Creating a Knowledge Base article

This article provides the steps in how create a knowledge base article including some technical writing standards and image guidelines.

 Objective

To provide instructions on using a template to create a knowledge base article.

 Audience

IT Staff

 Environment  

Kansas State University IT Service Portal (via browser)

 Procedure

Accessing the knowledge base

1. Go to support.ksu.edu and sign in. 
2. On the top menu, click Knowledge Base.

Creating your article

1. Click the category that your article will be saved in.
2. Click + New Article.
3. In the Subject box, type the title of your article. 
4. On the toolbar, click Templates and then select the desired template.
5. Begin filling out the sections (objective, audience, environment, procedures, notes) of the template.
6. In the Article Summary box, write a summary of the article. The summary will display beneath the subject of the article when it is searched for in the knowledge base.
7. In the Tags box, type keywords that would be helpful when someone is searching for your article. No spaces or special characters are allowed in tag names. View the list of tags currently in use in the Knowledge Base.
8. In the Status list, select Not Submitted. This will allow you to save your article while you continue to draft it. For more information on statuses, see the Knowledge Base Statuses article.
9. In the Next Review Date, type a date one year from the current date.
10. Set the Owner as Group, e.g: Data Operations (it is possible to set the Owner as an individual, however, best practice is to set it to a Group to reduce single points of failure)
11. Select Notify Owner on Feedback. This option allows notifications to be sent to the owner when feedback is sent.
12. Under KB Article Visibility, select the desired visibility for the article. The approver will set this permission when they publish the article.
13. Click Save.

Submitting your article for review and publishing

Before you submit your article for review, proofread and proofread again.

1. After the article has been Saved, you may continue to edit the article by clicking the Edit Article button.
2. Once the article has been finalized, click the Submit Article button. This will change the status of article from Not Submitted to Submitted.
   
   Note: The Knowledge Base Approver for the area listed as the Owner will be able to review, update, and approve/publish the article. 

Tips

The following are optional components that you may want to add to your article.

Links

1. Type the text for the link. It should be the title of the destination page. Do not use click here for link text.
2. Highlight the text you want to turn into a link.
3. On the toolbar, click the Link button.
4. In the URL box, paste or type the URL and click OK.

Images

Images shouldn't be wider than 600 pixels.

1. Click Shift-Enter twice after the step where you want to add the image.
2. On the toolbar, click the Image button.
3. Click Upload tab.
4. Click Choose File.
5. Click Send it to the Server.
6. Click Close.
7. Click the Image Info tab.
8. In the Alternate Text box, type your alternate text.
9. Determine if the image size will work.
10. In the Border box, type 1.
11. Click OK.

Attachments

1. On the top menu of the article, click Files.
2. Click Add.
3. Click Browse.
4. Navigate to the file you want to upload, select the file, and click Upload.
5. Click Upload again.
6. Close the Upload window.

Related Articles

1. On the top menu of the article, click Related Articles.
2. Click Add.
3. Type the name of the article or search for it and click Save.

 Notes

Knowledge base articles are a great method to communicate information to the campus community and to internal resources that support various services and activities. The TDX KB space may not a good fit for long-term document storage, document collaboration, and detailed service and support documentation. Please work with your supervisor if you have questions around what method to store longer-term project and service related artifacts and information.