Mapping custom knowledge templates from BMC applications to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

The out-of-the-box knowledge templates and fields in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management are mapped to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround templates. As an administrator, you can map custom knowledge templates and fields from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround templates. 

You must perform this mapping for the synchronization tool to successfully migrate knowledge articles that use custom templates and fields from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.

After you configure BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround as a knowledge provider, your BMC application can leverage the full potential of BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. For more information about benefits of BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, see Configuring-BMC-Helix-Knowledge-Management-by-ComAround-as-a-knowledge-provider.

Before you begin

Process for mapping custom BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management templates to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

Complete the following tasks to map custom BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management templates to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:

Process for mapping custom BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management templates to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

To map custom BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management templates to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, complete the following tasks:

Task 1: To create external record definitions for a custom knowledge template and its associated join form

Create two external record definitions, one for a custom knowledge template and another for its associated join form (to the RKM:KnowledgeArticleManager form for BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management). For example, if you have a custom knowledge template Custom:KCS:Template, you must have its associated join form Custom:KCS:Template_ Manageable_Join.

In the Base mode, create the external record definitions for the Knowledge Sync application and add the following values:

Task 2: To map the fields from custom templates to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

You can create one-to-one or many-to-one field mappings between the BMC application that you use as a knowledge provider and BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Review the field mapping examples. 

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Administration tab. 
2. Select Knowledge management > Knowledge sync configuration > Knowledge Article Templates and Attribute Mappings. 

3. On the Knowledge Article Templates page, click New and specify the following fields:

   Field	Description	Value
   Knowledge Article Source	Specify the knowledge base source.	Remedy Knowledge Management —If you use BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management as a knowledge provider. Business Workflows—If you use BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management as a knowledge provider.
   Knowledge Article Type	Specify the form name of the template. For BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management, enter the name exactly as seen in the Developer Studio.	For example, KCS Template
   Status	Enable or disable the template. Important: Articles that are based on the disabled templates are not migrated during knowledge synchronization. If you want to migrate these articles, enable the corresponding templates for these articles first, and then migrate all knowledge articles.	For example, Enabled

   The following image shows the Knowledge Article Templates page:
   
   

4. Click Save. 
   You have defined the source and content type for the field mapping. 
5. In the Attribute Mappings section, click New. 

6. From the ComAround Attribute list, select the BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround field to which you want to map the custom field. 

   ComAround fields, description, and example field mapping

   The following table lists the fields in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround to which you can map the custom fields in a BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management knowledge template:

   BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround field	Description and example field mapping	Required
   title	Specifies the title of the knowledge article. For example, if you want to map the field to the knowledge article field, set the value to |ArticleTitle|.	Yes
   author	Specifies the author of the knowledge article. For example, if you want to map the field to the knowledge article author field, set the value to |ArticleAuthor|.	Yes
   authorEmail	Specifies the author's email address. For example, if you want to map the field to the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management author's email address, set the value to |ArticleAuthorEmail| (derived from the CTM:People form).	Yes
   culture	Specifies the language in which the knowledge article is authored in. The value is based on the standard locale values such as en (English), en_US (US English), fr (French), and de (German).	Yes
   knowledgeState	Specifies the status of the knowledge article as defined in the Status Mapping record definition. For example, if you want to map the field to the Status Mapping record definition, set the value to |StatusSelectionField|.	Yes
   createdDate	Specifies the date and time when the knowledge article was created. For example, if you want to map the field to the knowledge article create date field, set the value to |Create Date|.	Yes
   updatedDate	Specifies the date and time when the knowledge article was last updated. For example, if you want to map it to the knowledge article last modified date field, set the value to |Modified Date|.	Yes
   metadata	Specifies the keywords used for searching the knowledge article. For example, if you want to map the field to the knowledge article keywords field, set the value to |Article_Keywords|.	Yes
   notes	Specifies the internal notes for a knowledge article. Information in this field is not displayed to the end user. Important: Map this field to |metadata| and | DocID| fields. Do not modify or delete the out-of-the-box data. In addition to metadata and DocID, you can map the field to other fields.	Yes
   issue	Specifies the issue in a knowledge article as defined by the Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) methodology.	No
   environment	Specifies the environment in a knowledge article as defined by the Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) methodology.	No
   cause	Specifies the cause in a knowledge article as defined by the Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) methodology.	No
   resolution	Specifies the resolution in a knowledge article as defined by the Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) methodology. Important: This field is mapped to |ArticleAttachments| (derived from attachments on the knowledge article manger form) in addition to any other field that you map it to.	Yes

