Programs:
Programs are defined as any non-internally developed out-of-the-box software used in Digital Archives workflows. Many programs used by Digital Archives staff can be installed via Homebrew or by downloading installation files from the associated website. Programs requiring more intensive installation and configuration instructions have been given dedicated pages.
7-zip:
7-zip is used in the lab to compress evidence and cases generated in Forensic Toolkit. It is also occasionally used to unpack collection material that is not supported by FTK.
Installing 7-zip:
apple3rtr:
Apple /// Ready-to-Run (apple3rtr) is a software bundle used for MAME Apple emulation. It has been used by Digital Archives staff to view Apple II files.
apple3rtr Official Documentation
Installing apple3rtr:
For detailed installation instructions visit the apple3rtr github repo.
AWS:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform offered by Amazon. AWS S3 features are used to store copies of born-digital material both before and after the collection has been processed by archivists.
Bagger:
Bagger is an applciation created by the U.S. Library of Congress to produce files packages following the Bagit specification. It has been used in the Digital Archives lab for transferring born-digital material.
Bagit.py:
Bagit.py is a command line tool used produce files packages following the Bagit specification
Bagit.py Official Documentation
Installing Bagit.py:
Check python version by entering python --version or python3 --version into terminal. Then install using pip by entering pip install bagit or pip3 install bagit. Use the link below the main download on the VirtualBox download site to install the Extension Pack on your host.
CiderPress:
CiderPress is a Windows utility for managing Apple II disk images. It has been used in the Digital Archives Lab for viewing Apple file formats.
CiderPress Official Documentation
dbpoweramp:
dbpoweramp is a program used in conjunction with Iromlab for transferring born-digital material from optical media.
dd:
dd is a command line utility used in the Digital Archives Lab to create disk images of optical media. In most cases transfers are made of optical media instead of disk images.
Disk Utility:
Disk Utility is a MacOS utility for disk volume management. Disk Utility used by Digital Archives staff for mounting/unmounting remvable media.
Disk Utility Official Documentation
Using Disk Utility:
enter list disk or list volume to confirm media is mounted.
diskpart:
diskpart is Windows command line utility for disk partitioning. diskpart is used by Digital Archives staff for confimring removable media are properly mounted.
diskpart Official Documentation
disktype:
disktype is a command line tool used by Digital Archives staff for extracting filesystem metadata like sector format for floppy disks
disktype Official Documentation
Installing disktype:
For Mac OS:
In terminal use homebrew to install by entering brew install disktype
Using disktype:
In terminal navigate to the directory containing floppy disk image(s) and enter disktype a/disk/image.
DosBox:
DosBox is an open-source emulator for the MS-DOS operating system. DosBox has been used by Digital Archives staff to view DOS executables and word processing files.
DROID:
DROID is file format identification tool developed by the UK National Archives.
Emailchemy:
Emailchemy has been used in the Digital Archives lab for migrating email fomats.
Emailchemy Official Documentation
ePADD:
ePADD is an open-source program developed by Stanford University’s Special Collections and University Archives. The software ha been used for appraisal and arrangement of email.
Forensic Toolkit:
Forensic Toolkit is a computer forensics software used in the Digital Archives Lab to appraise and arrange born-digital material.
FTK Imager:
FTK Imager is a disk imaging program associated with Forensic Toolkit. The software has been used in the Digital Archives lab to image and extract files from digital carriers.
gtar:
Gtar is a command line program used on Digital Archives MacOS workstations to compress Kryoflux stream files.
Installing gtar:
For MacOS: Install via Homebrew by entering brew install gnu-tar in terminal.
HFS Explorer:
HFS Explorer is a program usd to view HFS formatted disks on Windows operating systems.
HFS Explorer Official Documentation
Iromlab:
Iromlab is software for automated imaging of optical media using Nimbie disc robots.
Iromlab Official Documentation
IsoBuster:
IsoBuster is data recovery software that has been used in the Digital Archives lab to image and extract files from optical media.
Java:
Java is a software package which has been a dependency for some Digital Archives tools like DROID and Bagger.
Using Java:
Check for the version of Java installed with commands which java or java -version in terminal on Mac or WSL on Windows.
MediaInfo:
MediaInfo is an open-source program for extracting technical information from media files. The program has been used in the Digital Archives Lab to extract metadata from born-digital video.
Mediaconch:
MediaConch is an open source software project developed by MediaArea and utilizing MediaInfo. It is used by Digital Archives staff to develop programatic policies for checking born-digital audiovisual material against preservation standards.
Mini Vmac:
Mini vMac is an emulator for running early Macintosh software.
openssl:
OpenSSL is a software library used to ssh.
openssl Official Documentation
Oracle VM VirtualBox:
Virtualbox is open soure virtualization software. It has been used by Digital Archives staff to run teh BitCurator environment as a virtual machine.
Installing Oracle VM VirtualBox:
Download and install the current VirtualBox release and Extension Pack.
pip:
Pip is package management software used for installing and upgrading Python modules
Using pip:
Pip should be installed with python3. Call pip by entering pip or pip3 in terminal or command line.
Python3:
Python3 is the latest version of the Python programming language
Installing Python3:
For Windows: Check for python versions by entering python --version on command line. Installers are avilable at python.org.
For MacOS: Check for python versions by entering python --version in terminal. Install your selected version of python with homebrew by entering brew install python@version.number.
QuickTime Player:
QuickTime is used in teh Digital Archives Lab to appraise Mcintosh formatted born-digital video.
QuickView Plus:
QuickView Plus has been used in the Digital Archives Lab to view a range of legacy formats like word processing and photo formats.
rclone:
rclone is a command line tool for managing and moving files between remote and local storage locations
Installing rclone:
For detailed installation and configuration instructions see our dedicated rclone page.
Sha1deep:
Sha1deep is a command line tool for computing and cryptographic hashes. (M5deep | sha1deep | sha256deep are a set of programs to compute MD5 | SHA-1 | SHA-256 message digests on files.) Sha1deep is used by Digital Archives Staff to identify duplicate material across digital media in a collection by comparing checksums.
Sha1deep Official Documentation
Installing Sha1deep:
For MacOS: Install via Homebrew by entering brew install m5deep
Sheepshaver:
Sheepshaver is an Apple Macintosh emulator. It has been used in the Digital Archives Lab to view legacy Mac files.
Siegfried:
Siegfried is a command line file format identification tool. Siegfried is used in the Digital Archives Lab to identify and validate file formats. Siegfried output also includes checksums.
Siegfried Official Documentation
Installing Siegfried:
For Windows: Download the latest Siegfried binary.
For MacOS: Install via homebrew by entering brew install richardlehane/digipres/siegfried into terminal
Configuring Siegfried:
Current installations of siegfried use the config file to store preferred command options. Enter sf -setconf -csv -hash sha1 -z in terminal to set the preferred command options.
Using Siegfried:
Enter sf PATH > MediaID in terminal to create a report of file formats. Enter sf -help for a complete list of sf commands.
tree:
tree is command line program for recursive directory listing and has been used in the Digital Archives Lab to identify contents of media including number of folders and files
Installing tree:
For MacOS: Install via homebrew by entering brew install tree into terminal.
VLC:
VLC is an open source media player used by Digital Archives staff to view and appraise born-digital audio and video.
Installing VLC:
Download the latest release of VLC Media Player.
Configuring VLC:
WSL:
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a Windows feature used to run Linux environments on Windows operating systems.
WinUAE:
WinUAE is an Amiga emulator and has been used in the Digital Archives Lab to view Amiga files.