Knowledge base articles contain answers to frequently asked questions, or they contain common knowledge.
Creating knowledge base articles should be done based on customer tickets. A good knowledge base contains all relevant information that occurs during ticket handling. Knowledge base articles can be easily attached to new tickets in any ticket or article creation screen. This can help agents shorten the time it takes to answer a ticket.
Create Knowledge Base Article
Use this screen to add new knowledge base articles to the system. The knowledge base article create screen is available from the main menu and from the action menu.
The following settings are available when adding a knowledge base article. The fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory.
- Properties
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In this section, the following options can be set.
- Title *
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The name of the knowledge base article. Any type of characters can be entered into this field, including uppercase letters and spaces. The name will be displayed in the overview table.
- Keywords
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Add some keywords to make it easier to find the knowledge base article.
- Category *
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Select a category from the available categories.
- State *
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Select the state of the knowledge base article. Possible options are:
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External (customer): The knowledge base article is visible to agents and customer users who are logged into the external interface.
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Internal (agent): The knowledge base article is visible to agents only.
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Public (all): The knowledge base article is visible to anyone via the external interface.
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- Validity *
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Set the validity of this knowledge base article. Knowledge base articles can only be used in OTRS if this field is set to valid. Setting this field to invalid or invalid-temporarily will disable the use of the knowledge base article.
- Language *
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Select a language from the available languages.
- Attachments
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It is possible to add attachments to the knowledge base article. Click on the field to add an attachment or just drop some files here.
- Symptom (public)
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Add a description that explains the current situation here.
- Problem (public)
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More detailed description about the situation.
- Solution (public)
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Explain how to solve the problem, or share a workaround for solving it.
- Comment (internal)
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Internal text about the current knowledge base article for agents only.
Knowledge Base Article List
Use this screen to browse through the knowledge base articles. The knowledge base article list is available from the organizer sidebar.
The items in the list can be exported. Clicking on an item in the list opens the detail view of the knowledge base article.
Knowledge Base Article Detail View
Use this screen to see the details of a knowledge base article. The knowledge base article detail view is available when you select a knowledge base article from a knowledge base article list.
Knowledge Base Article Detail View Widgets
Like other business object detail views, the knowledge base article detail view is also highly customizable. Some of the following widgets are displayed with the default installation, but others have to be added in the screen configuration.
- Symptom Widget
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This widget can be used to describe the symptom of a problem.
- Problem Widget
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This widget can be used to describe the problem itself.
- Solution Widget
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This widget can be used to describe the solution of the problem.
- Properties Widget
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This widget shows the properties of the knowledge base article. The properties are presented as small cards within the widget.
Most of the cards have a pen icon in the top right corner. Clicking on this icon allows agents to directly edit the property.
- Attachments Widget
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This widget can be used to display the attachments of the knowledge base article. The attachments can be managed with the Edit action.
- Rating Widget
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This widget can be used to rate the knowledge base article. To rate the knowledge base article, click on the Yes or No face in this widget.
- Linked Tickets Widget
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This widget shows tickets that are linked to the knowledge base article. The widget is only displayed when at least one ticket is linked to this business object. New links can be added with the Link Objects action. Existing links can also be managed here.
- Linked Knowledge Base Articles Widget
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This widget shows other knowledge base articles that are linked to the knowledge base article being viewed. The widget is only displayed when at least one knowledge base article is linked to this business object. New links can be added with the Link Objects action. Existing links can also be managed here.
- Linked Appointments Widget
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This widget shows appointments that are linked to the knowledge base article. The widget is only displayed when at least one appointment is linked to this business object. New links can be added with the Link Objects action. Existing links can also be managed here.
- Comment (internal) Widget
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This widget can be used to add a comment to the article. The comment is not shown in the external interface.
- People Widget
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This widget can be used to display user cards of the people who created and last changed the knowledge base article.
Knowledge Base Article Detail View Actions
The following actions are available in the knowledge base article detail view.
- Organization
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This column groups the following actions together:
- Edit Knowledge Base Article
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This action allows you to edit the knowledge base article. The edit screen is very similar to the create knowledge base article screen, but the fields are already filled with values.
- Link Objects
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This action allows you to link other business objects to the knowledge base article.
- Delete Knowledge Base Article
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This action allows you to delete the knowledge base article. A confirmation dialog will display to confirm the deletion.
- Views
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This column groups the following actions together:
- View History
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This action allows you to view the history of the knowledge base article. The history contains all operations, including timestamp and username, that happened with the knowledge base article in the past.
- Print Knowledge Base Article
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This action allows you to print the knowledge base article to a PDF file and to download it.
