Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Please don’t leave! However, if you really must go, we do have a way for you to delete your account. To delete your FileShadow account, login to FileShadow, click the user icon in the upper right corner of the window, choose “Manage Account”, select “Delete Account”, type “Delete My Account” in the input field, and click “Delete”.

(Before you go, would you please hit the chat icon and let us know why? We are trying to create the best archive service possible and your suggestions would be very welcome.)

*NOTE: ONCE YOU DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT, IT IS GONE. We don’t keep a backup; once you have deleted your account, we won’t be able to restore your account, the data sources, or the files that were uploaded.

Yes, you can! After you’ve created a Shared Collection you can add more emails.

• Go to Manage: Collections.
• Mark the Shared Collection.
• On the left side bar under Actions there will be the option, “Share with User”. Click on it to add another email.

You’re welcome! As an archival tool we want to make sure you don’t lose anything; for this reason, we won’t remove files that you’ve deleted from your cloud accounts. You can go into FileShadow and delete them there, but we will never remove files on our own.

Yes. Install the ScanSnap software for your iPhone or iPad. Make sure your scanner is turned on and enabled for WiFi and the ScanSnap software will automatically find your scanner. Simply scan your photo or document. The scan will appear in the ScanSnap App. Tap the Share button and choose the FileShadow icon. Tap “Upload” and the scan will be uploaded to your FileShadow account.

You may scan directly into your FileShadow vault with the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner.  To take advantage of this seamless integration, follow these simple steps and you will be scanning directly to FileShadow in just a few minutes.

1. Setup your Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner as instructed in the scanner documentation.
2. Make sure your scanner is connected to the same WiFi network as your Mac or PC.
3. Download and install the FileShadow Desktop Client on your Mac or PC. This can be done by clicking the Download App button from the fileshadow.com home page.
4. Open the ScanSnap Home software and click the Scan button in the upper left.  This will display the display the scan window.
5. Select the Add profiles button on this window.
6. Scroll to the bottom of the profiles list on the left.  You will see the FileShadow option at the bottom, in the Application section.
7. Choose the FileShadow profile and set the configuration according to your needs.
8. Click the Add button and the newly configured FileShadow profile will be on the display screen of both your scanner and ScanSnap Home software.
9. Load a document or photo into the scanner, select the FileShadow profile on the scanner display screen, and tap the Scan button.

That is all there is to it!

For all future scanning, if the FileShadow Desktop Client is running in the background all you need to do is load a document or photo in the scanner, select the FileShadow profile, and tap the Scan button.  It is that simple!

If you are trying to add a new FileShadow profile for your ScanSnap device (iX1500, S1300i, or iX100) and don’t see the FileShadow option in the list you can do the follow:

1. Verify the version of the FileShadow client you have installed.  Do this by choosing the About option from the FileShadow menu.  If you have version 5.1.0 or later, skip to step three below.
2. If you need a new version of the FileShadow client software, you can download it from the fileshadow.com home page using the Download App button.  Once downloaded, you can install it as you normally would any application on your operating system.  Then skip to step four below.
3. Restart the FileShadow software by choosing Quit FileShadow and then launching FileShadow again from your Dock or Launchpad (macOS) or the System Tray (Windows).
4. Restart the ScanSnap Home software by choosing Quit ScanSnap Home from the menu and then launching the ScanSnap Home software.
   

You should now see FileShadow at the bottom of the list in the Application section when adding a new profile.

To share files with other people who don’t have a FileShadow account, you’ll need to create a “Public” collection.

1. Click “Manage” on the left-hand side bar.
2. Choose “Collections”.
3. Under “Actions” on the left-hand side bar, click “Create Collection”.
4. Type in a “Collection Title”.
5. Enter a “Description” if you’d like, it’s optional.
6. Click inside the “Type” field and choose “Public”.
7. You will need to accept the EULA agreement, then click “Create” – You will see this new Public Collection in the Collections list.
8. Click “Files” on the left-hand side bar.
9. Checkmark the files you’d like to share and click “Add to Collection” from the side bar.
10. The “Add to Collection” dialog will appear, choose the Collection you just created and click “Add”.
11. When you’re ready to share your files with others simply go to Manage, Collections, find the Public Collection, click either the clipboard or email icon on that line.
12. If you click the Clipboard icon the link to your collection will be copied to the clipboard. You can send this link to the people you’d like to have the files. They will then need to paste this link into a web browser.

