Import from CSV

If you or one of your teams has already been using another knowledge base solution that we don't have a direct importer for, you may still be able to import your content! If your existing knowledge base solution can generate a CSV export, use our CSV importer to import your content.

Before you begin

Only use this importer if your existing knowledge base solution:

• Isn't listed in our 3rd-party imports list
• Can generate a single CSV file as an export. If your tool generates multiple files as an export, use our Other file format import option.

Before you begin, generate a CSV file of the content you want to import. Download the csv file and have it ready.

Import your content from CSV

Follow these steps to import from a CSV file:

1. In KnowledgeOwl, go to Tools > Imports. The Import content page opens.
   
2. Under File-based imports, select CSV file. The Import CSV file page opens.
3. Drag the CSV file and drop it into the box or select the browse link, browse to the file, and select it.
4. Once your file uploads, our importer does some quick pre-processing to summarize the number of articles it found.
5. Next, Map CSV columns to article fields. This tells our importer where the fields from your CSV file should be imported into KnowledgeOwl. We'll try to map the CSV columns to KnowledgeOwl fields based on the CSV column headings. Use the Preview section to review a sample of how the CSV fields will map to KnowledgeOwl fields. Review the preview and the mappings.
6. Use the CSV COLUMN dropdowns to adjust those mappings. Refer to KnowledgeOwl fields reference for a more detailed description of the fields and what kind of information you'll want to map to them.
7. Once you've gotten the mappings set how you want, select Continue.
8. The page updates for you to Configure import settings.
9. All imported content will be created at the Top level by default. If you'd rather import this content into an existing category:
   1. Select the Existing category option under Select import destination.
   2. Enter part of the category title; the field autosuggests categories.
   3. Select the correct existing category.
10. Articles will import with the Published status. If you'd rather import your articles with a different status, update the Select article status dropdown with the status you'd like to use. Refer to Publishing status for descriptions of the available statuses.
11. For images referenced within the article body, by default we will import images from their current source and host them in KnowledgeOwl. If you'd prefer we don't import those images, select Keep existing URLs under Image settings.
12. Once you've made your selections, select Import content.

A progress bar appears and will update once the content is imported.

If you're testing the import in a new knowledge base and want to make changes and try to re-import, delete this knowledge base and create a new knowledge base to re-test the import. Refer to Testing imports for more details.

KnowledgeOwl fields reference

Here's a quick rundown of the KnowledgeOwl fields available in Map CSV columns to article fields:

• Article title (required): Map this field to a column containing the title of the individual page or article.
• Article body/content (required): Map this field to a column containing the contents or body of the individual page or article. This field is required for the import to succeed.
• Article URL: Map this optional field to a column containing the article's relative or full URL. Don't worry if you don't have a column containing URLs; we'll generate URLs based on the article title.
• Category: Map this optional field to a column containing the top-level category this article is housed within. Don't worry if you don't have a column containing this information; once you select Continue, you have the option to Select import destination if you want to create all imported articles in a specific category or at the top level.
• Subcategory: Map this optional field to a column containing the title of the subcategory this article is housed within. This is optional.
• Search phrases: Map this optional field to a column containing a comma-separated list of search phrases you want added to the article. KnowledgeOwl automatically indexes the article title, article body, URL, meta description, and other fields for search. You only need to import words or phrases here if you want to add search phrases that don't naturally occur in those places. Refer to Search phrases for more information on how search phrases work in KnowledgeOwl. Other tools may call these search tags.
• Meta description: Map this optional field to a column containing a brief description of the page's contents, usually used for SEO purposes. The meta description should be under 200 characters. Refer to Meta descriptions for more information on how meta descriptions are used in KnowledgeOwl.
• Tags: Map this optional field to a column containing a comma-separated list of tags you want added to the article. KnowledgeOwl tags are used to group similar content together or to serve as filters in Manage. They don't impact search relevance or ranking. Refer to What are tags? for more information on how tags are used in KnowledgeOwl.