Extracting File Attributes

Foreman's Attribute Extract lets you pull file metadata from one or many folders and generate structured reports. Select which attributes to include, configure output formatting, and download as CSV, Excel, or JSON.

Getting Started

1. Navigate to Extract from the sidebar (under Files & Folders).
2. Select a hub and project, then pick one or more folders from the tree.
3. Choose your extract method: Custom Columns or Use Template.
4. Configure columns and settings, then click Extract Now.

The extraction runs in the background with a live progress dialog. When complete, click Download to save the file.

The Wizard

The extract process follows a four-step wizard. You can click any completed step in the stepper to go back.

Step 1: Select Source

Choose your hub, project, and folders. The left panel shows hub/project selectors, and the right panel displays the folder tree with checkboxes.

• Multi-select folders — click the checkbox next to each folder you want to include.
• Include sub-folders — when enabled (default), all files in subfolders are included. Child folders of a selected parent are automatically greyed out to prevent duplicates.
• Smart deduplication — if you select both a parent and child folder, Foreman automatically removes duplicates from the results.

Step 2: Choose Path

Pick how to structure your output:

• Custom Columns — manually select which attributes to include and choose CSV, XLSX, or JSON output.
• Use Template — upload an Excel template and map its headers to file attributes.

Step 3a: Select Attributes (Custom Columns)

A two-panel view shows available attributes on the left and your selected columns on the right.

Available attributes are grouped into:

• Standard — File Name, File Type, Size, Created Date, Modified Date, Created By, Modified By, Folder Path, ACC URL, Version, Project ID, Item ID, Version URN.
• Custom — any custom attributes defined in your Autodesk Forma project (e.g. Document Status, Discipline, Revision).

Click an attribute to add it to your selected columns. Use the arrow buttons to reorder, or the Clear all link to start over.

Step 3b: Template Mapping

If you chose Use Template:

1. Select an existing template or upload a new Excel file (.xlsx / .xls).
2. Set which row contains the headers (default: row 1).
3. Click Detect Headers — Foreman reads the template and lists all header columns.
4. Map each header to a file attribute using the dropdown. Use Auto-match to automatically match headers by name.
5. Unmapped columns are highlighted with a warning indicator.

Output Settings

The settings bar at the bottom of Step 3 lets you configure:

All settings are saved in your browser and restored automatically on your next visit.

Output Formats

• XLSX — Excel workbook with bold headers, frozen header row, and auto-filter on every column. Optionally split into multiple sheets by folder.
• CSV — plain comma-separated values, suitable for import into other tools.
• JSON — structured array of objects, one per file, with keys matching your selected column headers.

Hyperlinks (XLSX)

When enabled, any ACC URL column in the output shows the file name (without extension) as the cell text, styled as a blue clickable hyperlink. This lets you open files directly from Excel.

Split by Folder (XLSX)

When enabled, each folder gets its own sheet (named after the folder). An All Files summary sheet is placed first. Each sheet has its own frozen header row and auto-filter. If two folders share the same name, the sheet is suffixed with a number (e.g. "Drawings (2)").

Step 4: Review & Execute

Review your settings — hub, project, folders, column count, and output format — before running.

Save as reusable definition — check this box to save the extract configuration for later. A default name is generated from the project name and date.

Schedule — click the Schedule button to set up a recurring extract (daily, weekly, monthly, or custom cron). Choose a timezone and optionally receive an email when the extract completes.

Extract Now — runs the extraction immediately. A progress dialog shows:

• Indeterminate progress bar while resolving files.
• Determinate progress bar with percentage during attribute enrichment.
• File count and elapsed time.
• Cancel button to abort.

When complete, click Download to save the file.

Saved Extracts & Exports

The Saved Extracts tab lists your saved definitions with their project, format, and creation date. You can:

• Run a saved definition to re-extract with the same settings.
• Delete definitions you no longer need.

Recent exports are listed below with download and delete options.

Templates

The Templates tab manages your uploaded Excel templates.

• Upload — accepts .xlsx and .xls files up to 5 MB.
• Detect headers — scans a template to identify column headers.
• Download — retrieve the original template file.
• Delete — remove a template.

Template uploads are subject to your plan's quota (Free: 2, Starter: 5, Team: 30, Pro: unlimited).

User Name Resolution

By default, Autodesk Forma stores Created By and Modified By as raw user IDs (e.g. QD82ZFBZMJBG2AHE). Foreman automatically resolves these to real user names by fetching version details from the Data Management API. If resolution fails for a particular file, the raw ID is used as a fallback.

Scheduling Extracts

From Step 4, click Schedule to create a recurring job:

1. Enter a job name (auto-generated from the project name).
2. Choose a frequency — Daily at 2 AM, Weekly, Monthly, Every 6 hours, Every 12 hours, or a custom cron expression.
3. Select your timezone.
4. Optionally enable email notification — Foreman sends an email when the extract completes with a link to download it.

Scheduled extracts save a definition automatically and appear in the Scheduled Jobs page.

From the File Browser

You can also launch an extract directly from the File Browser. Select files, then click Extract Attributes in the selection bar. This navigates to the Attribute Extract page with the hub and project pre-selected.