Future proofing of file formats

We frequently receive questions about ensuring file accessibility and readability in the future. In digital preservation and data archiving, best practices recommend storing files in recognized, well-documented, open-source formats.

The process of converting files into these well-known formats is called normalisation, and we refer to it as future proofing of files.

Normalisation is known as the process of;

“Converting copies of original files to one of a small number of non-proprietary, widely used, and preservation-friendly formats during ingest. Normalisation standardizes ingested material into a subset of formats stored by an archive and allows the archive to avoid managing many formats into the future.”

Source: Learning portal

Normalisation is crucial for ensuring data is stored in file formats with the highest likelihood of long-term survival. This methodology is followed by major national archives worldwide, including the Library of Congress (LoC), British National Archive, Open Preservation Foundation, Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), and the Norwegian National Archive. Their key responsibility is to assess and establish file format policies for optimal practical outcomes, which may include modifying file sizes and properties.

Piql's approach to file format normalisation (future proofing) is straightforward: it is up to you. As the data owner, you decide whether and how to future-proof your files—and we're here to help. You might have valid reasons to keep data in its original format, or your data may already be well-prepared for piqlFilm storage. We're always available to provide guidance and answer your questions.

How does future proofing work in piqlConnect?Copy Anchor Link

With piqlConnect we now offer an automatised method of normalising your files according to the best global standards and thus ensuring perpetual life to your memories. So how does it work?

First you create a package – this is the area where you can upload files and folders like on your own computer. When creating the package, you can choose whether you would like to future proof your data or not.

If you choose to future proof your data, all the files and folders in your package will be scanned upon upload and acted upon. We classify files into one out of three categories of file formats:

• Preferred
• Good

The Preferred file formats are those ideally suited for long-term storage and commonly chosen as primary archival formats by leading memory institutions worldwide. You will find a list of preferred formats below.

The Good file formats are widely known and well-documented formats that memory institutions typically accept. If your files are already in these formats, they are suitable for archiving and don't require normalisation.

The file formats that doesn't get any label can completely fine be stored.

If a file format is not marked as one of the two categories in piqlConnect, we will attempt to convert it to the appropriate future-proof format (Preferred) if we support that file format. For file formats that we currently do not support normalisation for, your file will just be kept without any label in the package. In this case, you have three options:

1. Keep the file as-is and proceed with storing it on piqlFilm in its current format (we can store any file format on the piqlFilm).
2. Handle the file yourself by either deleting it, converting it manually before re-uploading, uploading a different version, or removing it from the package entirely.
3. Reach out to us at support@piql.com to discuss whether we can add support for normalisation of your file format.

! When future-proofing your files in the package, we also generate a specific folder called "Normalised" where keep all the normalized versions of your files. They will all be labaled as "Preferred" in that folder.

This means that we will keep both the original file and the future proof version in the "Normalised" folder. The original file will get a "Normalised" tag next to it which points to the future-proof copy in the normalisation folder.

Below is a list of supported file formats and their classifications as Preferred, or Acceptable. Any file format not listed here will be automatically assessed if we have support for normalisation. If not, the future proof column will just be empty without any tag.

The following file types do we currently don’t support normalisation to be converted to Preferred formats, but we identify multiple formats as “Good” and can be stored with the proper file format documentation on the piqlFilm.

• Video
• Maps
• Web formats
• Databases
• CAD/3D files
• Package formats like ZIP

For these file types, our system will identify and label them as either "Good" or give no label. We're continuously working to expand our conversion capabilities—if you have questions about future-proofing these file types, please contact us.

Should you have any questions or need help to understand how to manage your files, please don’t hesitate and get in touch with us.

Piql strives to stay current with best practices in file format normalisation and future-proofing.

We base our knowledge on leading global organizations such as the Library of Congress, the Digital Preservation Coalition, the Open Preservation Foundation, and the National Archive of Norway.

For more information about this topic, you can find relevant links below.
You can also check out the FAQ for future proofing of file formats

ReferencesCopy Anchor Link

• Library of Congress (LoC) Recommended Formats Statement 2024–2025
• Norwegian Archival Regulation
• Ontario Council of University Libraries
• Digital Preservation Coalition
• Open Preservation Foundation—International Comparison of File Formats