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Dimensions: Access

Dimensions is a database of publications, grants, patents, and clinical trials.

Access to Dimensions

The Dimensions citation database comes in two versions: a more limited, free, public version; and the full version, Dimensions Plus, which is restricted to authenticated users. The full version of Dimensions is accessible by the Caltech community in three ways:

  1. By accessing the URL from any IP address in the caltech.edu domain.
  2. By accessing the URL through the Caltech VPN service.
  3. By logging in using Caltech Access credentials.

Both the free version and Dimensions Plus are at the URL https://app.dimensions.ai/. If you are on the Caltech campus or using VPN off campus, you will automatically be connected to the full version, whether or not you log in.

Logging into Dimensions with your access.caltech credentials is necessary in order to use the full version off campus (without VPN), and to use any of the personalization features, such as saving records. These services are provided through a separate, but related, product called ReadCube. In deciding whether to log in or to use VPN when off campus you may wish to consider the following:

  • When you first use Dimensions with your access.caltech credentials you will establish a free ReadCube account. This is how Dimensions will manage your personal bibliography. If you prefer NOT to have a ReadCube account then you should use VPN to connect and forgo the personalization services. If you wish to save records to the ReadCube library then you will need to establish a Dimensions/ReadCube account.
  • If you do create a ReadCube account the only information that ReadCube will have is your caltech.edu login ID/email, and, if you provide it, your role at Caltech.

See the ReadCube tab for more information.