Knowledge - Setting-Up (Content Administrator )

Concepts for the Content Administrator

The following concepts are very important for you to understand. There may seem to be subtle differences between Active and Inactive Items, Approved and Unapproved Items, and Current Editions; or between Items, Profiles, Documents and Editions and Records, but these are concepts that a HowNow Administrator must fully understand, in order to be effective in the role.

Definition: A Profile is a collection of metadata about an entry in HowNow. The Profile specifies the entry’s Title, Description, and other attributes depending on the type of entry. Note: "Metadata" simply means "information about information", usually to help in locating the information at a later date.

Items

An item in HowNow is an entry in the Knowledge section of the HowNow database. When you do a search in Knowledge, the search results list contains items. An item is made up of two things: a profile and (optionally) a related document or web page.

There are three types of items in HowNow:

• Note - No document or web address is attached to the Item. Such entries are useful where the related information is very brief and can be displayed within the item description (which is displayed in the search results list). For example, an explanation of where to find the office’s First Aid Kit could be a suitable "Note" item because a separate document may not be deemed necessary.
• Document – This is the typical item in HowNow where a document is attached to the item. The document can be any type of file – e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, RTF, TXT, JPG, GIF, MP3, MPEG, etc. Any file your computer can open can be added to HowNow.
• Web Page – This type of item links directly to a web address. The web page is not stored within HowNow as a document, rather, HowNow links to the "live" web site. HowNow therefore provides an ideal way for your organisation to manage its collection of approved web pages. This is far superior to individual users saving "Favourites" (or "Bookmarks") within their web browser (which saves the information on their local drive), because putting the web addresses in HowNow makes them accessible to all staff on the network.

Active and Inactive Items

Active items can be viewed by standard HowNow users; inactive items cannot. Your HowNow Administrator or Content Administrator may elect to make some items in HowNow inactive. This does not delete the profile or the related document (if applicable). Inactive items can be made active again at a later date. Also, if you do not wish to use some of the content you receive, make those documents inactive and they will not appear in search results. An example would be making all the ‘non-merge’ letters inactive when you are using merge documents. Note: Do not delete the content you don’t want. HowNow will install it again when a deleted document is updated in a content update.

Editions

An edition is a version of a document. One item in HowNow can have multiple editions of the related document, but standard HowNow users see only current editions of documents. The concept of editions allows the download process of HowNow content updates to be 100% automatic. When an updated document is included in a content update, a new edition of the document is downloaded into your HowNow. The existing version in HowNow (your "current edition") is not deleted or overwritten. Not until the latest edition of the document is made the current edition, will standard HowNow users be able to view the new version. This process of controlling which editions are the current editions is the responsibility of your HowNow Administrator or Content Administrator.

Note: When editing documents that already have an item profile in HowNow (i.e. that are already "in" HowNow), do not rename documents when you edit them. For example, if your organisation subscribes to the HowNow Accountants content updates, your modified versions of HowNow Accountants documents will not be overwritten by Content Updates, because a new edition is automatically created when you edit a document in HowNow. Changing filenames (e.g. via File > Save As in Word or Excel) causes two problems: (1) Hyperlinks in other documents that are linked to the original document will not link to renamed modified documents (which means there might be dozens of hyperlinks you would need to find and edit to include the new filename; and (2) When new versions of the document are included in content updates, you will miss out on the benefit of having the document updated.

Current Status

The current edition of a document is the version ("edition") that can be viewed by standard HowNow users. For content maintenance purposes, your HowNow Administrator or Content Administrator can also elect to view non-current Editions earlier than the current edition. 

Approval Status

The Approval Status of a document can be viewed by your HowNow Administrator or Content Administrator as well as by the designated reviewers in your organisation. Designated reviewers in your organisation will have Items added to their Review List from time to time. A Reviewer can edit Items in HowNow. 

Approved and Unapproved Items

An approved item is one that has been deemed by your HowNow Administrator to be approved for use by members of your organisation. An item can be Current and Unapproved if the HowNow Administrator does not wish to restrict access to the document, but wishes standard HowNow users to be cautioned, before the document opens, that it is, at this stage, an Unapproved document.

On the File > Options > Updates tab, the Load Content as Approved option can be selected so that documents downloaded in a content update are automatically assigned with the "Approved" status. Check with your HowNow Leader before changing this setting, as it is a management policy decision. 

Creating the Settings for Knowledge

Approval Status

An "Approved" knowledge item is one that has been deemed by your HowNow Administrator to be Approved for use by members of your organisation.  If an item does not have the "Approved" status assigned, it can still be viewed by users however they will be cautioned that it is an "Unapproved" document. This area allows the default Approval Status descriptions to be created, edited, deleted and reordered. 

Select File > Administration > Knowledge > Approval Status. The Approval Status Select dialog will appear

• To change the wording of an Approval Status description, select the item then click Edit. (Do not click New.)
• To delete an Approval Status description, select the item then click Delete. Note: You cannot delete the Approval Status descriptions "Approved" or "Not Yet Reviewed", although you can rename them.
• To add a new Approval Status description, click New. Note: The item will be added to the list under the  "Approved" description.
• To Reorder an Approval Status description, select the item you wish to move and drag it to the desired place in the list. Note: You cannot reorder the Approval Status descriptions "Approved" or "Not Yet Reviewed", as these are default statuses required by HowNow to function correctly.

