Knowledge Base
==============
Manage, edit, and reorganize knowledge base articles from the
**knowledge base** panel.
This feature is **optional**; if you don't see it in the main menu,
that means your administrator hasn't enabled it yet. Administrators can learn
more on our
:admin-docs:`admin documentation `.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-preview.png
:alt: Knowledge Base Preview Mode
:align: center
The knowledge base panel begins in **Preview Mode**.
With some small exceptions,
Preview Mode shows what the published knowledge base will look like.
Getting Started
---------------
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-link-to-public.png
:alt: Knowledge Base Link to published knowledge base
:align: center
Use the **↗️ button** in the top toolbar to see the published knowledge base.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-edit.png
:alt: Knowledge Base Edit Mode
:align: center
👆 In Edit Mode, use the righthand menu to navigate through the
knowledge base.
Use the **“Edit” button** in the top toolbar to switch into **Edit Mode**
(and back again). If you can't see the "Edit" button, you should talk to your
administrator about granting you the appropriate permissions. By default,
agents are **not permitted to create, edit, or manage knowledge
base articles**.
Switching Languages
-------------------
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-switch-languages.png
:alt: Switch languages
:align: center
Use the language menu to view or edit translations of the current page.
If you select a language, in which the page hasn't been translated into yet,
the behavior depends on the state of the page:
in Edit Mode
Untranslated pages are marked with a ⚠️ **warning sign**:
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-missing-translation-edit.png
:alt: Missing translation warning
:align: center
in Preview Mode
Untranslated pages are only visible to users with
**edit permissions**:
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-missing-translation-preview.png
:alt: Missing translation warning
:align: center
in the published knowledge base
Untranslated pages are **always hidden**:
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-missing-translation-published.png
:alt: Missing translation warning
:align: center
Using RSS Feeds
---------------
Zammad allows you to subscribe to either the knowledge base as whole or to
specific categories. There's both a public and an internal option to do so.
By default, RSS feeds are disabled. If you wish to use the RSS function,
talk to your administrator about enabling the function.
.. tabs::
.. tab:: Public RSS function
The RSS button of the public knowledge base page is located at the bottom
of each page. If enabled, the button will be available to anybody
visiting the page.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-public-rss-function.png
:alt: Screenshot showing the context menu of the RSS button
:width: 99%
.. tab:: Internal RSS function
The internal RSS button can be found on the upper right next to the edit
button. It's available on every internal knowledge base page you display.
Pressing the the RSS button will provide up to two RSS feeds to subscribe
to.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-internal-rss-function.png
:alt: Screenshot showing the modal for of the RSS button
:width: 99%
.. warning::
Keep in mind that internal RSS links contain **personal** access tokens.
**Never share these URLs with third parties!**
If you want to revoke the access and renew your token, you can do so
in the RSS modal.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-reset-rss-access-token.png
:alt: Screenshot showing the access token reset link on the lower
end of the RSS feed modal (internal knowledge base)
:align: center
Editing Categories
------------------
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-edit-category.png
:alt: Edit category
:align: center
You can relocate a category using the **Parent** menu. Doing so, all of its
articles and sub-categories will be relocated with it.
You can delete categories by clicking on the 🗑️ **Delete** button. Categories
can only be deleted once **all of their articles and sub-categories** have been
deleted or relocated.
Granular Category Permissions
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Granular category permissions are great to have individual access levels
on a role level. Using the granular permissions of a category deactivates
the default visibility behavior and applies the permissions you've chosen
instead.
This allows you to divide user groups on a e.g. subscription level to
reduce the information load for users that don't need the information.
The roles require **knowledge base reader permission**. Your administrator has
to provide the relevant groups with reader permissions for the knowledge base.
If you're unsure, please ask your administrator to configure the
:admin-docs:`role permissions `
accordingly.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-granular-category-permissions.gif
:alt: Screencast showing the visibility option for categories for granular access permissions
:align: center
In general, permissions of a parent category are inherited! If you want to
grant edit permissions for a sub-category for a specific role for example,
set the upper level to "reader" and the desired sub-category to "editor".
The same workflow applies to granting "none" permissions, effectively hiding a
given sub-category. The other way round is not possible. A role with "editor"
permission has full access to it's sub-categories, so it's pointless to limit
it's permissions. "None" permissions also cannot be changed down the tree since
there would be no path to access permitted sub-categories.
If you can't select permissions in the table, this could be the reason.
.. warning::
* Be aware that public answers are always available!
* Knowledge base reader permission means that affected users can see
**internal answers**. This is a potential issue if you're not dividing
carefully!
Editing Answers
---------------
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/knowledge-base-edit-answer.png
:alt: Edit answer
:align: center
The knowledge base editor comes equipped with the same
**rich text editing capabilities** available in the Zammad ticket composer.
That means you can use the same
:doc:`keyboard shortcuts ` to insert formatted
text, bullet lists, and more. You can even add file attachments and links!
Different link types
🔗 **Weblink**
URLs pointing to other websites.
💡 **Link Answer**
| Internal references to other knowledge base answers.
| (Will not break if destination URL changes.)
📋 **Linked Tickets**
| Internal references to Zammad tickets.
| (Visible only in Preview and Edit Modes.)
🏷️ **Tags**
| Tags can help categorize or spice answers with further words to find.
| Please note that tags are visible publicly and can be the same like
those in your tickets.
.. figure:: /images/extras/tags-in-kb-answers.gif
:alt: Screencast showing tags on answers
Visibility
Set the **visibility** of an answer to control who can see an article,
or schedule it to be published at a later date.
Articles are **color-coded** according to their visibility:
+-------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| |grn| | **Public** (visible to everyone) |
+-------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| |blu| | **Internal** (visible to agents & editors only) |
+-------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| |gry| | **Draft/Scheduled/Archived** (visible to editors only) |
+-------+--------------------------------------------------------+
.. |grn| raw:: html
.. |blu| raw:: html
.. |gry| raw:: html
Using Answers In Ticket Articles
--------------------------------
As soon as the knowledge base contains one or more answers, you can use these
just like text modules. Instead of ``::`` just use ``??`` to open the search
modal. The search is done full text on both answer body and title in all
languages available.
If you've found what you've been looking for, simply hit your ENTER-Key
to load the answer into the ticket article. This way you don't have to throw
URLs at your customer and provide the answer right away.
Loading answers into articles *does not* replace article content.
.. figure:: /images/extras/knowledge-base/load-kb-answer-into-article.gif
:alt: Screencast showing how to insert KB answers into articles
:align: center
Use ``??`` to find and load knowledge base answers into ticket articles