WorkshopBackground

Purpose• Toprovideyouwithresourcesandtoolstohelp

youknowhowtohandlefileformatdecisionsasaresearcher.

Context• WorkshopSeries:PreservationandCurationof

ETDResearchDataandComplexDigitalObjects• Othertopics:Copyright,DataOrganization,

Metadata,Storage,VersionControl• https://educopia.org/research/etdplus

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LearningObjectives

• Understandyouhavearangeoffileformatoptionsandthateachchoicehasimplicationsforfutureuseandaccess.

• Gainexposuretotoolsforarchivingparticularlychallengingfiletypes(e.g.,webpages).

• Understandhowtoreduceyourriskviausingexportand“saveas”functions.

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• Images:jpg,gif,tiff,png,ai,svg,...

• Video:mpeg,m2tvs,flv,dv,...

• GIS:kml,dxf,shp,tiff,...

• CAD:dxf,dwg,pdf,…

• Data:csv,mdf,fp,spv,xls,tsv,...

Examplesoffileformats

Keyconcept

Thefileformatsyouchoosewilldeterminehoweasy(ordifficult!)yourresearchoutputsaretoaccess

andbuilduponinthefuture.

Howtochoose

• Usesoftwarethatimportsandexportsdataincommonformatstowhichyouknowyou’llhavelong-termaccess.

• Askadvisorsandcolleagueswhatformatstheyuseandwhy.

• Chooseaformatwithfunctionsthatsupportyourresearchneeds(e.g.,collaboration).

• Saveyourcontentinmultipleformatstospreadyourriskacrosssoftwareplatforms(e.g.,docx,pdf,&txt;ormp4,avi,&mpg).

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Informingyourdecision

• SustainabilityofDigitalFormatshttps://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/intro/intro.shtml

• RecommendedFormatsStatementhttps://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rf s/

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• Wayback Machine(InternetArchive)https://archive.org/web/

• RobustLinkshttp://robustlinks.mementoweb.org/• Screenshots

ArchivingWeb-basedResources

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FileFormatConversions

• Optionsincludeproprietary,freeware,andopensourcesolutions.

• Formatsinbroaduseusuallyhavemoreavailableoptionsforconversion.

• Whenyouconvertthefile,recognizethattheprocessmaytransformyourcontent.

• Beforeyouconvert,identifywhatcharacteristicsaremostimportanttomaintainintheconversionprocess.

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SpecificPDFadvice

• Embedfonts.• Embedhyperlinks.• Stabilizehyperlinks.• Storesupplementarymaterialsasseparatefiles.• VerifyPDF/Acompliance.• TestEVERYTHING.

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Thereisnoperfectfileformat.Eachwillhaveadvantagesanddisadvantagesdependingonyourresearchuses.Selectafileformat,orsetoffileformats,thathelpsyoucompleteyourresearchnow,andthatyoucanaccessagaininthefuture.Thisisimportantbothforyourresearchoutputs(whatyoucreate)andyourresearchinputs(materialsyouuseintheresearchprocess).

Commonfiletypesinclude:▪ Images:jpg,gif,tiff,png,ai,svg,…▪ Video:mpeg,m2tvs,flv,dv,…▪ GIS:kml,dxf,shp,tiff,…▪ CAD:dxf,dwg,pdf,…▪ Data:csv,mdf,fp,spv,xlx,tsv,…▪ Text:txt,rtf,tvi,doc,pdf…

Considerwhatmighthappenifyoucannolongeruseyoursoftware.Whetherthesoftwarepublishergoesbankrupt,thelatestversionrefusestoreadolderdata,oryoucan’taffordapersonallicenseforitafteryougraduate,theendresultisthesame.Losingaccesstoyoursoftwarecanmeanlosingyourdata,especiallyifitistheonlysoftwarethatcanreadyourdata.

ManyETDprogramsfavorpdffiles.Ifyouexportresearchoutputstopdf,makesureyou:1. Embedyourfonts2. Embed(andtest!)hyperlinks3. Stabilizeyourweb-basedresourcesand

citations(usingatoollikeRobustLinks,Archive-It,orPermaCC)

4. Storesupplementarymaterialsasseparatefiles

5. VerifythePDF/Acompliance(useAcrobatPro“Preflight”featureunder“Edit)

Beforeyouundertakeanyconversion,youneedtoidentifywhatcharacteristicsofyourdataareimportanttomaintainduringtheconversion.Forexample,arethecolorsinadocumentorimageimportant?Isthepaginationessential?Whataboutreferences?Youwillwanttotesttheseafteryourconversioniscompletetoensurethatyouhaveaconversionthatwillmeetyourneeds.

AdditionalResources:● ListofFileFormats(Wikipedia)● RecommendedFormatsStatement

(LibraryofCongress)● EvaluatingYourFileFormats (UK

NationalArchives)● ReformattingGuides (USNational

Archives)

FileFormats

Howtoselectfileformats:● Usesoftwarethatimportsandexportsdata

incommonformats.● Askadvisorsandcolleagueswhatformats

theyuse.● Chooseaformatwithfunctionsthatsupport

yourresearchneeds.● Savefinalversionsofyourcontentin

multipleformatsinordertospreadyourriskacrossmultiplesoftwareplatforms(e.g.,docx,pdf,andtxt;ormp4,avi,andmpg).

Ifyouusewebsite-basedmaterialsasevidenceorreferences,takeprecautionstoensurethatifthecontentmoves,changes,ordisappears,youstillhaveevidenceofitsexistence.CurrenttoolstohelpyouensurethelongevityofthesematerialsincludeRobustLinks andArchive-It.Youcanalsotakescreenshotsofimportantdigitalcontentinordertopreservethelookandfeelofanobject.

Activity

• Lookatafolderofyourresearchmaterialsandanswerthefollowingquestions.

• Whatsoftwaredoyouneedtoaccessthesematerials?• Doyoufaceariskoflosingaccesstothatsoftware,nowor

inthefuture?• Wouldacolleaguebeabletoopenanduseyourmaterials

ifyoushareditwiththem?• Canyousubmityourthesis/dissertationanditsrelated

researchmaterialsusingthefileformatssupportedbythesoftwareyouareusing?

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