Run Canopy's FileCabinet extraction tool (fcextract) to extract and upload your FileCabinet documents into Canopy for migration.
Required: FileCabinet login dedicated to extraction; Windows computer that stays awake with stable internet connection.
Why it matters: The fcextract tool automates the extraction and upload process. Once running, it handles file conversion and organization so you don't have to manually export thousands of documents.
Table of Contents
Before You Start
You have a FileCabinet login dedicated to the extraction process.
You have a dedicated workstation running Windows that will be used solely by the fcextract tool and is set to not sleep.
IT approval (if applicable) — If your firm has strict security policies, ask your IT team to temporarily white-list the fcextract tool to allow download and execution.
Prepare Your FileCabinet Settings
Before running fcextract, you need to configure your FileCabinet export settings.
Open FileCabinet and log in as you normally would.
Navigate to File > Send to > File.
Make sure "Export images as Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) Files" is selected.
Make sure "Combine Documents into a single PDF File" is unchecked.
Open the List of Drawers side panel (if it's not already visible). You should be able to see drawer names.
Collapse all drawers so you only see drawer names, not their contents or subfolders.
Usually this means closing the "$Global" drawer.
Select the first (top-most) drawer you want to extract.
Do not select the "$Global" drawer.
The tool will extract drawers sequentially from top to bottom starting from your selection.
Download and Run the fcextract Tool
Download the fcextract.exe tool:
You may need to adjust your security settings to download and open the file.
Find fcextract.exe (usually in your Downloads folder or on your desktop).
Double-click to run the tool.
When prompted: "Use the default temporary files location?"
Press Y to accept the default.
When prompted, enter the three credentials your Data Migration Specialist emailed to you:
Tenant ID
Upload ID
Upload Secret
When prompted: "Begin the extraction process?"
Press Y to start.
The tool will begin extracting and uploading your FileCabinet documents.
Monitor and Troubleshoot
While the extraction is running:
Keep your computer awake — The tool needs continuous access to your workstation.
Maintain a stable internet connection — Do not disconnect or switch networks.
Don't modify files in FileCabinet — Do not move, rename, or change any files during extraction, as they may not be migrated.
Don't modify files in Canopy — Do not move or change files in Canopy while extraction is in progress.
Start early — Extraction can take a significant amount of time depending on file size and internet speed. Start the process at the beginning of your workday or let it run overnight.
If you need to stop the extraction:
Press Ctrl + C in the fcextract window.
Wait for the tool to finish its current task and exit cleanly.
If you restart the tool:
You can stop and restart as needed. When restarting, the tool may ask:
"Process unprocessed batches?" — Generally answer Y.
"Upload packages?" — Generally answer Y.
If you're unsure, contact your Data Migration Specialist before proceeding.
If FileCabinet logs you out and extraction shows "Completed":
Re-run the fcextract tool to verify.
Check that the "last processed drawer" is the bottom drawer in your list.
If not, log back into FileCabinet CS, select the drawer after the last one processed, and restart the extraction.
If FileCabinet logs you out and extraction is still running:
Stop the tool (press Ctrl + C, see above).
Log back into FileCabinet CS.
Restart the fcextract tool following the steps above.
Once extraction completes, notify your Data Migration Specialist immediately so they can verify the migration and provide next steps.
Summary
This article covered how to prepare your FileCabinet settings, download and run the fcextract tool, enter your migration credentials, and monitor the extraction process. Once complete, notify your Data Migration Specialist to proceed with verification and next steps.
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