In today’s modern and technological society, information is available anytime-anywhere. Data is within our reach and very accessible. We can create, send download information that can help us in many ways. But the sad truth about data is, all forms of it will eventually become obsolete in time. Just think of the long history of record-keeping, from the ancient papyrus scroll to floppy disk. We can be sure that eventually, new technological advancements will eliminate the need for flash drives. Technology indeed allows us so much information, but it will leave only a small percentage of this information in years. So when it comes to your documents, it’s advisable to make sure to store them securely just until a new method of transmitting and storing would come. But how is the question most of us have? This article will show you how we can store files safely for long-term use.
How to Prepare your file for Long Term?
Today most companies use paperless documentation and learn more about digital archiving. Yes, the paper will still be around and still is one way to safely store files. But as processes around us become more digitalized, it also requires us to be able to transmit files digitally. So to kill two birds with one stone- that is to save your files for the next years to come and be able to send and share them, you have to convert PDF to PDFA format. However, If your files are not in pdf format the first step to do is to convert them into PDF format. If you have documents in Excel, Word, PPT, HTML, JPEG you have to convert them to PDF format to be able to convert them to PDFA.
Once you have converted your files to PDF format or if you already have them in PDF format, you can then convert your files into the PDFA. How can you convert PDF to PDFA? We recommend that you use a website that has the PDF to PDFA tool like GogoPDF. If you haven’t converted your files yet to PDF you can also find in GogoP
DF conversion tools that will help you convert your file format to PDF. Visit the GogoPDF website and you will see there is a PDF TO PDFA conversion tool among its options and you will see these simple steps:
- Get the PDF file from your device, or drag and drop it into the converter box.
- GogoPDF will begin the process.
- Wait until the converter turns your PDF file into PDF/A.
- Download and save your new PDF file on your computer. Copy the link and share it on any of your social media accounts!
After that, you’re done. Why do we have to convert the PDF format to PDFA? The PDF is the most portable, compact format that allows us to view files uniformly regardless of any device. BUT! It can’t preserve content over a long period. The PDFA on the other hand is a standardized version of the PDF and is made especially for archiving documents and preserving softcopy to be used in the future. It preserves the content of the electronic documents and makes them accessible and can be retrieved with a consistent result. In short, PDFA is a higher version of the PDF. So we had to have PDF to be able to convert it to the next level format.
Converting your PDF files to PDFA ensures that your documents will be safe from future instances when old computer systems will become outdated or when software products expire or become more inaccessible because of changes. Being able to plan things and managing files help businesses that depend on essential files to function like legal offices and institutions like libraries and research centers to be successful. And today’s processes are already starting to require us to transition from using hard copy data to electronic copies. These already include hospital results, thesis and schoolwork, and other personal data. So what file formats we choose now will have a huge impact on retaining our documents. To make sure that your files are still usable for the years to come, be sure to convert them to PDFA.
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Takeaway
Technology will change the way we live and function without anyone’s permission. No one will ever be prepared for the change that technology brings. But we can at least observe the changes that are taking place and see what direction it will take. So if you have files that are in need to be suited up for longer use or a business owner who has files to secure, then the smart way to ensure the longevity of your files is to do digital archiving and convert files format to PDFA.