The Knowledge Base (KB) feature can be enabled in a new workgroup or an existing one using the following methods:

Option 1 - Create a New Workgroup - The advantage with this method is a clean start. A Form and Workflow are already created for you.

• For cloud customers, this option would be a separate database from your existing one.
• For on-premises customers, this option is the fastest to set up, but it will be completely separate from any existing data.

Option 2 - Existing Workgroup - Clone (Copy) a Record and Publish it to the Knowledge Base - With this method, you can leverage existing information and just make slight changes to clean it up and re-format it before publishing the content to the Knowledge Base.

Option 3 - Existing Workgroup - Create a New Form for Knowledge Base Articles - You can keep all of your Tickets and Knowledge Base information in a single workgroup for easy management, but have a separate form for Knowledge Base articles. If desired, you can link an article to the ticket that inspired the content.

Option 1 - Create a New Workgroup for the Knowledge Base

• For cloud customers, contact NetResults Sales to set up a separate area for the Knowledge Base.
• For on-premises customers, create a new workgroup in the Workgroup Management System (WMS) and use the information in the Knowledge Base section of the Administrative Help Guide to enable the Knowledge Base.

Option 2 - Existing Workgroup - Clone (Copy) a Record and Publish it to the Knowledge Base
You may want to use the information available in existing records to populate your Knowledge Base. This can be done using Tracker's Cloning feature. This allows you to make a copy of an existing record and make changes to it before publishing it to the Knowledge Base. To set this up, use the steps below:

Add Knowledge Base Fields

You may want to use a combination of fields available in your existing records and new fields that you create specifically for the Knowledge Base. Review the list of fields in the Knowledge Base template section for ideas about fields you may want to include in your Knowledge Base. For example, you may want to include a field that tracks the date the article was published to the KB. Add the fields using the information in the Fields section.

Add a State for Publishing Articles to the Knowledge Base

The state that an article is in determines whether it is available (published) in the Knowledge Base. You can use one of the following options:

Add a single state - For example, create a state called "Published to KB" and add that state to the workflow

Add a group of states - If you want to use multiple states for publishing to the KB, add the states, then add a "state group".

Add a simple workflow - You want to have a short workflow for drafting, reviewing and publishing articles to the KB. Add the states, then add them to the existing workflow. For example, the workflow could be:

State 1: Drafted - Article has been drafted
State 2: Reviewed - Article has been reviewed
State 3: Published to KB - Article has been published to the Knowledge Base

To add a state, then add it to the existing workflow:

1. Login to the workgroup as Admin and click on the Admin icon
2. Click on the Workflows link
3. Click on the Global States button
4. Click on the Add State button
5. Enter a name and order for the state. If desired, make changes to the other available options and click OK to save the state.
6. Click on the Add Another State button if you are adding more than one state. Otherwise, click OK.
7. Click OK to return to the Workflows section
8. Select the desired workflow in the pulldown at the top. The page will be refreshed to display the properties of the selected workflow.
9. Click on the Manage link to the right of "States"
10. Click on the new state in the right column and click on the Add button. Repeat this step for each state you would like to add to the workflow. Click OK when finished.

To add a state group:

1. Login as Admin and click on the Admin icon
2. Click on the Workflows link
3. Click on the Global States button
4. Click on the State Groups button
5. Click on the Add State Group button
6. Enter a name for the state group
7. Click OK
8. Click on the Add States to this State Group button
9. Click on a state and click on the Add button. Repeat this step until all of desired states have been added. Click OK.

Add a transition for publishing articles to the Knowledge Base

To create a transition:

1. Login as Admin and click on the Admin icon
2. Click on the Workflows link
3. Select the desired workflow in the pulldown at the top. The page will be refreshed with the properties of the selected workflow.
4. Click on the Manage link to the right of "States"
5. Click on the state from which a KB article can be created, then click on the Transitions button.
6. Click on the Add Transition button
7. Enter a name and order for the transition.

   For "New State", choose the state where the KB articles will be published. Or, if you chose to create a simple workflow, choose the 1st state.

   For "New Assignee", choose TBD if the "New State" is the state where KB articles will be published. Otherwise, choose a user to be assigned to the article in the 1st state of the simple workflow (e.g. the user who will review the article that has been drafted).

   Check the box for "Clone Record" and decide whether to include Attachments.

   You can use the "Make Visible to Users / User Groups" option to set the transition so that only a limited set of users or groups are allowed to publish articles to the KB.

   For the rest of the options that can be configured for a transition, please review the Transitions Help section.

8. Click OK
9. Click on the Set Task Fields button
10. To add a field as a task field, click on the field in the right column and click on the Add button. Add the fields that the user should fill out or update before the article is published to the KB. For example, add the Title, Description and Workaround fields so that the user can change the wording in these fields so that it is appropriate for the KB (e.g. remove any references to customers or internal information, add detailed information and links, etc.)

    Once the field has been added to the left column, click on the field and click on the Edit button to modify its properties. Review the information in the Transitions Help section for more information about the available properties.

11. Click OK
12. Repeat the above steps to add additional transitions (e.g. if you want to allow articles to be created from multiple states or are using multiple states for publishing articles to the KB). If you are using multiple states for publishing articles to the KB, the "Clone Record" option only needs to be enabled for the 1st step. You don't need to clone the record again on subsequent steps.

    You may also want to create a transition to allow an article to be removed (archived) from the KB.

Enable the Knowledge Base in the General Preferences section

1. Login to the Knowledge Base workgroup as Admin
2. Click on the Admin icon
3. Click on the General Preferences link
4. Scroll to the Knowledge Base section, set the preference called Enable Knowledge Base to "Yes"
5. Click OK to save this change

Set the Knowledge Base Preferences to Choose the State or State Group You Created

Because you have enabled the Knowledge Base feature in a workgroup with existing records, this is a critical step. PLEASE NOTE: Until you perform the steps below, ALL of the records in your workgroup will be visible in the Knowledge Base.

1. Login to the workgroup as Admin
2. Click on the Admin icon
3. Click on the Knowledge Base link
4. Click on the Preferences button to the left of "All Pages"
5. Select the appropriate state or state group for the option "Articles in these State(s) are visible"
6. Click OK

To complete the Knowledge Base configuration, review the information in the Knowledge Base Components section.

You have now configured the KB feature. To publish an article to the KB:

1. Login to the workgroup
2. Click on the Task icon, enter the PRN of a record that you wish to publish to the KB and click OK. This record must be in a state that has a transition configured to publish items to the KB
3. Select the transition for publishing articles to the KB and click OK
4. The Status Bar at the top will note that record was cloned (copied) with the wording "Cloned Record SUP18 as SUP26; Tasking Record SUP26". The latter PRN is that of the record being published to the KB. You'll want to take note of this number so you can view this article in the KB later.

   Make any desired changes to the fields and click OK. The article is now available in the KB. To view the article in the KB, use the URL

   http://servername/workgroup/kb/search.asp

   where "servername" is the TCP/IP host name of the machine where Tracker is installed and "workgroup" is the name of the workgroup where you configured the KB.

   You can enter the PRN of the record you wish to view in the KB into the "Quick Search" field in the right pane of the KB Search Page, then click "Go".

Option 3 - Existing Workgroup - Create a New Form for the Knowledge Base Articles
Create a new form using the information in the Forms Help section. You can create a new project as well or add the form to your existing project. A sample form and workflow are explained in the Using the Knowledge Base template section.