The KnowledgeBase is an area of HotH in which problems with their solutions, Frequently Asked Questions and their answers, and associated keywords can be stored.
The KnowledgeBase can therefore speed up problem resolution, as it is possible to search the KnowledgeBase when analysing issues to discover if the problem has been logged before, and if a solution or root cause has already been discovered.
Access the KnowledgeBase main window by selecting the icon seen below from the side-bar menu:
Click the links to the topics outlined below to learn more information:
Creating KnowledgeBase Articles
Creating Articles from the Knowledgebase Window
Clicking on the KnowledgeBase link in the side-bar menu displays the list of existing KnowledgeBase articles.KnowledgeBase entries can be viewed by double clicking on them, or new entries can be created from scratch by clicking the “Add 
” button.
Creating Articles from a Ticket
It is possible to create a KnowledgeBase item directly from a HotH ticket. Selecting the Add to KnowledgeBase box transfers the user to the Knowledge Management Entry form, with keyword, problem and solution text copied directly across.
A KnowledgeBase entry is then generated, with Keywords automatically entered based upon the Subject of the ticket. These can be added to and edited.
KnowledgeBase Article Form
The full functions of the KnowledgeBase Article form are described below:
| Field | Function |
| Keywords | Enter or amend the keywords of the problem. These are used to filter the KnowledgeBase records when they are shown on the Ticket form, KnowledgeBase tab. Records are displayed where there is a match between words in the Ticket subject and the KnowledgeBase keywords. |
| Topic/Sub-Topic | Use these entries to classify the KnowledgeBase record so that it can be more easily selected later when using the Magnifying Glass Search tool. You may, for example, classify a record with a topic of ‘Hardware’ and a sub-topic of ‘Printer’. |
Customer/Product  |
Select from the drop-down lists if you want to classify the entry to relate to a specific Product or Customer. |
| Problem | Describe the problem here. This entry relates to the subject field on the Ticket. If you create a Knowledge Management record from the Ticket, the subject is substituted here. Similarly, if you create a Ticket from the Knowledge Management record, the problem is copied to the subject field. |
| Solution | Detail any advice or technical tip that is a solution to the problem. This field relates to the solution field on the Ticket record. |
Archive  |
Tick if this KnowledgeBase record is no longer used. |
| Internal |
Un-tick if this KnowledgeBase record is to be visible via the WebServer to Customers. |
| FAQ |
Tick if the problem and its solution is a Frequently Asked Question. Selecting this along with deselecting Internal will make the KnowledgeBase item to appear in the Customer portal. |
| Validated |
If KnowledgeBase entries are added by Support agents, it will require a Supervisor login to tick Validate on the KnowledgeBase entry before it will appear in the list. |
| URL | To make direct links to other web sites; for example, www.houseonthehill.com. Click the URL label to access the site. |
| Folder |
Select the folder where the entry is to be stored. This will indicate the type of ticket to which the item relates so it is displayed when relevant. |
| OK | Click OK to Save/Exit. |
| Click Mail to email the KnowledgeBase article to an email address. |
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Referencing the KnowledgeBase
It is also possible to reference the KnowledgeBase when interrogating a Ticket.
Use the KnowledgeBase link within the Ticket window to list records that relate to the Ticket’s problem, or click the Search The Known Error DB button… 
The KnowledgeBase will automatically filter based upon keywords entered in the Subject field, and match them to those in existing KnowledgeBase entries.
The Solution can also be copied directly to the ticket using the Copy Solution button. The KnowledgeBase Solution is then copied directly across to the Solution field on the ticket.
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Importing KnowledgeBase Data
HotH has the ability to load external data files directly into the databases. You can therefore download data from any existing databases and populate the HotH databases.
In addition, HotH also has the ability to export your KnowledgeBase data from the HotH database to a CSV file, which you can learn more about on the Exporting KnowledgeBase Data Guide.
The files to be imported must be flat files of comma-separated values. Each line in the text file represents a HotH record of a particular type. The first characters in each line indicate the type of record to be loaded. You should also note that special rules apply to some fields, please take advice from Support before loading new data type.You can use Import to execute a SQL string, but again please take advice from Support before doing this.
How to Import the File
In the WebServer, go to Import CSV from Settings Cog 
> More Tools > Import CSV File.
Select the file to import records and click Import. If there are errors they will be listed. The error log is listed to the file suppdesk.err. You need to review the errors. If there are no errors you can navigate away.
In the Windows interface the Import CSV option is on the Database ribbon tab/menu. You need to navigate to where the import file is located.
Import Format
Excel column headings are supplied below to assist. You do not need to supply data for every field, just enter those you need. (Though there are some validation rules, these are not documented here.)
Dates should be entered as DD/MM/YYYY for UK format and MM/DD/YYYY if US format is in use.
KnowledgeBase Record – Type KB
| A | Code | “KB” |
| B | Keywords | Up to 250 characters, mandatory |
| C | Problem | Up to 2000 Characters |
| D | Topic | Up to 32 Characters |
| E | Sub-Topic | Up to 32 characters |
| F | Web Link | Up to 200 characters |
| G | User | Up to 40 characters. The User’s Tag, User must exist. |
| H | Flag | Numeric (set to 0) |
| I | Creation Date | 10 characters. Default today’s date. |
| J | Source Call Ref | Up to 16 characters. The Reference of the originating Ticket. |
| K | Solution | Up to 10,000 characters |
| L-O | Flags | Leave blank |
| P | Prod Ref | 16 Characters – must exist |
| Q | Cust Ref | 16 Characters – must exist |
| R | Internal | Numeric |
| S | Unvalidated | Numeric |
| T | Status | Numeric |
| U | ID | Numeric |
| V | Solution | Up to 128 characters |
| W | Leave blank | |
| X | Relevance | Numeric |
| Y | Script Id | Numeric |
| Z | Service | Up to 40 characters |
| AA | Value | Up to 40 characters |
| AB | Cost | Numeric |
| AC | Type | Up to 40 characters |
| AD | Root Cause | Up to 128 characters |
| AE | Tier | Numeric |
| AF | Rating no | Numeric |
| AG | Rating Average | Numeric |
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Exporting KnowledgeBase Data
You can export the current KnowledgeBase databases into a named file. The output records have same layout as the corresponding Import records. This is useful if you want to create an import file; create a ‘dummy’ record, populating the required fields with discernible text, such as REF in a reference field. The exported data can then be used as a template for the import layout.
How to Export the KnowledgeBase
To export data, show the KnowledgeBase records in the summary and filter the list as required.
In the WebServer, navigate to KnowledgeBase in the side-bar menu, then use the Export option in the Summary Options navigation bar; this will then offer the option to View the output. Now, you can open or save the file.
Additionally, you can navigate to Settings Cog > Export CSV File, and then select KnowledgeBase to export:
In the Windows interface, you can export the records in the summary list using Export CSV on the File ribbon tab/Menu. Additionally, in the Windows version you can use the Export CSV option on the Database menu to export more KnowledgeBase records.
Tick the KnowledgeBase box, click the OK button and then choose a location and file name for the export file. The default is export.txt on the HotH directory. If this file already exists, you must confirm to replace the existing file. On completion, you can view the export file before being returned to the main window.
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