def get_folders_from_params(advanced_args):
    """
    Extracts and returns the list of file hash IDs from the input `advanced_args`. `folders` is an
    expected property on `advanced_args`, if it does not exist, or it is empty, then an empty list
    is returned instead.
    """
    try:
        if advanced_args['folders'] != '':
            return advanced_args['folders'].split(';')
        else:
            return []
    except KeyError:
        return []