For biological macromolecules, where structures and experimental data have traditionally been deposited in a central archive (the Protein Data Bank), integrating structural data with derivative publications is more complex. IUCr journals have developed an online publication tool that can extract deposited macromolecular data from the archive, and prompt the author for the additional information required for the fullest characterisation of a macromolecular structure determination. Again, the goal is to maximise the integrity of the scientific discussion.