ETDplus FileFormats Slides-compressed · File Format Conversions • Options include proprietary,...
Transcript of ETDplus FileFormats Slides-compressed · File Format Conversions • Options include proprietary,...
WorkshopBackground
Purpose• Toprovideyouwithresourcesandtoolstohelp
youknowhowtohandlefileformatdecisionsasaresearcher.
Context• WorkshopSeries:PreservationandCurationof
ETDResearchDataandComplexDigitalObjects• Othertopics:Copyright,DataOrganization,
Metadata,Storage,VersionControl• https://educopia.org/research/etdplus
Photo by Dmitri Popov on Unsplash
LearningObjectives
• Understandyouhavearangeoffileformatoptionsandthateachchoicehasimplicationsforfutureuseandaccess.
• Gainexposuretotoolsforarchivingparticularlychallengingfiletypes(e.g.,webpages).
• Understandhowtoreduceyourriskviausingexportand“saveas”functions.
Photo by Christian Fregnan on Unsplash
• 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).
Photo by Bryan Minear on Unsplash
Informingyourdecision
• SustainabilityofDigitalFormatshttps://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/intro/intro.shtml
• RecommendedFormatsStatementhttps://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rf s/
Photo by Lou Levit on Unsplash
• Wayback Machine(InternetArchive)https://archive.org/web/
• RobustLinkshttp://robustlinks.mementoweb.org/• Screenshots
ArchivingWeb-basedResources
Photo by Logan Popoff on Unsplash
FileFormatConversions
• Optionsincludeproprietary,freeware,andopensourcesolutions.
• Formatsinbroaduseusuallyhavemoreavailableoptionsforconversion.
• Whenyouconvertthefile,recognizethattheprocessmaytransformyourcontent.
• Beforeyouconvert,identifywhatcharacteristicsaremostimportanttomaintainintheconversionprocess.
Photo by Chelsea Bock on Unsplash
SpecificPDFadvice
• Embedfonts.• Embedhyperlinks.• Stabilizehyperlinks.• Storesupplementarymaterialsasseparatefiles.• VerifyPDF/Acompliance.• TestEVERYTHING.
Photo by Ahmad Kadhim on Unsplash
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?
?Photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash