Management

Usage

Knowledge Base management means creating, changing, and deleting FAQs in the CRMdesk database.

Path

Knowledge Base tab – Management

Procedure

The Knowledge Base Management main page has three main areas:

• FAQ list controls– fields to help you search, filter and sort FAQs in the list;

• FAQ list – a table containing short FAQ descriptions and links to their details;

• Action buttons – allow adding new FAQs and mass processing of existing ones.

To process one or more records in the list, make your selection by marking corresponding checkboxes (check the box in the list header to select all entries in the list). Mass processing allows performing the following actions:

• Moving FAQs – Move button – moves selected FAQs to a specified Product and/or Areas;

• Changing FAQ access level – Access button – changes the access level for the selected items;

• Delete FAQs – Delete button – permanently deletes selected records.

In the Support Desk interface each FAQ has a subject line, a question, and an answer. In the Customer Desk these elements can be complemented with a feedback area, if selected in the Appearance customizing.

Tips

Use the Subject, Product and Updated links in the table head to sort FAQs in the list by a corresponding property.

Viewing FAQs

To view an existing record, click the FAQ subject line in the list. The FAQ view detail page will appear. The action buttons at the bottom of this page allow you to:

• Create a new entry – Add button;

• Edit the current entry – Edit button;

• Delete the current entry – Delete button;

• Go back to the previously viewed page – Back button.

Editing FAQs

The FAQ edit page has the following fields:

• Access – defines to which access level the question belongs;

• Subject (required) – a short description of the issue;

• Question (required) – area for question text input;

• Answer (required) – area for answer text input;

• Keywords (optional) – area for keywords and phrases related to the FAQ;

• Product (required) – the product to which the FAQ topic refers;

• Area – the product area to which the FAQ topic refers.

CRMdesk Knowledge Base recognizes two types of attachments:

• If you upload your image in the "GIF" format, the system will make a full-screen illustration in FAQ. For all other graphic formats the system will create thumbnails to the image.
  The system automatically reformats the image once it is uploaded to the server. Larger files will just take more time to upload, but they will be stored with the optimal format for fast downloading.

• If the system determines that the file is not in the graphic format, it will create a hyperlink to it instead of creating a thumbnail to the image.

To add an attachment, specify the local file path in the File field, Image Size for graphic files (“Auto” is recommended) and Add New in the Action field. Press the Upload button.

In the edit mode, attached files are presented at the right side of the FAQ main fields. If you want to display an attachment on the FAQ page, insert the attachment number in braces {2} into the Answer field.

To update an attachment, specify the local file path (the “replacement” file) in the File field, Image Size (for graphic files) and Update with a corresponding attachment number in the Action field. Press the Upload button.

To delete an attachment, mark the corresponding checkbox and press the Delete Marked button below the attachments list.

In addition to attachments, the system automatically detects and highlights three hyperlink types:

• Web URLs – should begin with an ‘http://’ string and must not have spaces (e.g. ‘http://www.crmdesk.com’); the linked page will open in a new browser window;

• Email addresses – should begin with the ‘mailto:’ statement and should not contain spaces (e.g. ‘mailto:info@crmdesk.com’); a new email message will be created by your default system email client application;

• Other FAQs in your CRMdesk Knowledge Base – use the ‘#number#’ format, where ‘number’ is the ID of the FAQ you would like to provide a link to (e.g. #1234#).

To check your spelling, press the Check Spelling button.

To save your changes, press the Submit button.

Creating FAQs

To create a new FAQ, press the Add Record button. A FAQ edit detail page will appear. Further processing is similar to editing FAQs (see above).

Tips

To facilitate the process of searching through the knowledge base, for each FAQ define keywords and key phrases that can be later used by your customers to find the necessary information.

Try not to delete FAQs, even when they do not seem relevant anymore (e.g. after a new release of your product). Rather, move them to a restricted access level unavailable for all customers. Remember that many FAQs may be useful as your internal Knowledge Base, and you have unlimited CRMdesk storage space.

Next: Feedback