Archived copy. This is a static snapshot of the OPF community Q&A (qanda.digipres.org), preserved from its Question2Answer database. It is read-only and nothing here has been edited since capture in August 2026. To ask new questions, use the OPF community on GitHub.

Community questions

133 questions preserved from the OPF digital-preservation Q&A, newest first.

2votes 1answers 1views
What is a good tool for normalizing image file formats?

asked by aalster on 29 Jan 2024
5votes 1answers 1views
What is a good tool to create a graphical map of a web site (sitemap)?

asked by despens on 15 Oct 2021
- web-archiving
6votes 2answers 1views

How to access a subset of Web Archive pages from a vintage web browser on vintage hardware?

asked by EriolGaurhoth on 29 Sep 2020
7votes 1answers 1views
Tools to accession via file transfer

asked by francesm224 on 21 Jan 2020
3votes 1answers 1views
Best practices for digitising tapes captured at a low resolution

asked by bernieh on 29 Oct 2019
4votes 1answers 277views
Do you have any LTFS Tape Library Recommendations?

asked by sarah.barsness on 11 Dec 2018
2votes 1answers 839views
Best way to crawl website from localhost with wget, preserving all files in source directory

asked by johanvanderknijff on 3 Jul 2018
3votes 2answers 567views
Best way to read SCSI tape drive on a modern PC?

asked by johanvanderknijff on 6 Jun 2018
- digital-forensics
- hardware
1votes 1answers 775views
Merging & Deduping WARC files

asked by richard on 1 May 2018
4votes 1answers 187views
Does anyone have a procedure in place for redacting selected content (e.g. PII) from files that they can share?

asked by kussmann on 7 Feb 2018
- redaction
1votes 1answers 637views
Is there any best practice/guidance on where to store, in METS, metadata about digitisation/digital creation processes?

asked by petemay on 7 Feb 2018
2votes 0answers 222views

What are the risks involved in a DIY solution like RODA?

asked by inlutero on 7 Feb 2018
1votes 1answers 123views
Does splitting large master files (temporarily) go against best practices?

asked by jwil127 on 7 Feb 2018
2votes 2answers 516views
Digital Preservation - Server Side

asked by richard on 7 Feb 2018
1votes 1answers 431views
External Write Blocker that works with an External Optical Drive?

asked by Gill Amos on 7 Feb 2018
1votes 1answers 267views
Is checking fixity at the folder level sufficient for knowing if any files within that folder that been altered?

asked by cathymiller85 on 7 Feb 2018
- fixity
- checksums
2votes 2answers 602views
What are current best practices for acquiring & preserving Google Docs?

asked by ChristiePeterson on 5 Feb 2018
3votes 4answers 580views
How/where to store metadata about optical media sector layout in METS/PREMIS

asked by johanvanderknijff on 5 Feb 2018
0votes 1answers 238views
IP limiting/restrictions for providing in-house access to copyrighted/restricted material?

asked by sarah.barsness on 11 Sep 2017
0votes 1answers 435views
Ingesting large & hybrid digital collections

asked by erwinverb on 18 May 2017
- web-archiving
- ingest
2votes 1answers 305views
Preserving VCD's, what is the best format

asked by thorsted on 21 Dec 2016
2votes 1answers 598views
Are there accepted alternatives to WAVE for storing audio files larger than 4GB?

asked by nkrabben on 23 Jun 2016
- audio
- file-formats
0votes 1answers 427views
Best SIP / AIP creation practices for optical carriers that span multiple volumes

asked by johanvanderknijff on 22 Jun 2016
1votes 1answers 1034views
Parity data for ISO images: anyone doing this? Best practices?

asked by johanvanderknijff on 25 May 2016
2votes 3answers 701views

I am looking for a straightforward accession tool. Can people please advise?

asked by psleeman on 1 Apr 2016
0votes 3answers 661views
How can I set up a test instance of Archivematica on OS X (10.11.2)?

asked by todrobbins on 1 Apr 2016
- archivematica
0votes 1answers 945views
DIY digitisation, good or bad?

asked by bernieh on 18 Feb 2016
0votes 2answers 334views
Setting a custom date for wget or wpull?

asked by despens on 17 Dec 2015
- web-archiving
- warc
2votes 1answers 802views

How should an organisation QA the results of its outsourced web archiving activities?

asked by prwheatley on 25 Nov 2015
0votes 1answers 334views

Managing Timestamps

asked by Elizabeth on 29 Oct 2015
1votes 3answers 1616views
Best method to record track playing order for ripped audio CDs

asked by johanvanderknijff on 20 Oct 2015
0votes 2answers 424views

CD-ROM / DVD imaging: is it customary to save scans of booklets / covers as well?

