Import from Notion

If you or one of your teams has already been using Notion, you can import that content directly into your KnowledgeOwl knowledge base. KnowledgeOwl offers two ways to import from Notion: a Database import for structured Notion databases, or a Page import to search your Notion workspace and select specific pages.

Before you begin

Both import types require a Notion integration key. To create one and retrieve your key, refer to Notion's Add & manage connections (Notion) article to connect via installation access token.

If you're using the Database import, you'll also need your Database ID. To find it, open your database in Notion and look at the URL. The Database ID is the 32-character string between the / and the ? in the URL. For example:

https://www.notion.so/myworkspace/My-Database-1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef?v=...
                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                              This is your Database ID

Have your integration key (and Database ID, if applicable) ready before you begin.

Choose your import type

In KnowledgeOwl, go to Tools > Imports. The Import content page opens.
Under Third-party imports, select Notion. The Import Notion content page opens.
Select the import type you want to use:
- Database import: Import all pages from a Notion database. You'll map database columns to article fields.
- Page import: Search your Notion workspace and select specific pages to import.

Follow the steps below for your chosen import type.

Database import

Select Database import and then follow the on-screen steps.
In Step 1 of 2: Connect your Notion database:
1. Enter your Notion integration key.
2. Enter your Database ID.
3. Select Load database columns. The page advances to Step 2.
In Step 2 of 2: Map columns and configure import, map your Notion database columns to KnowledgeOwl article fields:
1. Article title is required. Select the Notion column that contains your article titles.
2. Article permalink, Category, and Reader group are optional. Map these to Notion columns if applicable, or leave them as Not mapped.
Configure your import settings. If you don't make any changes, your Notion content will be imported using these defaults:
1. Content hierarchy begins at the top level.
  1. To import content into a specific category instead, select Existing category under Import destination and start entering the category name. The field will autosuggest. Select the category you want to import all content into.
2. All articles set to Published status.
  1. To import with a different status, select it from the Article status dropdown.
To assign reader groups to all imported articles, select them from Reader groups (optional).
If you'd like to add a tag to identify all articles created from this import, enter a tag name in Tag all imported articles (optional).
1. We strongly recommend this if you're importing content alongside manually-created content, so you can easily filter to these articles in Manage!
Select Import database to begin the import.

Page import

Select Page import and then follow the on-screen steps.
In Step 1 of 2: Search and select pages:
1. Enter your Notion integration key.
2. Enter a search term in the Search term field and select Search. Pages matching your search appear below.
3. Check the box next to any page you want to import. Once selected, KnowledgeOwl searches for subpages automatically.
  1. If subpages are found, they appear below the parent page with individual checkboxes. Select Select all to include all subpages, or check only the ones you want.
4. Once you've selected all your pages, select Configure import to advance to Step 2.
In Step 2 of 2: Configure import settings, configure your settings. If you don't make any changes, your Notion content will be imported using these defaults:
1. Content hierarchy begins at the top level.
  1. To import content into a specific category instead, select Existing category under Import destination and start entering the category name. The field will autosuggest. Select the category you want to import all content into.
2. All articles set to Published status.
  1. To import with a different status, select it from the Article status dropdown.
To assign reader groups to all imported articles, select them from Reader groups (optional).
To add a prefix to all article permalinks, enter it in Permalink prefix (optional). By default, page titles are used as permalinks. A prefix adds a consistent string to the beginning of each one. A preview of the permalink format displays as you type.
If you'd like to add a tag to identify all articles created from this import, enter a tag name in Tag all imported articles (optional).
1. We strongly recommend this if you're importing content alongside manually-created content, so you can easily filter to these articles in Manage!
Select Import pages to begin the import.

Once the import completes, your content will be available in your knowledge base.

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.

How the Notion import works

Notion and KnowledgeOwl have different content structures, so the importer can't handle all of Notion's configurations exactly.

Imported content

Here's the content we import and how we import it:

Categories: When using the database import, you can import categories using a database column.
Articles: Page content is imported, including images. We try to convert Notion formatting to KnowledgeOwl equivalents.
Reader groups: When using the database import, you can import a single reader group restriction using a database column.
Permalinks: When using the database import, you can import a permalink from a database column. When importing pages, permalinks are imported from article titles-you can optionally add a prefix to all automatically generated permalinks during the import.

Import limitations

We're adding more coverage to this importer based on customer requests, so if you've tried the importer and you're missing something, contact us so we can explore if we can add the options you need!