Knowledge base synchronization overview
How knowledge base synchronization works
A synchronization job creates a list of articles to be synchronized. The following article types are added to the list:
- New articles
- Updated articles
- Articles that failed to be synchronized previously
The job runs in this order:
How knowledge articles are synchronized to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders
The synchronization tool migrates knowledge articles from your BMC application to folders and subfolders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. You create folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround when you synchronize knowledge articles for the first time.
The following table explains how the folder structure is created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:
Product | Folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround |
|---|---|
BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management | Folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround is based on the companies, assignment groups, and visibility groups in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management. |
BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management | Folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround is based on knowledge sets and associated lines of business in BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management. |
When you migrate all articles as part of the initial knowledge base synchronization, the synchronization tool automatically generates subfolders for each folder created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and migrates knowledge articles directly into them. The number of articles that can be migrated into one subfolder is limited to 300 articles per folder by default. However, you can change this default setting.
When you run subsequent synchronizations to synchronize any newly created or edited articles from your BMC application, the synchronization tool handles the folder structure in the following way:
- If some folders do not exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, the Sync changes only option creates them too.
- If some subfolders haven't reached their full capacity during the initial synchronization, new articles are copied to these subfolders. Otherwise, new subfolders will be created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. For information about the number of articles that are by default migrated into one subfolder and how to change this setting, see To modify the number of articles to be migrated into subfolders.
- If article groups have been changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management after the initial synchronization, new folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. The articles are then copied to subfolders under these folders.
Knowledge articles that are synchronized
During the knowledge base synchronization, the following knowledge article templates, states and attributes are synchronized from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:
How article states are mapped
The following image shows the state of knowledge articles after the migration from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:
How localizations are synchronized
The synchronization tool supports multilanguage synchronization for the locales that exist in both BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and your BMC application. The tool checks the article locale set in your BMC application and automatically synchronizes localized articles to the corresponding translation language in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
However, the synchronization tool can't migrate localized articles from BMC applications to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround in the following cases:
- If BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround doesn't support a translation language for the article locale set in your BMC application.
- If BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround supports a translation language for the article locale set in your BMC application, but this language isn't configured for a BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround portal.
In these cases, the synchronization tool returns the Invalid portal culture exception, skips the localized articles in that language, and moves to other articles.
However, you can define a custom mapping for the locales that either don't exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround or aren't supported by a BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround portal. This mapping will enable the synchronization tool to migrate localized articles into the translation language of your choice. For more information about defining a custom locale mapping, see To create a custom locale mapping.
How localized metadata fields are synchronized
If the article locale is set to a different language than English in your BMC application, metadata fields are copied as article tags to the respective translation in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, in the following format:
- Field value is copied as is. If it is localized in your BMC application, it remains localized in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
- Field name is always presented in the English language in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, regardless of:
- its localization in your BMC application
- the translation language to which an article is migrated in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround
How links are synchronized
If knowledge articles in your BMC application contain links to other articles in the same application, the synchronization tool migrates these links to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. When end users click these links in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, they are redirected to the corresponding knowledge articles in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
Migration of links ensures information integrity and a seamless user experience after the knowledge base synchronization. End users can effortlessly navigate and explore the content in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and are not redirected to the BMC application, from where the knowledge articles were migrated. For the migration of links to work properly, make sure that BMC Software has specified Helix Knowledge Management main URL. For more information, see Configuring-BMC-Helix-Knowledge-Management-by-ComAround-as-a-knowledge-provider.
How article votes are synchronized
When the synchronization tool migrates article votes to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, it considers the Third-party mail service setting, which is configured in your BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround portal. This setting determines whether to send email notifications for user actions. For more information about the Third-party mail service setting, see the Configuring portal settings - Settings (ComAround) help article. To learn how to access help articles for BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, see Accessing product documentation provided by help articles in the BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround documentation.
If the Third-party mail service setting is enabled during the knowledge base synchronization, article authors receive email notifications for each article vote migrated to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
To prevent email notifications when article votes are migrated, BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround automatically adjusts the Third-party mail service setting by using the following two rules. These rules are added in BMC Helix Innovation Studio > Workspace > Knowledge Sync > Rules tab.
Disable HKM Email Notifications on Migration Job Start—When the synchronization process begins, this rule verifies whether the Third-party mail service setting is turned on or off. If the setting is enabled, the rule turns it off. If the setting is disabled, it remains turned off.
- Restore HKM Email Notifications on Migration Job End—After the synchronization process is complete or fails, this rule restores the original state of the Third-party mail service setting. For example, if the Third-party mail service setting was enabled before the synchronization, this rule turns it on after the synchronization is complete.
