1. Getting started printCIF is distributed as a Microsoft Word template, 'printCIF.dot' (this version is designed for use with Word 2000 onwards, running on a PC under Windows 95 onwards), along with some resource files, all contained in the folder 'printCIF'. To start the program, double-click the file 'printCIF.dot'. This should open Word and activate printCIF, which will request a CIF file to open. Two template CIFs are provided (crystal.cif and powder.cif), either of which may prove useful as a starting point from which to explore printCIF for the first time. Note that if printCIF does not display any dialog boxes when 'printCIF.dot' is double-clicked, Word's macro security settings are probably set to 'high'. In this case, choose the menu combination 'Tools...Macro...Security...' in order to change Word's security setting to 'medium'; then close Word and restart printCIF by double-clicking 'printCIF.dot'. 2. Overview printCIF can be used to obtain a preprint of a crystal structure paper from a CIF. printCIF extracts both single-crystal and powder data from a CIF and formats it as a rich-text format (RTF) document in the style of an Acta Crystallographica Section C or E preprint, according to the data selection criteria employed by the IUCr. As well as standing alone as a preprint, the generated RTF document provides a link to the source CIF data: by simply clicking text in the preprint, the corresponding CIF data will be displayed in a separate CIF window, which serves as a basic text editor. printCIF is intended to be complimentary to CIF-editing programs such as enCIFer. Although printCIF facilitates CIF editing and enables CIF syntax checking, it does not provide full crystallographic data validation; rather, it is designed to assist authors with manuscript preparation and archival using the CIF. To this end, printCIF offers a number of RTF-to-CIF translation functions. It is possible to edit parts of the RTF preprint and then update the CIF with the edited text. In this way, authors can write much of their manuscript using the word processor and then automatically include the text in the CIF as the appropriate data items. The important aspect of printCIF to be borne in mind is that both the CIF and the RTF preprint are editable. Ultimately it is the CIF that is submitted to the journal, so if you edit the RTF it is important to remember to update the CIF and be aware that updating the CIF using the RTF will replace existing data items. That said, printCIF should prove to be a useful tool for preparing crystal structure papers as a CIF, enabling an author to both preview a CIF-generated manuscript and to use a familiar word processor to archive a manuscript in the perhaps less-familiar CIF format.