asked by johanvanderknijff on 22 Sep 2015
2votes 4answers 1811views
Incomplete ISO image after imaging CD-ROM - how to prevent and detect this?

asked by johanvanderknijff on 3 Sep 2015
1votes 2answers 2020views
What organizations are preserving software?

asked by euanc on 13 Aug 2015
- software-preservation
- software
2votes 3answers 43507views
Is it problematic to include spaces in file names?

asked by elisedunham on 9 Jul 2015
- filenames
3votes 1answers 890views
Favorite online resources to learn more about DP tools?

asked by POWRR on 7 Jul 2015
1votes 3answers 674views
Strategy for preserving scanned files outside of repository

asked by bernieh on 1 Jul 2015
2votes 1answers 548views
What are best hardware/software for automated back-up to external hard drive?

asked by elisedunham on 9 Jun 2015
- storage
- external-hard-drives
1votes 1answers 954views
Recommendations - Drives for Offline Storage

asked by sarah.barsness on 4 Jun 2015
3votes 4answers 1515views
Preserving PDF files with multimedia content

asked by thorsted on 20 May 2015
1votes 1answers 5757views
How to distinguish 68k and PPC executables on classic Macintoshes?

asked by despens on 26 Mar 2015
-1votes 0answers 423views
Scanned manuscript - saved as TIFF image files in archival disc. Is it Ok

asked by Nanjundiah on 16 Feb 2015
1votes 0answers 499views
Any LTP "Packaging Format" Standard you Support that Makes More Sense than WARC?

asked by tibaut.houzanme on 13 Feb 2015
4votes 4answers 5647views
Is there a GUI alternative to Bagger that performs a similar function?

asked by andrewjbtw on 6 Feb 2015
- tools
- checksums
3votes 1answers 638views
Tool(s) for extracting administrative metadata from WARC?

asked by blumenthal on 29 Jan 2015
0votes 1answers 225views
Optimal file sizes for access PDFs

asked by bernieh on 24 Jan 2015
0votes 1answers 240views

Splitting PDFs while preserving quality

asked by bernieh on 21 Jan 2015
2votes 1answers 1678views
What preservation format for video to use when digitizing VHS tapes?

asked by Branko on 5 Jan 2015
1votes 1answers 3949views
Who uses the SPOT Model for Risk Assessment?

asked by fryerc on 15 Dec 2014
0votes 1answers 2037views
Does anyone have experience capturing and archiving WeChat data?

asked by thomasgpadilla on 9 Dec 2014
0votes 1answers 874views
Does anybody have experience with a CRU USB Media Writeblocker?

asked by sarah.barsness on 2 Dec 2014
- hardware
- technology
1votes 3answers 28634views

How to open WARC files

asked by bernieh on 27 Nov 2014
2votes 2answers 627views
Tools for identifying obfuscated files, specifically password protected and encrypted formats?

asked by ross-spencer on 23 Nov 2014
4votes 4answers 1475views
When is "Preservation Format" a useful concept in digital preservation?

asked by tjowens on 18 Nov 2014
1votes 1answers 606views
Should data repositories remove illegal characters from filenames?

asked by CDearborn on 13 Nov 2014
3votes 2answers 6790views
What is a good way to record information about the funding of a preservation project?

asked by nkrabben on 7 Nov 2014
- metadata
- donor
3votes 1answers 6701views
How to detect Hybrid ISOs?

asked by despens on 4 Nov 2014
1votes 1answers 865views
Is there a standard way of citing OAIS?

asked by elisedunham on 31 Oct 2014
- oais
1votes 1answers 1627views
What are some techniques for safely preserving virus-infected files?

asked by andrewjbtw on 28 Oct 2014
- viruses
3votes 3answers 4984views
Is Multipage Tiff an acceptable Preservation format?

asked by evanwill on 10 Oct 2014
- multipage-tif
2votes 2answers 2631views
Best Practices for Accessioning Email from Web Applications?

asked by tjowens on 30 Sep 2014
- acquisition
- email
2votes 1answers 229views
Are there frameworks or standards for migration testing available?

asked by mgallinger on 24 Sep 2014
2votes 2answers 763views

External 3.5 disk drive recommendation?

asked by Matt Gorzalski on 23 Sep 2014
3votes 2answers 348views
Any written policies on retention of digital surrogates?

asked by lljohnston on 15 Sep 2014
0votes 1answers 2725views
Can cover sheets be part of an AIP?

asked by bernieh on 10 Sep 2014
- oais
4votes 1answers 15294views
Is there a web archiving tool that produces WARC + directory tree?

