Convert and split a Word document into separate articles

Use this import option if you'd like to import the contents of a Microsoft Word document into multiple new articles in KnowledgeOwl. This is especially useful with very long documents where you can split on a specific heading level.

How the Word import works

For this import option, the importer copies the content from the Word document and strips out a lot of the proprietary Word formatting to convert it to streamlined HTML that will work with your knowledge base's default styles. (If you've copied and pasted Word into the article editor before, the Word importer basically does the same thing as the Clean formatting option.)

It then divides this content at the heading level you select and creates a new article from each heading, using the heading as the article title and all the text below it as the article body. You won't be able to edit the article titles so you may want to review the headings in your Word document before you import.

How to convert a single Word document to multiple articles

Follow these steps to convert a single Word document into multiple new articles:

1. In KnowledgeOwl, go to Pages.
2. Use the Top-Level Content and secondary content panes to navigate to the category or subcategory where you want to import your Word document(s).
3. Select + Add > Import. The Import file modal opens.
4. Add your Word file by dragging and dropping it into the modal or select Browse files to navigate your computer and select the file for upload. The modal updates to display the name of the file you selected.
5. Select Continue. Our file importer process your file, then the modal updates to What would you like to do?
6. Choose the Convert and split into separate articles option.
7. Select the heading level you'd like to use as the signal to split the Word document into separate articles from the Split the document at each dropdown:
   1. If your document contains multiple Header 1s, select Header 1 to convert each Header 1 to a new article.
   2. If your document has one or more Header 1s and Header 2s and you'd like each Header 1 and Header 2 section to be its own article, select Header 1 and Header 2 to create separate articles for each Header of those levels.
   3. If your document has one or more Header 1s, Header 2s, and Header 3s and you'd like each Header 1, Header 2, and Header 3 section to be its own article, select Header 1, Header 2, and Header 3 to create separate articles for each Header of those levels.
8. Then select Continue.
9. Choose the Category you'd like your article created within. This defaults to the category you were in when you began + Add. Select the X next to that category name if it's the wrong place. If you didn't select a category to begin or you've removed the category, start typing the name of the category. Use the autosuggest to select the correct category.
10. Review the Articles to be created. This shows you a list of the headings we extracted that will be the titles of individual articles. If the list seems wrong, you may need to to Back and adjust the Split the document at each dropdown to get the correct headings.
11. Optional: Select Advanced options if you'd like to set:
    1. The articles' Publishing status: The importer defaults to using the Draft status. Use the dropdown here to select the status you'd prefer.
    2. Add a tag name to all the articles: Some folks like to add tags as they create articles this way to indicate that they were converted from Word, the name of the original source file they're created from, or to use the date of the import or other identifying details. Refer to Tags feature overview for more information on working with tags.
12. Select Create articles.

The Converting your files modal opens. You can choose to wait while Owl Intelligence runs or to Close and keep working.

If you leave the modal open, it updates once the conversion is complete, saying:

Your drafts are ready
Your files have finished converting. Find them in the file import tray in the left nav.

From any page in KnowledgeOwl, hover over the x drafts ready link in the bottom of the left nav:

The file import tray in the left navA menu appears to the right of this with the imported articles' titles. Select any title to open it in the article editor for editing.

The author who completed this import is listed as the author for all articles.

Next steps

Since you can't edit the Title or Summary of individual articles during the import process, review each article to make sure the title, permalink, and summary are set the way you'd like after the import.

If you'd prefer another author be listed instead of the person who completed the import, be sure to edit the author, too.

Limitations

If you have a heading with no text in it, the article will be created with a title of "Article title not found". Sometimes this is a typo in the original document. You'll want to update the title and the permalink of any articles created with this title.

The Word importer cannot import same-page anchors, so if your document has a table of contents or some other jump links to navigate up or down the page to a specific section, those won't import.