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Microsoft Office and PDF Document Guidelines

One of the keys to long-term digital preservation is the use of non-proprietary, standard formats.  As you consider how best to preserve your materials, we encourage you to convert files from proprietary formats to standardized, open formats whenever possible.  The following are some options to consider. 

Microsoft Word

• Convert the Word document to a Unicode text (UTF-8) file (.txt).
• If retaining the original formatting is important, you may wish to save the file as PDF (see below).

Microsoft Excel

• Export this file as a tab-delimited or Unicode text (UTF-8) file (.txt)
• If retaining the original formatting is important, you may wish to save the file as PDF (see below).

Microsoft PowerPoint

• Save the document as a TIFF (.tif) image file. A separate file will be created for each PowerPoint slide.
• Another option is to save the document as a PDF (see below).

Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)

Adobe has recently announced plans to open up its source documentation and submit it for full ISO certification. This move suggests Adobe’s willingness to ensure the long term support and viability of this file format to its community of users. Until such certification, users may wish to save their files in the PDF/A format. Also known as the PDF for Archive, this format currently has ISO certification. The University of Michigan provides an extensive set of instructions on how to create high quality PDF/A files. You may wish to visit this site prior to creating your PDF documents.

• http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/html/2027.42/40244/PDF-Best_Practice.html

References

“Best Practices for Microsoft Office Documents” Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40245/1/MicrosoftOffice-Best_Practice.pdf

“Best Practices for Producing High Quality PDF Files” Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/html/2027.42/40244/PDF-Best_Practice.html

Adobe press release: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200701/012907OpenPDFAIIM.html

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