Using the Knowledge Base
Using Articles in the Knowledge Base
The knowledge base is a repository of an organization's information. This information is stored as articles, and is organized by subject. It can contain many different types of articles, such as:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Common problems and their solutions
Schematics
Product user guides
Data sheets
Release schedules
The knowledge base should include anything that would provide customer service representatives (CSRs) with the information that they need to answer questions about a product or service. CSRs can link an article to a case to track what information was given to the customer. Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the tools and templates to create, edit, and publish browser-based content about your organization's products and services.
Articles cannot be viewed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook when offline.
Finding Articles
In the knowledge base area, you can either browse the list of articles in the article queue or the subject tree. You can use the Search tab to create a search query with specific criteria. Search can return exact matches as well as possible matches. You can perform a full-text search to find specific references, or a keyword search to find articles by alternate terminology. You can search by title or article number.
To improve your search results, you can add keywords to associate alternate terms to an article. For example, an article about fixing a bike tire might have the keywords patch, mend, and tube . Even if these exact words do not appear in the article itself, the search identifies and returns the article in the result set based on the keywords.
You can also use Advanced Find anywhere in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to search for articles.
Sending Articles
CSRs can send articles directly to customers or to each other through e-mail, either from a case, or from any open email activity. For example, if there is an article that describes how to adjust a part, the CSR can send the article to the customer. The e-mail is recorded as an an e-mail activity.
Work with Published Articles
You can search or browse the knowledge base for published articles, view articles, print articles, or e-mail articles to customers. More information: Work with Articles
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Find an article in the Knowledge Base
Can I do this task?
This task requires permissions that are found in all default service security roles. More information about specific permissions and performing this task while offline: Service Permissions
Search results do not include unpublished articles.
1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Knowledge Base.
2. In the Search list, in the list, select a type of search.
Full Text Search
This search looks through all of the words in all published articles to find articles that match your search criteria.
Keyword Search
This search compares your search criteria with alternate terminology assigned to an article to find articles. For example, an article about bicycles might use keywords such as
"bike,""cycle," or "trike."
Title Search
This search look at the title of all published articles to find articles that match your search criteria.
Article Number Search
This search looks for the number that is assigned to the article when it is published. If you know the article number, this is the fastest way to find a specific article.
3. In the Search for box, type a word, phrase, keyword, or article number.
4. To narrow your search by subject, locate and select a subject. You can click the Lookup button to search for a subject. If you want to search the entire database, do not select a subject.
5. In the Options list, select Exact Text to search for the exact words that you enter in the Search for box, or select Use Like Words to search for similar words. For example, if you enter "run," the search would include "running" and "runs."
6. Click Search to perform the search.
The articles that match your criteria are displayed in the right pane. Double-click an article to open it.
Important
When you add a new article or comment to the knowledge base, you cannot search for it until the catalog index is updated. Microsoft Dynamics CRM updates the catalog index automatically every 15 minutes.
Notes
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If you want to view the article queues, in the Search list, select Article Queues, and then select the queue.
If you want to browse the subject tree for articles, in the Search list, select Subject Browse. When you expand the subject tree, the related articles appear in the right pane.
You can also view articles in the Workplace area, under My Work.
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View unpublished articles
Can I do this task?
This task requires a manager, vice president, CEO-Business Manager, System Administrator, or
System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions. More information about specific permissions and performing this task while offline: Service Permissions
1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Knowledge Base.
2. In the Knowledge Base area, you can do any of the following:
View a list of articles.
The list of articles is displayed in the right pane.
Sort the articles.
In the list of articles, click a heading to sort by that column. For example, to sort by title, click
Title. To reverse the sort order, click the column heading a second time.
View an article and comments. a. On the Article Queues tab, click the Draft, Unapproved, or Published folder, and then open the article with the comments you want to read. b. In the article form, click the Comments tab. c. In the list, open the comment you want to read or append. d. When you finish, click OK to close the comment.
Important
When you add a new article or comment to the knowledge base, you cannot search for it until the catalog index is updated. Microsoft Dynamics CRM updates the catalog index automatically every 15 minutes. To update the results grid, click the Refresh button .
Note
You can also view articles in the Workplace area, under My Work.
Add or delete a comment
Can I do this task?
This task requires permissions that are found in all default service security roles. More information about specific permissions and performing this task while offline: Service Permissions
You can use comments to collect corrections and additions to an article.
1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Knowledge Base.
2. On the Article Queues tab, click the Draft, Unapproved, or Published folder to display the list of articles, and then open the article to which you want to add or delete a comment.
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