   • If you want to map a single field, for example, the title field in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround with the Article Title field in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management, select the following values:

     • ComAround Attribute—title
     • Knowledge Article Source Attribute—|ArticleTitle|

     The following image is an example of mapping a single field:

     
     
     

   • If you want to map multiple fields, for example, Workaround and Release_Date in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround with the issue field in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management, specify the following values:

     • ComAround Attribute—issue

     • Knowledge Article Source Attribute— <p> The workaround for this issue is; </p> <p>|Workaround|</p><p>The fix for this issue will be available on |Release_Date|</p> 

       where <p></p> are HTML tags. 

     The following image is an example of mapping multiple fields:
     

7. Click Save. 

You have mapped the custom field in your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Repeat the procedure for each custom field that you want to synchronize to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. 

Task 3: To add the custom template records to the Get RKM Articles or Get BWF Articles processes

Complete the following tasks to add the custom template records from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management to the Get RKM Articles process or from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management to the Get BWF Articles process:

To create a custom process to get data from a single custom template

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Click Knowledge Sync. 
3. Click the Processes tab and create a new process. 

4. On the Process Properties tab, in the VARIABLES section, click Add/ Remove Variables to add the following variables required for the process:

   Name	Variable Type	Data Type	List	Record Definition	Example
   DocList	Output	Text	Yes	-	Variable configuration example The following image is an example of the DocList variable:
   Articles	Local Variable	Record	-	For BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management, select the external record definition created for the join form. For BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management, select Knowledge Article Template.	Example for BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management The following image is an example for BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management: Example for BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management The following image is an example for BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management:

5. From the Palette, drag the Get Records By Query element to the canvas and connect a sequence flow from Start Index to Get Records By Query.
6. Perform the following steps to configure the Get Records By Query element: 

1. 1. On the GENERAL tab, from the Run as list, select Inherit from Process. 

   2. On the GENERAL tab, in the INPUT MAP section, from the Record Definition Name list, select one of the following values depending on the application for which you define the mapping: 

      Knowledge provider application	Selection
      BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management	Select the external record definition created for the join form.
      BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management	Select Knowledge Article Template.

   3. Click the Click to build an expression link and build your expression.

      Knowledge provider application	Expression
      BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management	The expression must include at least one ArticleStatusEnglish field and it can include other fields; for example, the Modified Date field. Example expression The following image is an example expression for BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management:
      BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management	The expression must include the Template ID field and at least one ArticleStatus field. To find the ID of the custom template, see Before you begin. Example expression The following image is an example expression for BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management:

   4. Click OK.

   5. On the GENERAL tab, in the INPUT MAP section, click the Add/Remove fields to add the following fields:
      

      Knowledge provider application	Selection
      BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management	Enter DocID and click Apply.
      BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management	Enter Article ID Internal and click Apply.

   6. In Retrieve, select All Matching Records.
2. From the Palette, drag the Create List element to the canvas and connect a sequence flow from Get Records By Query to Create List.
3. Perform the following steps to configure the Create List element:
   1. On the GENERAL tab, in the INPUT MAP section, click the Click to build an expression link for Source List.
   2. In the Expression for Source List window, set the Source List to the Doc List variable as shown in the following image. To locate the Doc List variable, select Process Variables > DocList. 
      

1. 1. Click the Click to build an expression link for Item to Add.