asked by benfinoradin on 9 Sep 2014
4votes 4answers 6645views
What tools do you use for the ongoing monitoring of checksums?

asked by sarah.barsness on 9 Sep 2014
0votes 1answers 8851views

Must SIPs, DIPs and AIPs have separate copies of an object file?

asked by bernieh on 3 Sep 2014
2votes 1answers 370views
Could MarkDown support be added to this site?

asked by johanvanderknijff on 27 Aug 2014
- meta
- markdown
1votes 1answers 371views
Documenting Scope and Content for Web Archives

asked by tjowens on 22 Aug 2014
3votes 1answers 831views
What is the break down for common long-term preservation costs?

asked by mgallinger on 21 Aug 2014
2votes 1answers 3025views
What are the most effective ways to minimize latency issues in geographically distributed collections?

asked by mgallinger on 21 Aug 2014
3votes 2answers 10151views

Digital preservation in sharepoint environment

asked by RichardMommsen on 18 Aug 2014
3votes 3answers 10680views
When should Archives Complement the Acquisition of a Personal Papers Collection with Web Archiving?

asked by tjowens on 13 Aug 2014
2votes 2answers 5986views
How are data files used with ArcGIS software are handled for digital preservation?

asked by mgallinger on 7 Aug 2014
- gis
- software-licensing
0votes 1answers 17122views
How would we approach providing long-term access to Digital Preservation Q&A?

asked by JMullins on 4 Aug 2014
- meta
1votes 1answers 550views
What are the content appraisal at scale practices that are most useful?

asked by mgallinger on 1 Aug 2014
3votes 0answers 150views
What factors should be considered for at-scale content appraisal?

asked by mgallinger on 1 Aug 2014
- collection-appraisal
1votes 1answers 1694views
What are best practices for cleaning floppy drive heads?

asked by ChristiePeterson on 30 Jul 2014
1votes 3answers 3597views
What makes for well defined selection criteria for an Archive-It Web Archive collection?

asked by tjowens on 30 Jul 2014
0votes 2answers 484views
Are there guidelines or best practices for preserving iOS apps and iBooks?

asked by lily on 24 Jul 2014
- apps
- ebooks
1votes 2answers 1292views
What specifications are available for digital preservation and processing workstations?

asked by lljohnston on 24 Jul 2014
2votes 1answers 3354views
What are best practices/recommendations for how often to check fixity of content?

asked by elisedunham on 24 Jul 2014
- fixity
- checksums
1votes 1answers 469views
What should be in a digital preservation strategic plan?

asked by tjowens on 23 Jul 2014
- policy
- planning
1votes 3answers 974views

When accessioning born-digital materials, what actions should I take after discovering virus-contaminated materials?

asked by chelcie on 23 Jul 2014
1votes 2answers 773views
What storage hardware should I use for a LOCKSS node?

asked by jeffersonbailey on 23 Jul 2014
- technology
1votes 2answers 3010views

What should I consider when evaluating a request to delete materials from a digital preservation environment?

asked by chelcie on 23 Jul 2014
1votes 2answers 269views
Is simple fixity information valuable to digital stewards?

asked by SpencerGoodwin on 23 Jul 2014
1votes 2answers 5047views
What are the specs of workstations people are using for digital preservation activities?

asked by SpencerGoodwin on 23 Jul 2014
- hardware
- government
2votes 2answers 6454views
Is there a matchmaking service to match my legacy media with other institutions' hardware?

asked by SpencerGoodwin on 23 Jul 2014
- hardware
- institutional-resources
2votes 1answers 1627views
What criteria should I consider when determining the hardware specs for a disk imaging station?

asked by chelcie on 23 Jul 2014
4votes 2answers 450views
Should collecting institutions keep external storage media once the digital content has been extracted?

asked by chelcie on 23 Jul 2014
- media
- acquisition
1votes 1answers 1514views
What settings should be used when imaging floppy disks using a Kryoflux device?

asked by euanc on 21 Jul 2014
1votes 2answers 863views
What encryption would you using for LTO tape for long-term storage or transport, why?

asked by Gail Truman on 21 Jul 2014
3votes 3answers 410views

Should there be a Pronom ID for unidentifiable/unidentified?

asked by euanc on 15 Jul 2014
5votes 2answers 2170views
Do filesystem-based checksums add value in a digital preservation context?

asked by michael on 15 Jul 2014
0votes 3answers 321views

Standards for digital preservation

asked by Helen Afi on 15 Jul 2014
3votes 1answers 911views
How to browse web archives using an old browser?

asked by anjackson on 8 Jul 2014
0votes 2answers 2558views
What format questions to ask and considerations to make in acquisition of born digital architectural drawings?