Content Modules

A Content Module is a collection of documents with a similar theme or purpose, for example, running an accounting firm. Your organisation can subscribe to Content Modules (such as HowNow Accountants Content or Compliance Essentials from Business Fitness), updates to which can be automatically downloaded into your HowNow Content. A document can be assigned to more than one Content Module.

When new content modules are purchased, entries are automatically made in the Content Module Select dialog – i.e. manual changes are not required. Manual entries are made in the Content Module Select dialog (via the Content Module Details dialog) in the following situations: 

• When your organisation creates new Content Modules. Refer to Creating New Content Modules for more detail. 
• When you wish to repeat the download of a Content Update. Refer to Winding Back a Content Module if you wish to re-download a Content Update.

Creating a New Content Module 

Your organisation can create its own Content Modules for grouping your own documents. By default, HowNow creates a content module called ‘Our Firm's Content’ that is automatically assigned to any documents you add to the database. To create a new Content Module - see separate section on Creating New Content Modules and Publishing Content.

Document Types

HowNow is supplied with various pre-defined Document Types. We recommend that you do not delete or rename existing Document Types. If you delete a Document Type and later receive a HowNow content update that contains documents of that type, that Document Type will be added back to your HowNow list of Document Types. There is no need to create any new document types - before creating any new document types, discuss with your HowNow Implementation Team, as it is important you do not create too many, as this could make HowNow more difficult - not easier - to use.

Modify Document Types in one of two ways.

• Right-Click in the Document Filters Grid
  
• Select File > Administration > Knowledge > Document Types.  
• Click New or Edit: the Document Type Details dialog appears - This dialog allows you to add a new document type or edit an existing one.
• Description: Enter a description for the document type
• Requires a Procedural Area (optional): Select the checkbox Requires a Procedural Area if you need to attach the document type to a Procedural Area (e.g. Production, Marketing, Administration, etc.) - if you add a procedural area, this will need to be specified when adding a document to that document type. Leave the checkbox unselected if you wish the new Document Type to be applied to items without also requiring a Procedural Area to be specified.
• Hint (optional). Enter a hint to be displayed whenever the cursor is positioned over a document type in the left filter panel.
  
• To create a Sub-Document Type, select the main Document Type, select Sub-Level, and then click New.
• To rename a Document Type you have created, select the Document Type and click Edit. (Remember, avoid renaming standard Document Types that were included with HowNow.)
  
• To change the sequence of the Document Types, you can drag and drop the Document Types. Click on a Document Type and drag and drop it on to another Document Type. If you have Same Level selected when you drop the Document Type, it will be a Document Type at the same level as the Document Type you drop it on. If you have Sub-Level selected when you drop the Document Type, it will be a Sub-Document Type of the Document Type you drop it on.
• Click OK when done. The new or edited Document Type(s) will appear in the left pane of the Documents screen.

Procedural Areas

HowNow is supplied with various pre-defined Procedural Areas. We recommend that you do not delete or rename existing Procedural Areas. If you delete a Procedural Area and later receive a HowNow content update that contains documents relating to that Procedural Area, that Procedural Area will be added back to your HowNow list of Procedural Areas. 

You do not need to add any new Procedural Areas - discuss with your HowNow Implementation Team before you add new Procedural Areas, as it is important you do not create too many Procedural Areas, as this could make HowNow more difficult—not easier—to use.

Modify Procedural Areas in one of two ways.

• Right-Click in the Document Filters Grid
• Select File > Administration > Knowledge > Procedural Areas. The Procedural Area Editor dialog appears.
• Click New or Edit, the Procedural Area Details dialog appears.
• To create a Sub-Procedural Area, select the main Procedural Area, select Sub-Level, and then click New.
• Enter a description for the procedural area.
• Hint (optional). Enter a hint to be displayed whenever the cursor is positioned over a procedural area in the left filter panel.
• To rename a Procedural Area you have created, select the Procedural Area and click Edit. (Remember, avoid renaming standard Procedural Areas that were included with HowNow.)
• To change the sequence of the Procedural Areas, you can drag and drop the Procedural Areas. Click on a Procedural Area and drag and drop it on to another Procedural Area. If you have Same Level selected when you drop the Procedural Area, it will be a Procedural Area at the same level as the Procedural Area you drop it on. If you have Sub-Level selected when you drop the Procedural Area, it will be a Sub-Procedural Area of the Procedural Area you drop it on.
• Click OK when done. The new or edited Procedural Area(s) will appear in the left pane of the Knowledge screen.

Topics

The purpose of Topics in HowNow is to group like documents together to aid searches in the Knowledge area. With one click on a Topic filter, every document relating to that Topic is displayed. Searches on keywords can then be done within that topic. Topics are particularly useful if you have a group of documents that you regularly send to clients. A document can be assigned multiple Topics.

To modify or create Topics, first select File > Administration > Knowledge > Topics. The Topic Editor dialog appears.

• Click New or Edit, the Topic Details dialog appears.
• To create a Sub-Topic, select the main Topic, select Sub-Level, and then click New.
• To rename a Topic you have created, select the Topic and click Edit.
• Enter the description for the topic.
• Hint (optional) - Enter a hint to be displayed whenever the cursor is positioned over this topic in the left filter panel.
• To change the sequence of the Topics, you can drag and drop the Topics. Click on a Topic and drag and drop it on to another Topic. If you have Same Level selected when you drop the Topic, it will be a Topic at the same level as the Topic you dropped it on. If you have Sub-Level selected when you drop the Topic, it will be a Sub-Topic of the Topic you dropped it on.
• Click OK when done. The new or edited Topic(s) will appear in the left pane of the Knowledge screen.