This webinar provides an introduction to file format identification and characterisation tools which have been developed or extended as part of the SCAPE Project.

It covers the basic principals of file format identification, and shows how format information drives digital preservation workflows.

Participants will be given an overview of file format registries, and their role in digital preservation, and will see demonstrations of identification and characterisation tools including fido and tika.

We will provide a Virtual Machine image with samples files and step-by-step worksheets to allow participants to try out these exercises for themselves after the webinar with support.

Learning outcomes (by the end of the webinar and exercises, participants
will be able to):

• Distinguish between different file types and identify the requirements for characterising each of them.
• Carry out identification and characterisation experiments on example files.
• Compare characterisation and identification tools and understand their advantages and disadvantages when used in different scenarios.

Session Lead: Carl Wilson, OPF
Date: Friday 25 October
Time: 12 noon BST / 13:00 CET
Duration: 1 hour (please note this includes the presentation and demonstrations. Practical exercises can be carried out after the webinar).

There are 25 places available which will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.