for long-term digital preservation by focusing on 'full' or hardware emulation. This approach delivered a durable x86 component-based computer emulator: Dioscuri, the first modular emulator for digital preservation. UVC-based preservation The Universal Virtual Computer is part of a broader concept, called the UVC-based preservation method. This method allows digital objects (like text documents, spreadsheets, images, sound waves, etc.) to be reconstructed in its original appearance anytime in the future. The methods are programs written in the machine language of a Universal Virtual Computer (UVC). The UVC is completely independent of the architecture of the computer on which it runs. The UVC itself is a program which contains a set of instructions rather than a physical computer. It will run as a software application on a future platform. Because we do not know at this time which hardware is available in the future, the UVC must be created at the time we want to access a particular document from the repository. This UVC then forms the platform on which programs can run that have been specifically written for such UVC in the past. Creating an emulation program for the UVC in the future is much simpler than trying to emulate a 'real' machine. Application description The method of a UVC-based preservation strategy differentiates between data archiving which does not require full emulation, and program archiving which does. For archiving data, the UVC is used to archive methods which interpret the stored data stream. The methods are programs written in the machine language of a Universal Virtual Computer (UVC). The UVC program is completely independent of the architecture of the computer on which it runs. Data archiving Data archiving reconstructs the 'look and feel' of the original file but not the functionality of the original format. If the electronic form of the document is only used for compact storage or if the way the document looks to the human eye is all there is, then it suffices to archive the document as an image. If additional functionality is needed, such as text searching, storing only the image is not enough. In this case the text also needs to be archived along with the image of the document. By restoring the original appearance of a file as an image a future user can see what the original file looks like in page layout, style, font etc. The text itself needs to be exported