KnowledgeBuilder is very simple to learn and use. This article will help you to get up and running quickly by showing you how to add users, categories, and articles to your knowledge base. This article assumes that you have already installed KnowledgeBuilder on your server.
Adding Users and User Groups
KnowledgeBuilder allows you to assign permissions to users by designating which User Group they are a part of. For example, you may want to have a user group for Authors and another for Editors, to designate which users can compose new articles and which can edit existing articles. When you first install the software, you will find that the three basic user groups have been set up for you automatically: Admins, who have full access to the administrative and editorial functions of KnowledgeBuilder; Users, who can log into the software to comment on articles and to view usage reports, but who have no authority to create or edit articles; and Visitors, who cannot log into the software and can only view public articles.
The first thing we will do is to create a new user group for people we want to allow access to create and edit new articles. You can do this by selecting the Add Group option from the Users menu.
As you see in the screenshot above, you will be presented with a list of actions that you may choose to allow this group of users to perform. Depending on the number of people you have working on your knowledge base and the workflow of your organization, you may or may not want to allow Authors to edit or delete existing articles, manage categories or comments, or any of the other options you see on this page. Simply check the box next to each action you want to allow, and then click the Add button at the bottom of the page.
Your next step is to add an Author to your knowledge base. To do so, select the Add User option from the Users menu. You will see that an "Authors" option is listed in the author group selection box, as pictured below.
The text you enter into the Username field will be this user's KnowledgeBuilder login. If you had not already added a user group for this user, you could simply click the Add a new group option next to the Group selection box in order to create an appropriate user group for this user's desired level of authority.
Adding Categories
When KnowledgeBuilder is first installed, it will have only a single category, called Main. This is the "root" category, which means that all other categories will be contained within this main category.
You will probably want to add a couple of categories to make it easier for your users to find the information they are looking for. To do this, select the Add Category option from the Categories menu.
For the purposes of this quick start guide, it is not necessary to go too in-depth on the options that are available here. Simply give your category a name and description, and select which Parent Category you would like it to appear under. Since this is our first new category, it will be listed under the Main or "root" category. You can also select a Sorting Order for articles in this category, if, for example, you want them to appear by date or by popularity. You can find more comprehensive explanations of the category options in this article: KnowledgeBuilder Category Options.
Adding Articles To Your Knowledge Base
Now that you have set up your user groups, users, and categories, the next step is to start adding articles!
If you already have a number of articles that you would like to import into your new knowledge base all at once, simply follow the directions in this article: Importing Articles Into Your Knowledge Base.
To write a new article, simply select the Add Article option from the Articles menu. You will find an intuitive WYSIWYG interface that allows your to create and edit your articles just like you might do in your favorite word processor. If you prefer to edit the HTML code by hand, simply select the "Text Editor" tab.
