Tag Clouds

Tag Clouds

The Bamboo Knowledge Base Tag Cloud List allows Administrators to add new tags to be associated with articles. End users on the KB Client site can then view a tag cloud to view articles associated with that tag.

Add tags to the Bamboo KB Tag Cloud List:

Step Action
1. From the KB Admin site, click All Site Content.
2. Under Lists, select Bamboo KB Tag Cloud.
3. Click Add new item to add a new tag to the list. Click Save.

Manage Images in Knowledge Base

Manage Images in Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base Overview

sa05006.jpgManage all images used in your articles or on your site in the Bamboo KB Picture Library.

This library stores images uploaded during article creation. Images can be directly inserted into the article content without first having to upload them to a SharePoint library. The Image Manager is accessed while creating the article content. You can insert pictures you have already uploaded, or you can upload new ones.

Knowledge Base Reporting

Knowledge Base Reporting

Knowledge Base Overview

ReportOptions.jpg The KB Admin site’s Reporting feature allows Knowledge Base administrator to view data about Knowledge Base articles via charts, including each report below. Just click a report to see a description of the report and how to configure the tool pane to get what you want from it.

Article Counts by Categories – Displays the current categories in the Knowledge Base along with how many articles are in each category. A data view is displayed underneath Article Counts by Categories and

Article Counts by Article Type – This data view displays the number of articles in each category or article type along with the average user rating for that category or article type.

Article Counts by Article Type – Displays the article types along with how many articles are in each type.

Article Usage Report – Allows Knowledge Base administrators to see which articles have the most views. The Article Usage Report is a data view of the most popular articles and each article’s page views and rating.

Ask a Question Report – Displays how many questions have been asked, whether they were answered, and if Knowledge Base articles need to be created based on the questions and answers. The Ask a Question Report is a bar graph that displays the number of questions submitted by users that:

  • Need a Knowledge Base article to be written
  • Do not have an answer
  • Have replies

KB Client Tag Cloud

KB Client Tag Cloud

How to Use the KB Client Site

Knowledge Base Tag Cloud List allows Administrators to add new tags to be associated with articles. End users on the KB Client site can then click on a tag cloud to view articles associated with that tag. The Tag Cloud page allows users to search for articles using tag terms. Users can select the most viewed articles by selecting the largest tag term in the tag cloud. Tags must be created in the KB Admin site. See Using the KB Admin Site for more information.

Add tags to the Bamboo KB Tag Cloud List:

Step Action
1. From the KB Admin site, click All Site Content.
2. Under Lists, select Bamboo KB Tag Cloud.
3. Click Add new item to add a new tag to the list. Click Save.

sa05-2010-tagcloud.jpg
A larger tag size indicates a greater number of articles associated with that tag. Click a tag to view all articles associated with that tag.

Use the drop-down list to search for specific tags that begin with a letter within the grouping; for example, you would find the word SharePoint in the S-T group.

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KB Client Search

KB Client Search

How to Use the KB Client Site

The Search page allows end users to search for articles using specific search criteria. See How to Use the KB Search Web Parts for more information about searching and search criteria.

To search for an article:

Step Action Result
1. From the Knowledge Base Client site Home page, click Search.
2. Enter in your search criteria and click Search. sa05-2010-usingclient7.jpg
3. Click the article title to view the article.
Click Print to print the article.
Click Export to Excel to export it.

Bamboo KB Admin Site

Bamboo KB Admin Site

Overview of Knowledge Base Solution Accelerator

sa05004.jpgUse the navigation sidebar in the KBSA Admin Site to create and manage articles, answer users’ questions, manage article images, approve and manage users’ comments, and create and manage Knowledge Base categories.

Locate articles using the tree view, the Most Popular Articles box, the Latest Additions box or the All Articles box. You can create, edit or delete categories directly from the tree by right-clicking on a category. The All Articles box shows all articles for the selected category. If no category is selected (which is the default), then all articles are displayed in the All Articles box.

The KB Admin site allows Knowledge Base administrators to view data about articles and authors, create new articles, manage existing articles, approve and manage article comments, answer end-user questions, manage images, and create and manage Knowledge Base article categories.

The KB Admin site must be configured before it can be used. Read KBSA Configuration Overview for information on configuring the KB Admin site.

Access the lists, libraries, discussion boards and other site content used in the KB Admin site by selecting Site Actions > View All Site Content and selecting the desired item.

How to use Workflow Conductor for process automation in Knowledge Base

How to use Workflow Conductor for process automation in Knowledge Base

KBSA Configuration Overview

Applies To:

  • SharePoint Knowledge Base R2.0 or newer
  • Workflow Conductor R1.6 or newer
  • SharePoint Server and Foundation 2010
  • MOSS 2007 and WSS v3.0

Icon-Warning IMPORTANT if you are using Workflow Conductor prior to Release2.x: Set up the following workflow processes during off hours. Publishing the workflow templates requires the application pool to be recycled. (Upgrade your WFC product soon so that you won’t need to publish during off hours!)

Icon-Warning LIMITATIONS: To approve workflow tasks, users require the following permissions: Assignee, Initiator, Site Collection Administrator.

To complete task forms and to view the Approve, Reject and Submit buttons, users must be able to

  1. Read the workflow item that the workflow is running on
    and
  2. Edit items in the Workflow Tasks List that is associated with the workflow.

Click a section below for more information:

How to Use the KB Admin Site

How to Use the KB Admin Site

The KB Admin site allows Knowledge Base administrators to view data about articles and authors, create new articles, manage existing articles, approve and manage article comments, answer end-user questions, manage images, and create and manage Knowledge Base article categories.

The KB Admin site must be configured before it can be used. Read KBSA Configuration Overview for detailed information on configuring the KB Admin site.

Access the lists, libraries, discussion boards and other site content used in the KB Admin site by selecting Site Actions > View All Site Content and selecting the desired item.

Click the links below for more information on each section.

How to Use the KB Client Site

How to Use the KB Client Site

Overview of Knowledge Base Solution Accelerator

The Knowledge Base Client site enables end users to:

  • Search for articles and content; print or e-mail articles or export them to PDF
  • Submit questions to Knowledge Base Administrators
  • Rate and comment on articles
  • View the most popular and recently added articles

You must configure the Knowledge Base Client site before you can begin using it. Read Configure the KB Client Site for information on configuring the KB Client site. Before you can use the KB Client site, you must create articles in the Knowledge Base Admin site. Read more here on using the Knowledge Base Admin site.

Click the links below for more information on each section.

Error Using the KB Creation Utility

Error Using the KB Creation Utility

kb create util error.jpgWhen you run the KB Creation Utility from the Web Front End (WFE) Server where you installed the Knowledge Base on your farm, you might see this error and the new KB sites will not be created.

This may happen if you are creating a KB on a site in a new site collection.

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

Step Action
1. kb create utili site coll feature option.jpgFrom the top level/root site of the site collection where you want to create the KB site, go to Site Settings and then Site collection features under the Site Collection Administration heading.
2.

Check the features for the Bamboo Knowledge Base solution.

If you are running SP2013, the two templates highlighted below will be included. Make sure they are activated. The four features that must be activated in Sp2013 are:
– Bamboo KB Accelerator Reporting Web Part
– Bamboo KB Admin Site Template R2 SP2013
– Bamboo KB Client Site Template R2 SP2013
– Bamboo Knowledge Base Accelerator

site collection features.jpg

If you are running SP2010, make sure the four features highlighted in yellow below are activated. They are:
– Bamboo KB Accelerator Reporting Web Part
– Bamboo KB Admin Site Template R2
– Bamboo KB Client Site Template R2
– Bamboo Knowledge Base Accelerator

site collection features sp2010.jpg

NOTE: You may see other KB templates listed if you upgraded your Bamboo Knowledge Base from an earlier version.

3. When you have ensured the site collection features are activated for the site collection where you want to create the new KB sites, re-run the KB Site Creation Utility.

Edit Knowledge Base Article

Edit Knowledge Base Article

Edit articles

  1. Click Article Control to locate the desired article, or click Manage Articles and use the search options to enter in your search criteria.

    sa05-2010-usingadmin4.jpg

  1. Click the Edit icon in the Update column to edit the article. A new window opens with the article in edit form.

    sa05-2010-editarticle1.jpg

    sa05-2010-editarticle2.jpg

  2. Make your changes and click Save. Click Cancel to cancel the changes.

See also:

Comment Control for KB Solution Accelerator

Comment Control for KB Solution Accelerator

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Use the Approve & Manage link under Comment Control to approve and manage comments submitted by end users about Knowledge Base articles.

The Approve & Manage link uses the Bamboo KB Rating and Comments List. To edit the columns used in the list, edit the list settings. To do this, navigate to the list by selecting Site Actions > View All Site Content > Lists > Bamboo KB Ratings and Comments. Use the ribbon to edit the list settings by selecting List > List Settings.

Warning: If you are using workflows to approve and manage comments, do not manually approve comments. Doing so will stop the workflow task from approving comments, and the Workflow Task List will display open tasks. Choose to approve comments using only one method (workflows or manual approval).

To manage comments:

Step Action Result
1. From the Knowledge Base Admin site, click Approve & Manage.
2. Enter your search criteria and click Search. sa05-2010-usingadmin21.jpg
3.

To publish the comment, click Publish. To edit the comment, click the Edit icon under the Update column. A new window displays the comment in edit form.

  • Use Article ID to assign a different ID to the comment. This is a required field.
  • Change the Rating using the drop-down list.
  • Modify the Comments in the rich text editor. Use the formatting toolbar to format your text.
  • Change the Status of the comment to Submitted, Rejected or Published.
  • Associate the comment to another Article Title using the drop-down list.
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4. Make your changes and click Save. sa05-2010-usingadmin23.jpg

Change the width of the Knowledge Base article fields

Change the width of the Knowledge Base article fields

sa05-2010-width5.jpgThe width of the Related Articles and Article Category fields can be modified so that full article titles and categories are visible.

Option Name Description
1. Open the KB Admin site using SharePoint Designer.
2. Under Bamboo KB Articles and Bamboo KB Categories, open EditForm.aspx and NewForm.aspx. sa05-2010-width1.jpg
3. From the ribbon, select Web Part Zone. (If this option is grayed out, use the ribbon to select Home > Advanced Mode.) Under Web Part, select Content Editor. sa05-2010-width3.jpg

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4. Right-click on the Web Part and select Web Part Properties. Under Content Link, click sa05-2010-ellipsis.jpg and browse to Shared Documents > Bamboo_KB_Articles.js. Click OK and save the page. sa05-2010-width4.jpg
5. Return to the KB Admin site. Click All Site Content > Shared Document Library. Click Bamboo_KB_Articles and save the file to the local drive (or the desired location). sa05-2010-designer8.jpg
6. Use Notepad or the desired program to open the file. Change the value for the column width by modifying the value for var maxLimitWidth. The default value is 250. sa05-2010-designer9.jpg
7. Save the file and upload it to the Shared Documents Library. The Related Article and Article Category fields now display the full article title or category. sa05-2010-designer10.jpg

KB Solution Accelerator Authors

KB Solution Accelerator Authors

The Authors section in Knowledge Base displays a data view of All Articles, which displays all articles in the Knowledge Base, or My Articles, which displays the articles authored by the logged-in user. You can sort, filter, and make changes in datasheet view by selecting the Edit in datasheet option in the tool pane. For more information, see Overview of Data Viewer Features for End Users.

sa05-2010-dataview.jpg

Article Counts by Article Type

Article Counts by Article Type

KBSA Configuration Overview

byTypes.jpg
When you open the link for Reporting, you see a page with four tabs across the top. When you click the second tab on the Reporting page, you are presented with a view of a chart and a data sheet view at the bottom of the page showing a summary report of articles by article type.

CountsByType.jpg This data view displays a summary list of article types as well as the number of articles and average user rating for that article type.

You can modify the web part so that the chart with all of your article types has a color corresponding to it; the plain chart becomes a bit more colorful to look at than the default.

To select colors for the chart, you can choose to use either the Skin for the chart or customize the colors. Edit the Web Part to open the tool pane where you can configure the article type color options.

Skins

You can select a pre-formatted color scheme by simply selecting a skin.
Skins.jpg Several skins are embedded into the web part and all you do is pick a skin and the chart changes color.

RedScheme.jpg For example, choosing Red will give you a group of colors in the red family.

To select your own colors for each article type, in the tool pane, click the button Choose colors for the chart. In SharePoint 2013, the button reads “Edit colors.”

Step Action Result
1. In the tool pane, click the button Choose colors for the chart. In SharePoint 2013, the button reads “Edit colors.” EditButton.jpg
A new window opens where you can select the desired colors for the chart.
2. You have the option to click the Auto Select button to automatically assign colors. ChooseColors.jpg
3. Or you can choose your colors individually using the drop-down arrows next to each category to set the color for that category.
4. Click Save to save your choices. The chart containing categories will update with the colors that you picked.
ViewChanges.jpg
5. Choose a chart size Charts can be sized from 50% to 200% using the drop down selector.
6. Turn off chart labels By default this box is checked. If you prefer not to show any labels, you can click the check box next to Turn off chart labels. When you uncheck it,
7. Show the Print and Export to Excel action buttons: You can optionally Show the Print and Export to Excel action buttons by clicking or unclicking the boxes.
8. Select a language. More details about languages here.

See also:

Ask a Question Page in Knowledge Base

Ask a Question Page in Knowledge Base

How to Use the KB Client Site

The Ask a Question page allows end users to submit questions to Knowledge Base Administrators, who can then review the questions and respond to them.

To submit a question:

Step Action Result
1. From the KB Client site, click Ask a Question Ask.jpg
2. Fill out the form with a short subject and some text in the body that clearly states the information you are seeking. Check the box if you are asking for feedback from others. Leave the “Answered” box unchecked until you get an answer. Click the Need KB box if you also want an article written to add to the Knowledge Base. Include you e-mail address and user name. Form.jpg
3. Click Submit Question. The question gets submitted to the Knowledge Base Administrators through the Pending Questions section in the KB Admin site. The Knowledge Base Administrator can e-mail the reply to the question directly to the user from this section.

See also:

Article Counts by Categories

Article Counts by Categories

KBSA Configuration Overview

ByCat.jpg
When you open the link for Reporting, you see a page with four tabs across the top. The first tab is the Article Counts by Categories displaying a box containing the categories and a data view at the bottom of the page.
ArticleCounts-Cat.jpgA data view is displayed underneath Article Counts by Categories and Article Counts by Article Type. This data view displays the number of articles in each category or article type as well as the average user rating for that category or article type.

You can modify the web part so that each of your categories has a color corresponding to it so that the plain chart becomes a bit more colorful to look at.
To select colors for the chart, edit the Web Part to open the tool pane where you can configure the category color options.

Step Action Result
1. In the tool pane, click the button Choose colors for the chart. In SharePoint 2013, the button reads “Edit colors.” EditButton.jpg
A new window opens where you can select the desired colors for the chart.
2. You have the option to click the Auto Select button to automatically assign colors. ChooseColors.jpg
3. Or you can choose your colors individually using the drop-down arrows next to each category to set the color for that category.
4. Click Save to save your choices. The chart containing categories will update with the colors that you picked.
ViewChanges.jpg

See also: