Q: What does it mean if 'Archive' appears as the status on the author's homepage after submitting an article?

The ‘Archive’ or ‘Archived’ status typically means either of two things. In the case of an accepted manuscript, it means the author’s work is completed and therefore the manuscript no longer needs to be ‘active’ in the system, and is therefore archived. However, if it’s archived soon after submission, without going through any sort of review, it means the journal is not keen on the paper, and therefore, pulls it out from the system by archiving it. In this case, that is, a desk-reject, they typically do inform – in fact, should inform – the author of the rejection.

In your case though, there seem to be some nuances at play. The editor asked you to update the second author’s biodata (as it was possibly not complete) and then asked you to (re)submit the paper through a separate link rather than in the system. This may mean that they have archived the first version that you submitted (without the complete second author biodata). The new version you have sent through the separate link is probably still active in the system, which is the version the editor possibly plans to look at. You should look at the version history of the manuscript or the information on the page to which the new link takes you. You could also check your mail (including spam / junk) for any communication from the journal in this regard. If the exact status or outcome is still not clear within a few days, you may write to the editor asking about this.

In the unfortunate case of a desk-reject, as you know, you may submit to another journal, making any changes as necessary. While on this, you may also wish to look at our new AI-powered platform, PubSure, that seeks to minimize desk rejection for authors. It does this in two ways. One, by helping you improve your manuscript for submission through machine-based checks. Two, by allowing you to showcase your ready manuscript to multiple journal editors at the same time, one of whom, if interested, may consider it for publication in their journal. You may find out more about the platform here: PubSure

For more information on the Archived status, you may go through the following resources:

• What does it mean when a paper is archived?
• What does the status "manuscript archived by editorial team" mean?
• The status for my paper shows "archived," but I received no email. What does this mean?

All the best for the next actions!