Knowledge base import overview

How knowledge base import works

An import job creates a list of articles to be imported. The following article types are added to the list:

• New articles
• Updated articles
• Articles that failed to be imported previously

The job runs in this order:

How knowledge articles are imported to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders

The import tool imports 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 import knowledge articles for the first time. 

The following table explains how the folder structure is created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround: 

When you import all articles as part of the initial knowledge base import, the import tool automatically generates subfolders for each folder created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and imports knowledge articles directly into them. The number of articles that can be imported into one subfolder is limited to 100 articles per folder by default. However, you can change this default setting.

When you  run subsequent imports to import any newly created or edited articles from your BMC application, the import 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 import, 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 imported into one subfolder and how to change this setting, see To modify the number of articles to be imported into subfolders.
• If article groups have been changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management after the initial import, 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 imported

During the knowledge base import, the following knowledge article templates, states and attributes are imported 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 import from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:

How localizations are imported

The import tool supports multilanguage import 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 imports localized articles to the corresponding translation language in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

However, the import tool can't import 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 import 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 import tool to import 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 imported

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 imported in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

How links are imported

If knowledge articles in your BMC application contain links to other articles in the same application, the import tool imports 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. 

Import of links ensures information integrity and a seamless user experience after the knowledge base import. 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 imported. For the import of links to work properly, make sure that BMC Helix, Inc. 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 imported

When the import tool imports 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 import, article authors receive email notifications for each article vote imported to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. 

To prevent email notifications when article votes are imported, 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 import 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. 

  Important

  During the knowledge base import, article authors won't receive email notifications for any votes, not only the imported ones. For example, if an article is voted on while the import tool is running, no email notifications will be sent. 

   

• Restore HKM Email Notifications on Migration Job End—After the import 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 import, this rule turns it on after the import is complete.