KnowSystem: Knowledge Base System v.13

The KnowSystem interface consists of 3 key parts: the left navigation panel, the list of articles, and the right navigation panel (it is shown only if some articles are selected).

On the left navigation panel you may:

• Manage hierarchy of sections: prepare new (right mouse click - 'create'), update existing (right mouse click - edit), re-order any (drag and drop an item), archive sections. Select a few ones to filter articles. You may also print all articles related to this section as a single PDF file.
• In the same way manage hierarchy of tags and article types.
• Sort articles by number of views, a score of likes and dislikes, create or update dates, a section, an author.
• Select all articles which are found according to chosen tags / sections and according to introduced searches / filters.
• Launch a learning tour.

From the list of articles you see articles' name, indexed content (words without HTML style), dates of creation and last update, a number of views, likes, dislikes, author avatar. Here you may also add an article to favourite by pressing the 'star' icon.

Click on article body to open it in a full size (form view). Do not worry: chosen tags and sections as well as selected articles will be kept when you get back! Click on the top right check box to add an article for selection.

On the right navigation panel you observe selected articles and may proceed a mass action. Click on article name to remove it form selection.

On the top of the interface users also would find a standard Odoo omnibox. Type here to search by a title, content, an author, tags or a section.

KnowSystem let users update an unlimited number of articles simultaneously:

• Assign new section
• Change or remove tags
• Print multiple articles as a single PDF
• Follow / unfollow discussions
• Publish / unpublish articles
• Export articles to an Excel table
• Archive or restore records
• Add articles to learning tours
• Mark knowledge items as favourite
• Duplicate articles.

KnowSystem provides you with a backend articles' builder, which is comfortable and safe to use. Odoo website builder is richer in features to prepare complex HTML structures. To edit articles through the website:

1. Install the optional add-on 'KnowSystem Website and Portal' (the option 'Publish to portal and website')
2. Turn on the setting 'Edit on website'
3. Push the button 'Edit on website' on this article form

Be cautious: if you are going to print this article or add its contents to emails, website building blocks are not suitable. Their advanced styles contradict printing and composer layouts and would not be correctly shown. In such a case use the safer backend builder.

To prepare a new article template for repeated usage:

• If you already have an article to be used as template: push the button 'Actions > Make template', edit and save a new template.
• If you wanted to prepare a brand new template, go to KnowSystem > Configuration > Templates and prepare a new one using building blocks.

To use a template to write a new article:

• Push the button 'Create from template' from KnowSystem kanban or form views
• Select a required article template
• Push 'Create' and introduce changes to a new article.

Experience is not general, usually it relates to specific issues. Knowledge used for customer communication differs from suppliers' negotiations. Frequently asked questions for draft and confirmed sale orders vary. KnowSystem let you structure your articles to apply them in a correct place and at right time. To that end:

1. Turn on the setting 'Articles by Documents' (the option shows the top menu entry above any Odoo document) or 'Articles in Email Composers' (the option adds a quick link in a message composer editor for citing)
2. Create a new tag (e.g. 'odoo / helpdesk'). In the table 'Applied to' use a required model (e.g. 'helpdesk ticket') or use it for all documents (the check box 'Apply to all documents').
3. As advanced option you may apply additional filters: for example, to show articles only for 'new' tickets, not for 'in progress' ones. Use dynamic filters' constructor for that goal
4. Assign this tag for required articles. For a few articles use the mass action 'Mass update'
5. Now when you access a quick article search from a document or from an email composer, Odoo will calculate KnowSystem tags for this document. That's why by default users would see only articles suitable for a current document. Simultaneously, they might always change tags to use other knowledge base data.

As soon as you turned on the option 'Articles by Documents', on the top of each Odoo object form view there would be a quick link 'KnowSystem'.

Click on that entry, and Odoo would open the wizard with articles. By default KnowSystem tags suitable for this document would be selected (if any). You may change those tags, or additionally filter by sections or content search. As a result list of topical articles is shown for you.

Turn on the option 'Articles in Email Composers' to let users reference or cite Knowledge records in Odoo messages. As a result the special quick entry 'KnowSystem' would be added to each Odoo email composer.

Clicking on that entry would open a wizard with a set of suitable to this document articles. You may change search by tags, add extra filtering by sections or content.

Afterwards, select required articles among found ones; choose an action. You may:

• Update message body with article contents (would be added to the end of a current message)
• Attach a PDF version of an article(s)
• Share a public link

An article is available for a portal user in two cases: A. it is website published; B. his/her company is indicated as allowed partner in one of article tags.

In the first case such an article is available for all portal users and even for public website visitors who have not logged in.

In the latter case you grant a restricted access for an article only for chosen companies. To that end:

1. Turn on the setting 'Portal KnowSystem'
2. Create a tag for this partner, for example 'clients / Azure Interior'. On the tag form indicate this company in the field 'Allowed partners'
3. Assign the tag for all articles you want to share with this partner. For a few articles use the mass action 'Mass update'
4. Now portal users related to this partner may access shared articles right from their partner portal.

• Section is available in portal / website only if it has one available article inside;
• Tags and article types are added to hierarchy only if they are published.

1. Go to an article form view and push the button 'revisions'
2. Find a required one and push the button 'Observe' to check whether this version is a correct one
3. Push the button 'Restore this revision'. The article would be recovered to that version.
4. The recovery operation itself is recorded. So, if it is a mistake you can revert changes by recovering the last-to-last revison.

In order to show a new property for KnowSystem articles, just create a custom field. Nothing else is required! You are welcome to prepare fields of various types: single line text (char), simple text without formatting (text), rich text (HTML-formatted text), integer or float numbers, drop-down choice with your own options (selection), checkbox (boolean), date or date and time, binary (a file to upload), reference to another Odoo document (e.g. for a sale order, contact; many2one).

The tool also introduces complementary articles' typology. Thus set of attributes for 'user guidelines' and 'technical specifications' might be different.

Then, choose an interface location for a new field from a closed list to structure properties on an article page. Decide whether a field should be required to enter, or should be visible only for definite knowledge types.

Security for internal and portal users differs.

For the company employees: KnowSystem considers user groups which are defined per articles, sections and tours. Look at the tab 'Restrict to' on forms of those objects. If that field is not defined, a document is considered 'global': each internal user may read it.

For portal / public users: KnowSystem takes into account tags and whether an article is website published. A knowledge tag has a field 'Allowed partners', which may grant an access to portal users for articles with this tag. Website published pages are available for everybody.

Rights to administrate KnowSystem belongs to 2 user roles: KnowSystem Editor and KnowSystem Administrator. If you want a user to create and edit articles, a user should belong to one of those groups.

Take also into account two peculiarities:

• Odoo user always may access an article of which he is an author disregarding further restrictions;
• Rights for section is defined not only according to this section but also according to all its parents. For example, if user can't access 'sales', he/she would not be able to access 'sales / crm' disregarding whether 'crm' is available for his/her user group.

1. Turn on the option 'Tours'
2. Go to KnowSystem interface and select articles to be included into a tour
3. Press the mass action button 'Add to tour' and select or create a tour. Press save
4. Re-order articles in a consistent order
5. Define groups of users who should go through a tour on the tab 'Restrict access'
6. Now users can see and launch tours right from the KnowSystem interface (the right navigation panel)