Create Content Types

As a knowledge manager you can define content types. You define content types by defining the content type, defining the schema for the content type, and defining the content schema details.

1. Select Setup and Maintenance from the navigator, and from the Setup menu, select the Service offering.

2. Select the Knowledge Management functional area and select Manage Knowledge Content Types.

3. Click the + symbol to begin creating the content type.

Supply Basic Information

You define the content type by supplying basic information, including a name, an optional description, a prefix ID, and names and descriptions for additional knowledge base locales, if required. You also need to select an application for the content type. The application you select for the content type also determines the products and categories that authors can assign to articles, and which users can access the articles. For example, if you define a content type called "Manual", and assign it to the Service application, then authors will be able to assign only Service products and categories to these articles, and only Service users will be able to access them.

The application automatically assigns a reference key based on the content type name. If you change the content type name after you initially enter it, you can edit the reference key to match the edited name prior to saving the content type data. The description is visible as placeholder text that authors see when creating articles. The prefix ID forms the first part of the article ID that is automatically created for each article in the knowledge base. The prefix helps to identify articles belonging to a specific content type. For example, you might use the prefix NA for a News Article content type. You can use numerals and letters in your document ID prefix.

1. Enter a name for the content type.

2. Enter a prefix for the ID number that the application will automatically assign to each article.

3. Enter an optional description.

4. Click the locale icon and use the Edit Locales dialog to enter translated names and descriptions for the additional locales.

5. Select a department for the content type.

Define the Content Schema

The content schema describes the structure of the articles in the content type. You define the schema by defining the individual elements that make up an article. For example, you might define the elements of a news article content type to include the elements title, summary, body, and related information.

You can restrict the visibility of fields to specific users. For example, you might need to define a product support document that includes information that only agents should have access to. Select the user groups from the available list and move them to the selected list. In the available list, you will see only the user groups that are mapped to the department you selected in the previous step. If you do not select any user groups, then the field will be visible to all users.

You can select the type of content that the field will accept. Use the field type to select text or full rich text. Text fields support simple text entry. Full rich text fields have a full featured text editor that supports complex formatting and markup, as well as images. You can also specify whether authors must enter content in a field, or whether they can leave the field empty.

You define the content schema by defining the title field, the additional fields that you need, and optionally enabling attachments to the content type. There is no limit to the number of fields that you can add to a content type. There is no size limit for individual articles, and article size does not have an impact on the application's performance.

1. Enter a title or accept the default. The title field is required for all content types.

2. Enter an optional description for the title field.

3. Click the locale icon and use the Edit Locales dialog to enter translated names and descriptions for the additional locales.

You define the additional fields by supplying the necessary information for each element or field that your content type requires.

1. Click the + sign to add additional fields.

2. Enter a name and description for each field.

3. Click the locale icon and use the Edit Locales dialog to enter translated names and descriptions for the additional locales.

4. Click the visibility icon to optionally restrict this field to internal users only.

5. Select the field type to define the text requirements for each field.

6. Click the check box to specify that authors must enter content in this field.

Select the option to enable file attachments if you want users to be able to attach files to the content type.