The Repository is equipped to support a broad range of digital formats, however not all file types are suitable for long-term preservation. Please refer to the following chart for guidance on what file formats are eligible for submission. These guidelines are based on how suitable the file format is for an archival setting, as well as its ability to be uploaded using our submission form. If your work is currently in a file format that is not accepted by the Repository, it may still be eligible after being converted to the proper file format. Additionally, some file formats may be accepted via email if they cannot be uploaded using the submission form.
| format | ideal: can be submitted via form or email | accepted: must email repository before submiting | not accepted |
|---|---|---|---|
| text |
PDF/A (.pdf)
|
Microsoft 2007 or newer (.docx, .pptx) |
Microsoft 2003 or older (.doc) WordPerfect (.wpd) Open Office (.odt, .odp, .sxi) Plain Text (US-ASCII, UTF-8) (.txt) All other text formats not listed. |
| image |
JPEG (.jpg) JPEG 2000 (.jp2) PNG (.png) |
TIFF (.tif, .tiff uncompressed) SVG (no JAVA binding) (.svg)
|
Photoshop Document (.psd) High Efficiency Image File Format (.heic, .heif) Graphics Interchange Format (.gif) All other image formats not listed. |
| audio |
AIFF (.aif, .aiff) MP3 (.mp3) WAV (.wav) |
AVI (uncompressed) (.avi) QuickTime (.mov) |
All other audio formats not listed. |
| video | MPEG-4 (.mp4) |
AVI (uncompressed) (.avi) QuickTime (.mov) |
All other video formats not listed. |
Research and experience have shown that the likelihood of successful long-term preservation of content is much higher when file formats possess the following characteristics:
