Searching the knowledge base

BMC Remedyforce enables you to search for documents, articles, or web links that might help you to resolve the records that are assigned to you. You can search for information by using the following resources:

• other records (incidents, service requests, tasks, problems, change requests, broadcasts, configuration items, contacts, and users)
• documents uploaded to the Documents tab of your Salesforce.com organization
• knowledge articles (available in BMC Remedyforce, Salesforce, or the RightAnswers Knowledge Management application)
• Google search engine

If a knowledge article is helpful in resolving a record, you can copy that knowledge article link or content to the Resolution field of the record for future reference. If a knowledge article in the search results contains incorrect or incomplete information, you can also submit a change request to update the information.

This topic includes the following sections:

Searching the knowledge base

You can search for information to resolve an incident, service request, task, problem, change request, release, or broadcast that is assigned to you.

Global Search allows you to search values in string fields only. For example, fields of type Text, Text Area, Long Text Area, Phone, and Email. BMC Remedyforce does not perform search in fields that are of the type check box, Date/Time, or Number.

To refine your search, use operators such as AND, OR, AND NOT, , and?. For example, to search for information about "networking" or "networks" but not "coverage," enter network AND NOT coverage. Records that contain any word that begins with "network" but do not contain the word "coverage" are displayed.

To search the knowledge base

1. Click the Remedyforce Console tab.
2. From the View menu, select the appropriate module, such as Incidents.
3. From the list of records, select the record for which you want to search information.
4. From the Agent Tools menu, select Knowledge Search.
   Alternatively, you can also navigate to Remedyforce Workspaces > Incident Management > Global Search.
5. In the Search Text box, enter the text that you want to search for and click .
   If you access the Global Search window from the Remedyforce Console, the first few characters in the Description field are used as the default text to be searched.
6. (Optional) To limit your search, click Settings and select the data source that you want to search:
   • Search Support Content--Searches for matching values in incident, service request, task, broadcast, change request, problem, configuration item records, and knowledge articles of BMC Remedyforce and Salesforce. All the fields on a record including the fields that are not visible on the form of an object are searched. When the search result record does not display data that you are searching, this data might be stored in an internal field or a field that is not visible on the form.
   • Search Support Documents--Searches for matching values in documents uploaded to the Documents tab of your Salesforce.com organization.

   • Search the Web--Searches for matching values on the web by using the Google search engine.

     Note

     Global Search searches in all internal fields and fields that are not visible on the form of an object. When the search results display data that is not present in a form, this data might be stored in an internal field or a field that is not visible on the form.

7. In the Maximum Results field, type or select the maximum number of results to be displayed in each tab.

   Note

   This limit is not applicable to the search results on the Web Search tab.

8. Click .
   In the Global Search window, the search results appear on different tabs for each data source; for example Incidents, Service Requests, Salesforce, Web, and so on. A data source tab appears only if matching items are found in that data source. For example, the Incidents tab appears only if matching results are found in incidents. The data fields in each tab display the values that match your search text. To configure the data source tabs and data fields that appear in the search results, contact your system administrator. 

   Note

   Each time you click a record from the Global Search window, the record opens in a new browser tab or window.

   
   The following table provides information about some of the tabs that are displayed in the Global Search window. 

   Tab	Description
   Documents	If your search criteria match the file name of a document that is uploaded in the Notes & Attachments section of a record, the document appears on the Documents tab. You can click a document in the Documents tab to view or download that document.
   Web Search	Click the Web Search tab to view the matching search results from the Google search engine in a new browser tab or window.
   Salesforce Knowledge	Salesforce knowledge articles are displayed on the Salesforce Knowledge tab. You can click a search result to open the article in a new tab in the same browser window.
   Knowledge Articles	Knowledge articles that match your search criteria appear on the Knowledge Articles tab. You can perform the following actions on a knowledge article in your search results: Double-click a knowledge article to view the article in a new window. Select a rating and provide feedback for the knowledge article. Copy the knowledge article text or link to the Resolution field of the record for future reference if the article is helpful in resolving an incident, service request, problem, task, or broadcast record. For information about selecting a rating, providing feedback, and copying the knowledge article or link to the Resolution field, see Copying knowledge article contents or links into the Resolution field of a record.  In the tab, the knowledge articles are sorted based on the Relevance column. By default, the most relevant record appears at the top of the search results. The relevance of the knowledge article is calculated by using the following formula: 2 * Used by Staff Members # + 2 * Used in Self Service + 0.75 * Viewed in Self Service #  The total count includes the number of times the knowledge article is viewed in Self Service and BMC Remedyforce. Note: If a knowledge article is not used or viewed, the Relevance column displays 0 for the knowledge article.

Copying knowledge article contents or links into the Resolution field of a record

You can select a rating and provide feedback for the knowledge article. If a knowledge article is helpful in resolving a broadcast, incident, service request, problem, or task, you can copy the knowledge article content or link to the Resolution field of the record.

When you select the Copy article link option for a knowledge article, the link to the knowledge article is copied to the Resolution field or saved as a Notes record in the Action History section of the record, depending on the conditions described in the following table.

To copy knowledge article contents or links into the Resolution field of a record

1. Click the Remedyforce Console tab.
2. From the View menu, select the appropriate module, such as Incidents.
3. From the list of records, select the record for which you want to use Knowledge Search.
4. From the Agent Tools menu, select Knowledge Search.
5. On the Knowledge Articles tab, click the required article.
6. Select one of the following options:
   • Copy article text -- To copy the text of the Answer, Solution, or Workaround field (depending on the knowledge article type) to the Resolution field of the record.
   • Copy article link -- To copy the knowledge article link to the Resolution field of the record.

   • Return to search-- To return to the list of knowledge articles that match your search criteria.

     Note

     These options are unavailable when you search knowledge articles for a change request or release record.

7. (Optional) From the Select article rating list, select a rating for the article.
   If you select Not Helpful, the Return to search results option is selected. If you select a custom rating defined by your system administrator, the Copy article text, Copy article link, and Return to search results options remain enabled. To add a custom rating, contact your system administrator.

   Note

   The Select article rating field is a required field if the system administrator has configured it on the Global Search Settings page.

8. (Optional) In the Feedback/Comments field, enter your feedback on the article.
   If you rate or provide feedback to an article, the article is linked to the record on which you searched the knowledge article.
9. To copy the text of a knowledge article from the RightAnswers Knowledge Management application to the Resolution field of a record, click .
10. Click Submit.

Requesting an update to a knowledge article

If a knowledge article contains incorrect or incomplete information, you can submit a change request to update that article.

When you select the Needs Update rating and enter your feedback for a knowledge article, a change request is created with the following details. 

To request an update to a knowledge article

1. Click the Remedyforce Console tab.
2. From the View menu, select the appropriate module, such as Incidents.
3. From the list of records, select the record for which you want to use Knowledge Search.
4. From the Agent Tools menu, select Knowledge Search.
5. In the Global Search window, on the Knowledge Articles tab, click the appropriate knowledge article.
6. In the Select article rating list, select the Needs Update rating.
7. In the Feedback/Comments field, enter your feedback about the article.
   If you rate or provide feedback to an article, the article is linked to the record on which you searched the knowledge article.
8. Click Submit.