Formatting knowledge article text

RTF editor

A new RTF editor is available inBMC Helix ITSM9.1.03 and later versions. It can be used even when you have installed earlier versions of the Action Request System, BMC Helix CMDB, and BMC Helix ITSMapplications. 

To create a link to a web page

1. Click the  icon in the section of the article in which you want to insert the hyperlink.
2. In the rich text field, select the text you want to hyperlink.
3. Under Insert Items, click the HTML Link  icon.
   The Link Options dialog box is displayed. 

4. Perform one or both of the following tasks:
   
   Insert a hyperlink to an external website

   1. In the Link window, enter the URL of the website in the Link URL field. 
   2. (Optional) In the Target list, select New window to display the website in a new window.

   Insert a hyperlink to another knowledge article

   1.  In the Link window, click Links to display the External Link Options dialog box.

   2. In the Article ID field, enter the ID of the knowledge article you want to link. If you do not know the ID, click Search to open the Knowledge Search window and locate the article, then click either Select this article to link or the Link Article  icon.

      Alternatively, you can click the Link Article icon instead of the Select this article to link on the search results screen to create a hyperlink to a particular knowledge article.

   3. In the Target list, select Parent window.

   4. Click OK.
      The link details are automatically populated in the Link URL field. 

      To link a knowledge article to another knowledge article, select the Parent window option from the Target list. If you select the New window option and reopen the Link window, you observe that the Target list is reset to Parent window, automatically.

5. (Optional) In the Description text box, provide a description of the website or hyperlinked knowledge article.
6. Close the Link window and then click OK.
   The hyperlink is inserted when you close the Link Options dialog box.
7. Click Save.

To create a bookmark

1. Click the  icon in the section of the article in which you want to create a bookmark.
2. In the rich text field, select the text you want to bookmark.
3. Under Insert Items, click the Insert or Change Bookmark  icon.
   The Bookmark Options dialog box is displayed.
4. In the Bookmark Name field, enter the bookmark name and close the Bookmark Options dialog box. 
   In the rich text field, the bookmarked text appears highlighted in yellow. 
5. Click OK and then click Save.

To create link to a bookmark

1. Click the  icon in the section of the article in which you want to hyperlink the bookmark.
2. In the rich text field, select the text you want to hyperlink.
3. Under Insert Items, click the HTML Link icon. 
   The Link Options dialog box is displayed.
4. In the Link Options dialog box, select the bookmark from the List of Bookmarks found on this page area below the Link URL field.
5. (Optional) In the Description text box, provide a description of the bookmark.
6. Close the Link Options dialog box and then click OK.
   The hyperlink is inserted when you close the Link Options dialog box.
7. Click Save.

To create a link to an email message

1. Click the link icon.
2. In the Link dialog box, select E-mail from the Link Type.
3. Enter details such as, E-mail Address, Message Subject, and Message Body.
4. Click OK.

To add an image

1. Click inside a rich text field.
2. In the editing toolbar, perform one of the following tasks:
   • To insert an image as a link, select the knowledge article text to be hyperlinked.
   • To embed the image directly into the knowledge article, move your cursor to the start of a new line where you want to insert the image.
3. Click the Insert Image icon.
4. In the Insert Image panel, locate the image to attach and click OK.
   • For embedded images, browse to the image location and select the file from the file list.

   • For linked images, type the URL to the image file.
     The following table lists the number of images that you can insert for various rich text fields in knowledge articles.

     Field name	Number of images
     How To template
     Question	15
     Answer	30
     Technical Notes	15
     Reference template
     Question	30
     Problem Solution template
     Problem	15
     Solution	30
     Technical Notes	15
     Known Error template
     Error	15
     Root Cause	15
     Workaround/Fix	30
     Technical Notes	15
     Decision Tree template
     Decision Tree	30

5. Click OK.
   BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Managementuploads the file and displays the hyperlink in the text field.
   If you did not select any text for the hyperlink, the image is embedded directly into the knowledge article.

   Links to attachments and images are not active in the document editor. You must view the knowledge article in the Document Viewer to use the hyperlink.

   You can delete an image while editing a knowledge article by selecting the image with a click, and pressing Del. For decision tree articles, select an image by holding the mouse button and dragging the cursor over the image. You can use this method to select multiple images in any knowledge article.

To add a table

You can use the Table icon to insert a table in an RTF field or to modify the properties of a selected table. The Table Properties dialog box enables you to design a table with advanced options.

In the RTF editor, you can right-click the table and perform the following operations:

• Paste contents in the table.
• Insert cells, rows, and columns (before or after).
• Merge cells (right or  down).
• Split cells (horizontal and vertical).
• Set cells properties.
• Set table properties.
• Delete cells, rows, and columns.
• Edit and remove division.
• Delete the table.

To apply character formatting

1. Click inside a rich text field in the knowledge article template.
2. Select the text to format.
3. Apply the appropriate formatting.
4. Click Save.

To remove character formatting

1. Click inside a rich text field in the knowledge article template.
2. Select the text whose formatting you want to remove.
3. Click Remove Formatting.
4. Click Save.

To create a numbered list

1. Click in a rich text field in the knowledge article template.
2. Select the text or press Enter to create new text to be included in the numbered list. You can select more than one paragraph.
3. Click Ordered List to format the paragraph or selected paragraphs with numbers.
4. Use Decrease Indent and Increase Indent to create sublists.
5. Click Save.

To create a bulleted list

1. Click in a rich text field in the knowledge article template.

2. Select the text or press Enter to create new text to include in the bulleted list.

   You can select more than one paragraph to apply the bullets to multiple paragraphs at one time.

3. Click Unorderered List. 
4. Use Decrease Indent and Increase Indent to create sublists.
5. Click Save.

To add an attachment

1. In the knowledge article, select the Details tab.
2. Under the Article Attachments section, click Add.
   The Add Attachment dialog box appears.
3. Click Browse to locate the file to attach, select the file from the file list, and click Open.
4. Click OK.
   Knowledge Management displays a link in the Article Attachments section.
5. Click Save.
6. To open the attached file, double-click it or select it and click Display.

To delete attached files

1. In the knowledge article, select the Details tab.
2. Under the Article Attachments section, select the file that you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.