4 Awesome Long-term Archiving Hacks

As famous philosophers have said before, “Change is the only constant in life.” That is indeed evident from our history, and we are still moving forward. In the information and technological society that we live in, things that seem epoch-making at present may be overtaken in just a few years.

The fast pace of change that we experience in our everyday lives can cause good and bad things. For instance, we can do something much more manageable with the upgrades in tech. On the downside, preserving our files and making sure that we have access to them might be challenging.

PDF/A files can ease your worries in case you are archiving your documents for a long time. With this excellent file format, rest assured you can open your files a few years later. Learn why PDF/A files are essential and how you can convert your PDFs to this version.

PDF/A vs. PDF

You might have encountered search results or topics on the web about PDF to PDFA and the like. It is thought-provoking that many people ask about this specific file format, but you are clueless about it. You are on the right page if you want to know about PDF/A files. But don’t you think PDF/A is connected with PDFs?

It is pretty common to know that PDFs are popular for document formatting preservation, password protection, easy transmission, and things similar to these attributes. On the other hand, PDF/A is another version of PDF, but with a subtle distinction from it. PDF/A’s primary purpose is to preserve your files for long-term storage.

PDF/A eliminates the characteristics or features of the portable document format that threaten the access of files. For instance, it would remove font linking and password encryption. Everything unsuitable for archiving your files for an extended period gets removed in this file format. All the things necessary to display your document are embedded in the file itself.

How to Turn Your PDFs to PDF/A in PDFBear

You can indeed find many online web services that can do this file conversion. Using the most convenient one for you (which can be pretty subjective) would be best. Among these online tools, we recommend using the PDF to PDF/A converter of PDFBear. Like others, it is completely free and pretty straightforward to use, but it outshines them in several ways.

The tool by PDFBear can turn your PDF to PDF/A files in just a few moments. Whether you are a tech expert or not, you can use this excellent tool with a friendly user interface. Moreover, you can access it on any device without installing any software application. All you have to do is connect to the Internet, go to its website, and do the following steps!

Select your file from your directory and upload it to the conversion tool.
PDFBear will scan your document and convert it automatically.
Simply wait for PDFBear to finish the conversion!
Download and store your new files that are archivable for extended periods in a safe space.

Now that you have optimized your files for archiving, executing proper file management via PDFBear is a must to protect your files. Who knows? You might have ensured that your files launch correctly in the future, but you may lose them midway. Follow these other clever tips that will make your files more tidy and protected.

Backup Your Files

Backing up your files means having another copy of your documents in another storage—Cloud or external drive. Doing this regularly is good practice to make sure that each file of yours has a duplicate. If your computer gets attacked by malware, gets damaged, or your disk gets corrupted, you can rest assured that your files remain safe no matter what.

Sort Your Documents

By the word sort, we are not pertaining to the function included in your file explorer or viewer. Instead, this term refers to how you must organize your files. For instance, you can group them into different categories: date, type, modified, name, and many more. Following a unique file naming scheme would also be recommended for easier locating of documents in the future.

Make a Main Folder and Store More Folders Within

One problem that many of us suffer from is the difficulty of remembering which folder did you save a specific file on. For instance, you might have set the Downloads folder as default when making your work. Later, when you look for your file in the Documents folder, you can’t find it (of course!).

Creating the main folder to keep all your files would be much better. Then, create more folders inside to categorize and further organize your documents. This way, you know where to find your files, and you would not be lost in cluttered folders!

Why Store Your Documents Long-Term?

Think of how understanding our past can lead to better planning and improvement. Similarly, keeping records is essential for businesses and other institutions. The agreements and contracts that last long need proper documentation to ensure that no one involved reneges on their word.

Moreover, we cannot measure how long is long. Maybe a few years later, we might not be able to open our documents because of lost font styles, decryption errors, and the like. By then, the essential files that lie in our archives might be compromised. Converting to PDF/A will solve all these worries.

Final Thoughts

The various changes and advancements in technology may threaten our access to our files. We might not be able to open our PDFs because of lost fonts and failed decryption in the future. We can remove this issue by converting them to PDF/A, simultaneously embedding everything needed to open the file inside.

To further ensure that our files are safe and tidy, proper file management is necessary. Make backups and sort them. Grab your files now and try these things today! See the difference yourself!

Also read about GogoPDF if working with PDFs!