You can share files with another FileShadow user by creating a Shared Collection.

1. Click “Manage” on the left-hand side bar.
2. Choose “Collections”.
3. Under “Actions” on the left-hand side bar, click “Create Collection”.
4. Type in a “Collection Title”.
5. Enter a “Description” if you’d like, it’s optional.
6. Click inside the “Type” field and choose “Shared”.
7. Enter the email address for the FileShadow user you’d like to share with.
8. Click “Create” – You will see this new Shared Collection in the Collections list.
9. Click “Files” on the left-hand side bar.
10. Checkmark the files you’d like to share and click “Add to Collection” from the side bar.
11. The “Add to Collection” dialog will appear, choose the Collection you just created and click “Add”.

Yes, you certainly can. In FileShadow, you can share files with another user (Share feature) or create a collection to share files with a person(s) who don’t have FileShadow (Publish feature).

1. From either the Source Accounts page or the File List page, select the Share icon located in the title bar in the upper, right corner.  It’s the fourth icon from the right.
2. Click ADD COLLECTION
3. Enter a Collection Label then checkmark, “I have read and agree to the Publisher’s EULA”, after reading it, of course.  At this point just click CLOSE, then click DONE.
4. You’re now ready to add files to the Collection.
5. Go the File List, checkmark the files you’d like to add your Collection.
6. Click the Share icon on the bottom right of the window.  It’s an arrow that points to the right.
7. Choose your Collection.  Click APPLY.  You will get a popup that says, “Successful Share”.  Click CLOSE.
8. Click the Share icon in the upper right corner, click the COPY LINK button next to the collection
9. Paste that link into an email or a message and send it.
10. If you’d like to check the link simply open a web browser and paste the link into the URL address.

Yes. By default FileShadow automatically configures each search request to return the best results for most users. However, you can use Boolean operators to yield a more targeted search result. Please note that all automatic rules are disabled when a search term includes any boolean operator.

Supported boolean operators include:

Use an OR between terms where either terms exist anywhere in the text of a document.
Use an AND between terms where both terms exist anywhere in the text of a document.
Use NOT to exclude documents that contain the term after NOT.
Use a * (asterisk) to designate a multi-character wildcard search.
Use the ? to designate a single character wildcard search.
Enclose a phrase with quote marks (“”) to search for a specific set of terms, such as "zip code”.

Grouping (advanced):

This boolean search option supports the use of parentheses to group clauses to form sub queries. Grouping can be very useful if you want to control the logic for a query.
To search for either "takeover" or "listing" and "code" use the query: (takeover OR listing) AND code.

If GPS/location is enabled on your camera/phone at the time a picture is taken, FileShadow will automatically read the location from the metadata and geotag the photo for you. If not, or if the photo was not taken with a device that allows geolocation tagging, you can tag your photos manually once they have been uploaded into FileShadow.

To assign a geographic location or “geo location” to a file, check mark the file, then click the pin icon located in the bottom right corner of the screen. The “Set File Location” window will be displayed. You can set the location by manipulating the map to the desired location and double-clicking or type in the location and press ENTER. You can also enter latitude and longitude coordinates. Any file type can have a location associated with it.

Current FileShadow users may add Email Archiving support by navigating to the Manage Account page and choosing the Change Billing option from the menu on the left. On the Select a Plan dialog users may choose from four different Email & File Archive plans.

If you would like to add additional security to your FileShadow account, you can set up Two Step Verification. With Two Step Verification, in addition to having a password, a security code will also be sent to your phone that you will need to enter to access your FileShadow account. To turn on this feature, click on the User Icon on the upper right corner of the FileShadow window. It looks like a little person. Click on “Manage Account”. On the side bar on the left of the window click “Change Security”.

The “Change Security” popup will be displayed, click “Enable”. “Please Enter Verification Code” dialog will come up instructing you to enter the approval code sent to your mobile number. Once you’ve entered the approval code the “Security Backup Codes” popup will display.

Because you may not always have your phone with you when logging into your FileShadow account, we have created backup codes for you to enter. Simply type in one of these codes after entering your password. Once a backup code has been used it can’t be used again. Be sure to copy the list of codes and keep them in a secure location. Click “Close”.

The next time you login to FileShadow you will be asked for a Password and a Verification Code.

To change the phone number on your account, click on the User Icon on the upper right corner of the FileShadow window. It looks like a little person. Click on “Manage Account”. On the side bar on the left of the window click “Change Phone”, enter the new phone number. Click Save.

