and a summary or conclusion for your poster.

• Please include a copy of the DAC logo at the bottom right corner of your poster.

• Prepare your poster carefully so that it can be used as the basis to explain and answer questions from the viewers.

• Have your business cards available for those who may wish to contact you at a later date.

• Bring along a tablet of blank paper that you may use for a discussion of technical details relating to your poster.

Required Events

Please attend the Speaker's Breakfast the day of your presentation:

• Monday, July 27th at 7:30am

• Tuesday, July 28th at 7:30am

• Wednesday, July 29th at 7:30am

AV Information

Meeting rooms will have the following equipment:

• LCD Projector

• 16x9 Aspect Ratio Screen

• Laptop Computer with Microsoft Office

• Wireless Lavaliere Microphone

• Audio Equipment

• Aisle Microphones for Questions

• Laser Pointer

• Speaker Timer

Practice Rooms

Practice rooms will be available for:

• Last-minute polishing.

• Rehearsing your presentation in front of friends or colleagues.

• Fine-tuning your timing.