asked by tjowens on 7 Jul 2014
1votes 1answers 368views
Where can digital preservation system/tool requirements be found online?

asked by euanc on 3 Jul 2014
2votes 1answers 1149views
What are the research and development needs for digital cultural heritage?

asked by jsternfeld on 3 Jul 2014
2votes 2answers 1934views
Has anyone used a USB bridge & converter cables to writeblock non-USB devices?

asked by sarah.barsness on 27 Jun 2014
2votes 1answers 280views
Is AFF the best choice for digital preservationists who create images?

asked by ChristiePeterson on 26 Jun 2014
1votes 3answers 194views
What makes a good answer?

asked by ChristiePeterson on 26 Jun 2014
- meta
2votes 1answers 641views
What makes a good question?

asked by ChristiePeterson on 26 Jun 2014
- meta
3votes 4answers 1601views
What are the best examples of file format action plans?

asked by tjowens on 25 Jun 2014
- planning
- file-formats
1votes 1answers 596views
When to redact AIPs vs DIPs in digital archives workflows?

asked by tjowens on 24 Jun 2014
3votes 1answers 243views
How should digital preservation tools be funded?

asked by euanc on 20 Jun 2014
3votes 2answers 2495views
What do you (or should you do) with ‘thumbs.db’ and other hidden system files?

asked by crouchmi on 17 Jun 2014
5votes 3answers 2128views
Unusual sources of file format signatures

asked by richardlehane on 6 Jun 2014
- file-formats
3votes 3answers 752views
What is the service life of an external hard drive?

asked by nkrabben on 5 Jun 2014
- hard-drives
- external-hard-drives
0votes 1answers 289views
Should discussion about questions be in the comments or the answer fields?

asked by euanc on 5 Jun 2014
- meta
2votes 5answers 6400views

How many State Archives have deployed a digital preservation system? What systems are they using?

asked by Vinh-Doyle on 5 Jun 2014
3votes 1answers 3917views
How should you scope a crawl for web archiving online discussion forums

asked by tjowens on 5 Jun 2014
6votes 2answers 16958views
What techniques are there for detecting similar images at large scale?

asked by anjackson on 4 Jun 2014
3votes 1answers 2290views

A tool to detect encrypted Office documents?

asked by richardlehane on 29 May 2014
0votes 1answers 415views
What is Preservation Planning?

asked by fryerc on 28 May 2014
4votes 2answers 744views
How can we ensure obsolete software can be legally used for digital preservation and access?

asked by euanc on 21 May 2014
5votes 7answers 2778views
What is a file format?

asked by euanc on 21 May 2014
2votes 3answers 311views
What is "Preservation Metadata"?

asked by petemay on 14 May 2014
- metadata
- terminology
1votes 3answers 7895views
What format questions to ask and considerations to make in acquisition of born digital photography collections

asked by tjowens on 22 Apr 2014
2votes 1answers 12933views
How do I take a forensic image of an Android smartphone?

asked by nkrabben on 15 Apr 2014
0votes 2answers 990views
Where can I find guidance or standards for environmental storage conditions for new and older legacy media types?

asked by JMandelbaum on 27 Mar 2014
2votes 2answers 3450views
When should one keep database content in an original format and when to export or flaten it?

asked by tjowens on 27 Mar 2014
4votes 4answers 1250views
What are the reasons for saving disk images?

asked by JMandelbaum on 7 Mar 2014
5votes 1answers 2076views
What are the benefits and risks of using the PDF-A file format?

asked by JMandelbaum on 7 Mar 2014
- file-formats
2votes 2answers 4192views
What are the recommendations for brand or type of hardware write blocker?

asked by JMandelbaum on 7 Mar 2014
- technology
- tools
4votes 6answers 7500views
What are the most essential technical/how-to guides that anyone getting started in digital preservation should read?

asked by tjowens on 6 Mar 2014
1votes 1answers 9260views
To what extent do cryptographic hash (MD5, SHA1, etc.) collisions rates matter for fixity checking?

asked by tjowens on 3 Mar 2014
2votes 1answers 660views
What are the best CD/DVD-ROM drives for disc imaging?

asked by jeffersonbailey on 13 Feb 2014
- imaging
- optical
3votes 1answers 2616views
What should be the qualifications for digital archivist jobs?

asked by tjowens on 2 Dec 2013
- workforce
- archives
3votes 1answers 189views
Is digitisation on topic?

asked by anjackson on 2 Dec 2013
2votes 1answers 184views
Comparative lifetimes of digital media

asked by anjackson on 1 Dec 2013
- storage
- lifetime