   2. In the Expression for Item to Add window, set the item to one of the following variables depending on the application for which you define the mapping: 

      Knowledge provider application	Selection
      BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management	DocID variable. To locate the DocID variable, select Process Variables > Articles > DocID.
      BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management	Article ID Internal variable.  To locate the Article ID Internal variable, select Process Variables > Articles > Article ID Internal.

   3. On the GENERAL tab, in the OUTPUT MAP section, click Add.
   4. From the Name list, select DocList. 
   5. Click the Click to build an expression link for Source.
   6. In the Expression for Source window, set the Source to the Output variable. To locate the Output variable, select Create List > Output. 
   7. On the GENERAL tab, in the MULTI INSTANCE LOOP section, from the Loop Type list, select Sequential. 
   8. Click the Click to build an expression link for the Loop Data Input.
   9. In the Expression for Loop Data Input window, set the expression to the Output variable. To locate the Output variable, select Activities > Get Records by Query > Output.
   10. From the Input Data Item list, select Articles.
2. Connect a sequence flow from Create List to Exit.

The following image shows the process after configuring all the elements:

You have configured the process to get data from a single custom template. Repeat the process for all the custom templates that you want to synchronize to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. 

To call the created custom process from the Get RKM Articles process

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Click Knowledge Sync. 
3. Click the Processes tab and open the Get RKM Articles process. 
4. From the Palette, drag the Call Activity element to the canvas and configure it by taking the following steps:
   1. On the GENERAL tab, in the Label field, enter a unique name for this activity to specify the process that it calls. For example, Call My Custom RKM Process. 
   2. From the Called Process list, select the custom process to get data that you created earlier in Subtask 1. 
   3. In the OUTPUT MAP section, click Add.
   4. From the Name list, select DocList. 
   5. Click the Click to build an expression link for Source.
   6. In the Expression for Source window, set the Source to the DocList variable. To locate the DocList variable, select Activities > Call My Custom RKM Process (unique name of the Call Activity element that you defined earlier) > DocList. 
5. On the canvas, locate the Call Custom Template Extension element and delete it. 
6. Place the configured Call Activity element (Call My Custom RKM Process) in a sequence flow instead of the deleted Call Custom Template Extension element.
   

1. On the canvas, perform the following steps to locate and edit the Update List element:
   1. On the GENERAL tab, in the INPUT MAP section, click Edit for Item to Add.
   2. In the Expression for Item to Add window, delete the defined expression and set the Item to Add to the DocList variable. To locate the DocList variable, select Activities > Call My Custom RKM Process (unique name of the Call Activity element that you defined earlier) > DocList. 
2. Click Save. 

If you have created multiple custom processes to get data from several custom templates, add multiple Call Activity elements in the Get RKM Articles process and repeat the procedure to configure each Call Activity element. Place multiple Call Activity elements sequentially. 

To call the created custom process from the Get BWF Articles process

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Click Knowledge Sync. 
3. Click the Processes tab and open the Get BWF Articles process. 
4. From the Palette, drag the Call Activity element to the canvas and perform the following steps to configure it:
   1. On the GENERAL tab, in the Label field, enter a unique name for this activity to specify the process that it calls. For example, Call My Custom BWF Process. 
   2. From the Called Process list, select the custom process to get data that you created earlier in Subtask 1. 
   3. In the OUTPUT MAP section, click Add.
   4. From the Name list, select DocList. 
   5. Click the Click to build an expression link for Source.
   6. In the Expression for Source window, set the Source to the DocList variable. To locate the DocList variable, select Activities > Call My Custom BWF Process (unique name of the Call Activity element that you defined earlier) > DocList. 
5. On the canvas, locate the Call Remove Duplicates Log element and insert the configured Call Activity element (Call My Custom BWF Process) in a sequence flow before the Call Remove Duplicates Log element. 
   

1. Click Save. 

If you have created multiple custom processes to get data from several custom templates, add multiple Call Activity elements in the Get BWF Articles process and repeat the procedure to configure each Call Activity element. Place multiple Call Activity elements sequentially. 

Where to go from here

Synchronizing-BMC-applications-with-BMC-Helix-Knowledge-Management-by-ComAround