Publishing Data by Generating a DOI – LabArchives

Note: This feature is only available to our Enterprise and Professional plan customers and may not be approved for use by your organization. Please contact your organization's LabArchives team for more information or visit our pricing and plan comparison page for more details here.

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique, permanent identifier registered through the International DOI Foundation, of which LabArchives is a member. Unlike standard URLs, which can break or become outdated, a DOI provides a stable and reliable way to reference and share your data over time. For example, if you're submitting a manuscript and need to cite a supplemental dataset, using a DOI ensures the dataset remains accessible and citable long-term.

If your organization supports public sharing of LabArchives data and has enabled this feature, users with the role of Notebook Owner, Account Administrator, or Notebook Administrator can generate a DOI through the Publish Data feature. Some organizations may further restrict the creation of DOIs by requiring approval from a local administrator prior to publication of the DOI. DOIs can be generated at any level of the notebook including the entire notebook, specific folders, pages, or entries. The published DOI will be available for anyone with the DOI URL to access the published notebook data—no LabArchives account required.

How to make a DOI in LabArchives

To create a DOI for notebook content, right-click a folder or page in the Notebook Navigator and click Publish Data.
From the Share Entry Dialog, select the Publish Data tab and then select Publish via LabArchives.

To show the content in its current state, select This page/entry/folder as it exists now (future updates to the notebook data will not be published and visible in the DOI). To share the most updated version of this content select the Most recent version of this page/entry/folder (future updates to the notebook data will be published and visible in the DOI).
By checking the appropriate boxes, you can allow viewers to access earlier or newer versions of your data. This feature enables a "dynamic" publication of your dataset, allowing readers to view not only the data as it appeared at the time of publication but also its past and future versions.
Select a Creative Commons License for your content. For more information on the available license types and how they work, visit the Creative Commons website.

Note: Your organization may restrict which Creative Commons licenses are available for use. Be sure to review your institution’s policies or contact your organization's LabArchives team for more information.

Add the Author (notebook owner is listed by default), ORCID, select if the author is a PI, title, publisher (LabArchives is included by default), Data Management Plan ID, and Grant/Funding ID.
There is also an option to add co-authors. Click Add co-author(s) and another Author, ORCID, PI field will appear.
When you are ready to create the DOI click Create DOI and Publish.
After a few moments, the screen will appear as shown below with your new DOI.

Note: Your organization may require approval before a DOI can be created. If so, a DOI will only be issued once your request has been reviewed and approved by a designated admin. For more information about submitting a DOI request, please see the details below.

DOI Approval Process

If your organization requires approval before a DOI can be published, the following process explains what happens after completing Step 7 in the DOI creation workflow.

Submitting the Request

After selecting Create DOI and Publish, the requester can add a brief note explaining the purpose of the DOI. This note helps the DOI granter understand the context and intent of the request. Click Request Permission to confirm and submit the request.

The granter is automatically added to the associated notebook as a View-Only Guest. This allows them to review the relevant content before making a decision.

While the Request Is Pending

Once submitted, the DOI request appears in the requester's DOI Management tab. While it’s pending, the requester can:

Resend the request using the paper plane icon to remind the granter.
Delete the request using the trash can icon if it is no longer needed.

These tools help manage submissions efficiently and keep the approval queue up to date.

Notifications and Access

When the DOI request is approved or denied, the requester is notified through the product:

A notification appears in the Activity Feed.
An email alert is also sent.

The granter can access the request in one of two ways:

Clicking View in LabArchives in the email notification

By their LabArchives account: Triple-dot menu → Utilities → Data Publishing Permission Requests.

This ensures the granter has quick access to review and respond.

Granter Actions

When accessing a DOI request, the granter is presented with a viewer that displays the DOI details, the requester’s note, and navigation links to the notebook name as well as any folders and pages they have permission to view. The viewer provides the granter with all relevant context needed to make an informed decision.

The granter is responsible for selecting one of the following actions:

Approve – The DOI is created, and publishing can proceed.
Deny – The DOI is not created. In this case, the granter can:
- Add a comment explaining the reason for the denial.
- Remove themselves as a Guest from the notebook, if they no longer need access.

This approach ensures transparency and provides helpful context to the requester.

Viewing a Denied Request

If a request is denied, the requester can go to the DOI Management tab and click Show Denied DOI Requests to review past submissions. To remove them from view, click Hide Denied DOI Requests.

To view the granter’s comment, hover over the comment icon. This allows the requester to understand the decision and improve future submissions if needed.