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Closing an eTMF Cabinet

Permanently close an eTMF cabinet at study end to lock all documents, remove all folder permissions, and trigger a data integrity report.

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Written by Casey Huxtable

Required Roles: Editor

Required Permissions: Manage Workspace

This article explains how to close an eTMF cabinet when a clinical study ends, what Kivo does during the close process, and what you can and cannot do with a closed cabinet afterward.

Overview

Closing an eTMF cabinet is a permanent, study-ending action. When you close a cabinet, Kivo removes all user permissions from the cabinet and every sub-folder inside it, locks every document so no further edits or uploads are possible, and generates a checksum integrity report to confirm that the content is complete and unaltered. The operation runs as a background job and may take several minutes to complete. You receive an email when it is done.

Cabinet close is only available for eTMF cabinets. Regulatory, Quality, and Document Management cabinets do not have this option.

Note: Closing a cabinet cannot be undone. There is no way to reopen a closed cabinet or restore the permissions and workflow settings that existed before closing.

Before you close

Because closing is irreversible, confirm the following before you proceed:

  • All required documents are uploaded, approved, and in their final state.

  • Any in-flight workflows (approvals, periodic reviews, or e-signature steps) have been completed or withdrawn.

  • You have exported or downloaded any content you will need to share after close, such as a TMF index or a full cabinet export.

  • All relevant stakeholders (study team, QA, sponsor) have confirmed the study is ready to close.

Close the cabinet

Step 1 – Switch to Manager Mode

Click your name in the upper-right corner and select Manage Workspace to enter Manager Mode.

Step 2 – Open the cabinet details

Navigate to the eTMF cabinet you want to close. Select the ellipsis (...) icon next to the cabinet name and choose Edit, or click directly into the cabinet and open the Details panel.

Step 3 – Change the cabinet status

Scroll to the Cabinet Status section. The current status shows Active. Select the status dropdown and choose Closed.

Step 4 – Confirm the close

A confirmation dialog appears: Are you sure you want to close "[cabinet name]"? Review the warning and click Close Study to proceed. Click Cancel to go back without making any changes.

Step 5 – Wait for the background job to complete

Kivo queues the cabinet close as a background job. You see a confirmation message: Cabinet has been queued to be closed. This may take some time to complete. You can close the dialog. You will receive an email at your registered address when the process is complete.

What happens when a cabinet is closed

When the background job finishes, Kivo applies the following changes:

  • All documents are locked. No one can upload a new version, edit metadata, or start a workflow on any document in the cabinet.

  • All permissions are removed. Every user and group access setting on the cabinet and every sub-folder is deleted. Users can no longer see or search for content in the closed cabinet unless you explicitly grant read-only access afterward.

  • Workflow settings are removed. Workflows attached to folders inside the cabinet are deleted. Active workflow steps do not continue after close.

  • A checksum integrity report is generated. Kivo produces a reference checksum report for the cabinet, confirming the state of all content at the time of close. This report is used for audit and inspection purposes.

  • You receive a confirmation email. The email confirms that the cabinet is closed and includes a direct link to the cabinet.

Note: If you grant a user access to a closed cabinet after close, their role defaults to Viewer. The Editor and other write-level roles are not available for closed cabinets.

Best practices

  • Export a full TMF index report before closing so you have a timestamped record of the cabinet contents.

  • Run the Cabinet Export before closing if your organization needs a local or archival copy of all documents. See "Export or Download a Folder or Cabinet".

  • Confirm that all site-level documents are filed before closing. Missing artifacts at the time of close will appear in the checksum report as gaps.

  • Coordinate with your QA team before triggering the close. The checksum report generated at close is often the reference record used in regulatory inspections.

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