To change the email address for your account, click on the User Icon on the upper right corner of the FileShadow window. It looks like a little person. Click on “Manage Account”. On the side bar on the left of the window click “Change Email”, enter your new email address, re-enter the new email in the “Confirm Email Address” field, click Save.

To change your password, click on the User Icon on the upper right corner of the FileShadow window. It looks like a little person. Click on “Manage Account”. On the side bar on the left of the window click “Change Password”, enter your old password, then enter your new password. Click Save.

We’re so glad you asked! The red triangle, or “twiddle” as we like to call it, means that the file has been edited. If you click on the twiddle it will turn to point down and expand to show the history of the file. To contract the edit history, simply click on the twiddle again.

With the desktop client you can setup a Sync folder or just do a single upload. A Sync folder is used to automatically upload any files added. A single upload does a one time upload of a selection of files or a folder. Navigate to Manage | WorkStation and select Upload Files or Add Sync Folder buttons (left panel).

On the mobile app, tap the Gear icon. On the desktop or web app tap on the three buttons on the upper right. In the Settings panel, scroll down to the Display Settings. Tap on the pop down menu and select the theme you would like. Changing the theme on any app will change it for all of your apps.

FileShadow supports desktop apps for both macOS® and Windows® desktops. You can find the free download by clicking the Download App button from the fileshadow.com home page. You can also download the app from your web browser by navigating to the Manage | Sources page, then tap the Downloads button (left panel) and choose the version you would like.

Most of us have several different cloud accounts - some we set up ourselves and some that were created when we signed up for Google, Microsoft, or Apple. FileShadow is the place where you can archive all of them in ONE place. But we don’t just archive them. We also allow you to tag files/folders and search across all of your cloud accounts.

We also keep a history of revisions and attach thumbnails of all iterations so that you can easily compare them. We allow you to share files with other FileShadow users and track which files are shared. For many of your cloud accounts, any changes you make to the files will automatically be synced to FileShadow. The only thing we won’t automatically do is remove files you’ve deleted from your cloud accounts. As an archive, we want to make sure all your files are there, just in case. You can delete from within FileShadow, but we will never delete for you.

But wait! There’s even more. We can also load files from your hard drive or local storage account. Simply download our Desktop Client from your online FileShadow account and we will archive them, too. The Desktop Client also allows you to edit a file. The Edit downloads the file, opens it in the applicable application, uploads the changed file when you click save, and keeps a revision history.

We think you’ll love what we have to offer and invite you to give FileShadow a try.

We’ve seen this happen a few times and have found that when a file isn’t loaded from GoogleDrive it’s usually because of a permissions issue. To be specific, our database shows that Google is returning a 401 error, “Invalid Credentials”, even though it shows the user is the owner. We’re working on resolving this issue with Google. In the meantime, you can try saving the file to your hard drive or local storage area, deleting it from GoogleDrive, then copying it backup to GoogleDrive. This will often solve the issue.

Yes, FileShadow can also be set up on a Windows server. An administrator must first create a FileShadow account that will become the target of the corporate shared drive (call it a server account). The FileShadow Desktop App would be installed on the server and will sign in to the server account. The shared folders would be identified using the Preferences view in the FileShadow Desktop App, and the files from the server would be copied to the FileShadow vault. The administrator of the server account would then add other FileShadow users as Reviewers, and share the folders they want users to have access to. Users would then have full access to the files on the shared drive/folders with all of the functionality built into FileShadow.

Both macOS and Windows systems are supported by using the corresponding FileShadow desktop application. With these applications, the user can target direct attached storage devices such as flash drives, and external hard drives.

Both macOS and Windows systems are supported by using the corresponding FileShadow desktop application. With these applications, the user can target direct attached storage devices such as flash drives, and external hard drives.

While other cloud services may provide a temporary landing spot for some of your data, FileShadow provides a secure, cloud-based vault that aggregates files from any number of cloud storage options, including DropBox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive (personal), OneDrive (business), Box, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Adobe Lightroom (directly through user authorization).

‍

Yes! DNG files (the format used for Leica Cameras) is supported by FileShadow. These files will import and view without any issue.

Most cloud storage vendors do not allow FileShadow to acquire infected files. Should this occur, infected files will not be copied to your FileShadow account. However, a vendor may not identify an infected file if the file scanner is not current, or if files are infected before a virus is identified. Fileshadow does scan files before they are downloaded and you can choose if you want to download the file or not.