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How to Set Up Full-Text Screening in Rayyan

Vanessa Godoy
  • Updated

Before you beginComplete your Title and Abstract (TiAb) screening and resolve all conflicts before starting Full-Text Screening (FTS). When adding articles, turn Blind Mode off first — with Blind Mode on, only your own decisions are visible. For example, if you included 100 articles independently but your team collectively included 130, adding with Blind Mode on would only bring in your 100. With Blind Mode off, the full team’s consolidated set is visible. Turn Blind Mode back on once articles are added and before your team begins FTS.

How to add articles to Full-Text Screening

FTS does not populate automatically — you select and add articles manually. All articles enter FTS as Undecided regardless of their TiAb decisions. Labels, exclusion reasons, notes, and attached PDFs carry over automatically.

  1. Navigate to the Full text screening tab in your review
  2. Click Add articles
  3. Select which references to add — choose from Included, Maybe, or Labeled
  4. If you choose Labeled, click Choose Labeled Data to select which label to use
  5. Confirm your selection — the references are added to the FTS stage
Common issue A mismatch between the number of articles included during TiAb screening and those appearing in FTS is expected — FTS only contains the articles you have explicitly added. If articles are missing, click Add articles and add them from the appropriate source.

How to attach full-text PDFs

Attaching PDFs is recommended — it lets you read the full article directly within Rayyan and keeps your review traceable. You have three options:

  • Upload manually — find the reference in the FTS stage and click Attach PDF to upload the file from your device
  • Auto-Retrieve PDF — available on paid plans. Searches your My Library for PDFs that match references by DOI and other identifiers, and attaches them automatically in bulk. Access it from the toolbar in the FTS stage
  • Auto-Match — available on paid plans. When uploading PDFs from your device through the upload wizard, Rayyan automatically matches and attaches each PDF to its corresponding reference based on title comparison

If you do not have a PDF available, you can read the article through another source and return to Rayyan to record your decision — though attaching the PDF directly in Rayyan is always recommended for a complete review record.

Note For full details on uploading, managing, and auto-retrieving PDFs, see How to Add and Manage Full-Text PDFs in Rayyan.

Updating FTS after new TiAb inclusions

If you include additional references in Screening after FTS has already started, the FTS stage will not update automatically. Go to the Full text screening tab, click Add articles again, and select the appropriate source. Rayyan detects and adds only the newly eligible references — skipping any already in FTS to avoid duplicates.

Continue to: How to Complete Full-Text Screening in Rayyan

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