Importing the knowledge bases

As an administrator, you can run the import job to import the knowledge base from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround for the following scenarios:

For the first time to create folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and import all content
Subsequently to copy any newly added or changed articles
Anytime to import specific knowledge articles by providing their IDs

Before you begin

Make sure you have completed the following steps:

Product	Action
BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management	Creating a data source connection and data source mapping for knowledge base import (Optional) Performing the optional tasks for knowledge base import Setting the default author email address
BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management	In Mid Tier, you have assigned the following IS Personas in the CTM:People form to the user who will run the import utility: Application Name: com.bmc.dsm.case-lib IS Persona: Case Business Analyst (Optional) Performing the optional tasks for knowledge base import Setting the default author email address

To import knowledge base for the first time

Create folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
Import all content from your BMC application to folders created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

Task 1: To create folders

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration.
Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync.
The following image shows the Knowledge sync page:
On the Knowledge sync page, from the Source knowledgebase list, select one of the following values:
- Knowledge Management—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
- Business Workflows—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.
In the Sync options section, select Copy the folders only (Folder contents are not copied).
This import option creates folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Articles are not copied at this stage, and you must import them as a separate import step later on.
Click Run job now.

Folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Learn how the import tool creates a folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround in How knowledge articles are imported to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders.

Best practice
We recommend that you avoid changing the names of the folders until you have confirmed that the import process is complete and that you do not intend to re-run the import utility. If you change the folder names after the initial knowledge base import and then re-run the import utility to import any newly created or edited articles, the articles that were previously imported into BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround are not updated in the renamed folder. Instead, a new folder is created with the default name, and the articles are imported to that folder.

You can find information about the created folders in the Migration folder mapping record definition. You cannot modify this record definition and must use it for information purposes only.

To access the Migration folder mapping record definition (3 steps)

To access the Migration folder mapping record definition, perform the following steps:

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
On the Workspace tab, select Knowledge Sync > Records.
On the Records tab, select Migration folder mapping and click Edit data.

The Migration folder mapping record definition displays the following information about the folders created:

Portal ID—Identifier of a BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround portal in which a folder is created.
ComAroundFolder—Name of the created folder.
SourceKBArticle—BMC application from which you want to import knowledge articles to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

If there are multiple folders created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, multiple records are added to the Migration folder mapping record definition for each folder.

The following image shows a sample Migration folder mapping record:

Task 2: To import all knowledge articles

After folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, you can import all knowledge articles from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. To improve the import performance, 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.

Warning

Before you proceed to import all articles from your BMC application to folders created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, you must add user groups and assign them to folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Ask your BMC administrator to do these configuration activities for you. Failure to complete these steps might result in the failed import of the knowledge articles.

In BMC Helix Innovation Studio, select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync, and from the Source knowledgebase, select the BMC application for which the folders were created.
In the Sync options section, select Sync all (Override).
If some folders do not exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, this import option creates them too.
Best practice
We recommend using the Sync all (Override) option only in the following cases:
- To import the knowledge base for the first time.
  This option imports all content from your BMC application without checking whether any knowledge articles exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. As a result, if you use Sync all (Override) for subsequent imports of your knowledge base, it will override all articles that have been previously imported from this knowledge base.
- To import knowledge articles that were not copied during the initial import because their knowledge article templates were disabled in Knowledge Article Templates and Attribute Mappings. After these articles are imported, you can run subsequent imports by using the Sync changes only option.
Click Run job now.

You have imported knowledge base from your BMC application with BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround for the first time. An entry is created for the job with the status Running. Wait until the job run is complete to view the updated status.

You can find information about the created subfolders and imported knowledge articles in the Migration Folder Child Hierarchy record definition. You cannot modify this record definition and must use it for information purposes only.

To access the Migration Folder Child Hierarchy record definition (3 steps)

To access the Migration Folder Child Hierarchy record definition, perform the following steps:

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
On the Workspace tab, select Knowledge Sync > Records.
On the Records tab, select Migration Folder Child Hierarchy and click Edit data.

The Migration Folder Child Hierarchy record definition displays the following information about the subfolders created:

Portal ID—Identifier of a BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround portal in which a subfolder is created.
ParentNodeID—Identifier of a folder in which the subfolder is created.
ChildNodeID—Identifier of the created subfolder.
ChildNodeName—Name of the created subfolder.
AllDocs—Identifiers of knowledge articles imported in the subfolder.

If there are multiple subfolders created in the folder, multiple records are added to the Migration Folder Child Hierarchy record definition for each subfolder.

The following image shows sample Migration Folder Child Hierarchy records:

To run subsequent imports

After the initial import, you can run the import job multiple times to import any newly created or edited articles from your BMC application. If an imported article has been updated in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround since the last import, the system will not override its content during the subsequent imports. The import tool will detect such knowledge articles in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and will keep their content unchanged while copying new or updated articles from your BMC application. To record the discrepancy, the system will create a conflict log. However, any metadata changes will be imported for such articles. For information about working with logs, see Troubleshooting.

To run the subsequent import, perform the following steps:

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration.
Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync.
On the Knowledge Sync page, from the Source knowledgebase, select one of the following values:
- Knowledge Management—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
- Business Workflows—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.
In the Sync options section, select Sync changes only.
This option imports only the articles that are new or have been changed since the last import.
Important
Sync changes only doesn't import articles if their knowledge article templates have been enabled after the initial import. To import such articles, use the Sync all (Override) option.
Click Run job now.

You have reimported the knowledge base by copying new and updated articles from your BMC application. Learn how subsequent imports affect the folder structure in How knowledge articles are imported to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders.

Scenario for delivering fixes

Apex Global maintains the knowledge base in BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management. After they import their knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, knowledge agents start creating articles directly in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround which makes it the primary source of knowledge. If, for example, the company reimports articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround to resolve a detected issue with a newly released patch, articles that have been changed or added in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround won't be overridden. Other articles will be fixed with the patch.

To import knowledge articles by IDs

You can import specific knowledge articles to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround by providing the article IDs in the CSV file. Importing only the specific knowledge articles enhances control and efficiency while minimizing the risk of errors and data corruption. This approach also leads to faster import processes and improved tool performance.

To obtain the IDs of the knowledge articles that you want to import, navigate to the source knowledge base from which you want to import the articles in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and retrieve those IDs. If you use BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management as your source, access that application to retrieve the knowledge article IDs. Similarly, if you use Business Workflows Knowledge Management as your source, access that application to obtain the knowledge article IDs.

After obtaining the IDs, you must list them in a CSV file. Consider the following limitations when compiling the CSV file:

Add IDs only in the first column.
List the IDs exactly as they appear in the source knowledge base.
If you include invalid IDs, random text, or IDs from a different source knowledge base, those entries will not be imported and will be marked as Failed in the Job Status column. For more information, see Verifying the knowledge base import.

The following image shows a sample structure of the CSV file:

image (10).png

After creating the CSV file, follow these steps to import the knowledge articles listed by their IDs in the CSV file:

Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration.
Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync.
On the Knowledge Sync page, from Source knowledgebase, select one of the following options:
- Knowledge Management—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
- Business Workflows—If you want to import knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.
In the Sync options section, select Sync by ids.
In the CSVFile field, upload the CSV file that you created earlier.
Click Run job now.
The articles with specific IDs are imported.

This option functions similarly to the Sync All option, but allows you to specify individual article IDs for import. If the import tool detects any duplicates, the duplicate articles are deleted. If some of the specified articles are not imported, verify the Import status as described in Verifying the knowledge base import.

Where to go from here

Verifying the knowledge base import

Terminating the import job