You can create articles on any subject such as case resolutions and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for Sugar users as well as SugarPortal users. You can embed the contents of a file into an article or attach the file to the article. All articles are stored in the Sugar database.
You can create two types of articles:
Internal: These articles are only available to Sugar users.
External: These articles are available to Sugar users as well as SugarPortal users.
Like other records in Sugar, an article is assigned to a specific team. Only team members can access and manage the article. If you are the creator of an article, by default you are assigned both as its author and its team. However, you can assign a different team and author. Note that only members of the assigned team can access the article. Therefore, the author needs to be a member of the assigned team in order to access and manage the article.
You can specify one of the following states for an article:
z Draft: The article is still undergoing changes.
z Expired: The article is outdated.
z In Review: The article is being reviewed by the designated approver.
z Published: The article has been approved and is available to the assigned team.
External articles that are published can also be viewed in SugarPortal.
You can publish an article to make it available to users or you can assign a reviewer to approve and publish it. If you specify an approver, the system sends an email
notification of the pending review to that individual. After the approver has reviewed and published the article, the author receives an email notification of the publication.
Users can search or browse for articles. You can specify an expiration date if you want the article to be available only for a certain length of time. Expired articles do not display in search results or in SugarPortal.
You can also create articles from a case. This is designed for situations, for example, where a user has documented a case resolution. Creating an article from such records enables the user to share the information with other users without copying or
duplicating the information.
Tagging Articles
Tags are similar to folders. They allow you to categorize articles according to specific criteria such as topic to easily locate the ones that you want. When you tag an article, the system creates a link between the tag and the article, which resides in the Sugar database. An article can be linked with more than one tag. Similarly, a tag can be linked with multiple articles.
Tags can be root tags or sub-tags. Root tags are standalone tags. Sub-tags are tags that are nested within root tags.
When you browse for an article, the system displays existing tags in a hierarchical manner. When you select a tag, a list of documents residing within that tag display in the right panel. To view all the tags associated with an article, open the article’s detail page.
All tags are visible to all users. However, note that when you browse or search through tags, the system displays only those articles that you are authorized to access through your team memberships.
When you create an article, you can create a new tag for it or select an existing one.
Deleting Tags. Only empty tags can be deleted. Only administrators can delete tags because they can view all the articles associated with a tag whereas users need the appropriate team memberships to view articles.
To create an article
1. In the Shortcuts menu, click Create Article.
To create an article from a case, click Create Article from the case’s Detail View.
The Article page displays on the screen. When you create an article from a case, the system automatically fills in the article details such as title, subject, and body with information extracted from that record.
Knowledge Base Module
2. Enter information for the following fields:
Title. Enter the title of the article.
External Article. Select this box to make the article available not only to Sugar users but also to SugarPortal users. By default, external articles are assigned to the Global team to ensure that they display in SugarPortal.
Revision. Enter the article’s revision number. Typically, the revision number of a new article is #1.
Status. Select the current status of the article from the drop-down list. To make the article available for viewing, the status must be set to Published.
Team. Enter the team’s name or click Select to choose the team that will be allowed to access the article.
Author. By default, you are the assigned author. However, you can click Select and choose a different user from the Users list.
Note: An author who is not a member of the assigned team will not be able to access the article.
Approver. By default, the administrator is the reviewer. However, you can click Select and choose a different reviewer from the Users list.
Expiration Date. Optionally, you can enter an expiration date for the article.
After the expiration date, the article will not display in search results. External articles will not display in SugarPortal after the expiration date.
3. Enter the text of the article in the Body field. To use the HTML editor, click the HTML link in the toolbar.
4. To link the article with a new or existing tag, click the Tags Select button.
The Tags window displays on the screen. Click a tag to link it with the article. The article is now linked to the selected tag, which displays below the Select Tags button in the Article’s Edit view.
To delink the article from the tab, click the Delete icon next to the tag name.
For information on creating a tag, see “To create a tag or to search for a tag”.
5. To attach a file to the article, enter the path to the file in the Attachments field or click Browse to navigate to the location of the file and select it.
6. To embed an image, enter the path to the file in the Embedded Images field or click Browse to navigate to the location of the file and select it.
7. Click Save to save the article; click Cancel to exit the page without creating the article.
The article’s detail page displays on the screen.
To create a tag or to search for a tag
1. In the article’s Edit view, click the Tag’s Select button.
The Tags dialog box displays on the page. A list of existing root tags displays under Tags. A root tag can contain one or more sub-tags.
2. To search for an existing tag, enter its name in the Search field and click Search.
3. To create a new tag, click Create New Tag.
The system prompts you to select a parent tag.
4. To create a root tag, select the Tags. To create a tag, select a root tag or a sub-tag.
A text field displays above.
5. Enter a name for the new tag.
6. Click Save to create the tag; click Cancel to exit the window without creating the tag.
Knowledge Base Module
New root tags are listed under Tags. New sub-tags are nested within the parent tag.
To manage articles
z To edit an article, on the article’s detail page click Edit, make the changes, and click Save.
z To duplicate an article, on the article’s detail page click Duplicate. You can then edit the duplicate copy as needed and save it as a different article.
z To delete an article, on the article’s detail page click Delete.
z To email an article to a contact, on the article’s detail page, click Send Email, select the contact, and click Send.