Import content

Have existing content you want to migrate to KnowledgeOwl? Use one of our import options to simplify the process.

Import best practices

People migrating from other knowledge base tools get really excited to import content because it will "save so much time." Then, once the import is done, they begin reviewing content and making a change here, a change there, a slight organizational tweak over here...and then suddenly they end up manually reviewing and updating every single piece of content in the entire knowledge base. The total amount of time the process takes tends to be significantly longer than if they'd manually moved content over from scratch and made changes and edits upfront.

For this reason, though it may seem counter-intuitive, we strongly recommend manually migrating your content from an existing tool or platform, rather than importing it all in bulk. This allows you to make solid decisions as you migrate the content, and you can completely free yourself from any flaws or frustrating organizational arrangements as you move into KnowledgeOwl. Sometimes, starting with a blank slate really is a great idea.

But we do have a couple direct import tools for other ticketing systems, and we have a robust API if you have developer resources and you'd like to move content over from another source system.

Regardless of whether you're importing in bulk or manually importing content a la carte, we recommend that you:

  • Review your existing knowledge base's organization and structure. Does it meet your readers' needs? Have you always wished it was different? Now could be a great time to make some changes.
  • Review content for idiosyncrasies or tweaks that were necessary in your existing knowledge base platform, but unnecessary in KnowledgeOwl's. Some differences might be the way categories can be laid out, tables of contents, links, hyperlinks, Link to Article links in KnowledgeOwl, how images or files are referenced, etc.
  • Review content to make sure it's up to date. Importing out-of-date content sometimes can cause more headache than just creating new content from scratch.
  • Review your content's existing permissions and access. Do you need/want to segregate content by groups? Do you need or want to restrict editing of certain content to particular author teams? If so, setting those groups and teams up in advance of adding your content can allow you to create/import it assigned to the correct access restrictions.

Import from Zendesk

If you or one of your teams has already been using Zendesk as a knowledge base solution, you may have a lot of content there you'd like to move over to KnowledgeOwl. You can import that content from a Zendesk knowledge base/help center directly into your KnowledgeOwl knowledge base with a few clicks.

Before you start

Be sure you have admin access to your Zendesk account before you try to import, since you'll need access some options in Admin Center. Specifically, you'll need:

  • your Zendesk subdomain
  • a Zendesk user email with access to the Zendesk knowledge base you're importing content from
  • a valid Zendesk API token

Import your content from Zendesk

  1. Confirm you can get the required information from Zendesk. (Generally you can do all of this if you can access /admin/home in your Zendesk account.)
  2. In KnowledgeOwl, go to Knowledge Base > Import.
  3. Select Zendesk Import.
  4. Enter a Zendesk Domain: this is your Zendesk subdomain name. For example, knowledgeowl is the domain we'd enter for a help center located at knowledgeowl.zendesk.com.
    • If you're using a private domain with your Zendesk account, you'll still want to use your Zendesk subdomain here, not the full private domain.
  5. Enter a Zendesk Username: this is the email address of an existing Zendesk user account which has access to the Zendesk knowledge base. If you've accessed Zendesk to gather this information, you can generally use your own.
  6. Enter a Zendesk API Key: Enter a valid Zendesk API token. See the Zendesk API documentation for instructions on creating a new API token. Here's what the import fields might look like importing from a knowledge base that's part of the knowledgeowl.zendesk.com account:
    Sample import fields
  7. Once you've filled in each of the fields, select Start Import.

The import will display a progress bar and confirm once it completes. If you're testing the import in a new knowledge base and want to make changes and try to re-import, you can delete this knowledge base and create a new knowledge base to re-test the import. See Testing imports for more details.

Import from Freshdesk

If you or one of your teams has already been using Freshdesk as a knowledge base solution, you may have a lot of content there you'd like to move over to KnowledgeOwl. You can import that content from a Freshdesk knowledge base/help center directly into your KnowledgeOwl knowledge base with a few clicks.

Before you start

You'll need a few things from the Freshdesk account to get started, specifically:

  • your Freshdesk subdomain
  • a valid Freshdesk API key

Import your content from Freshdesk

  1. Confirm you can get the required information from Freshdesk.
  2. In KnowledgeOwl, go to Knowledge Base > Import.
  3. Select Freshdesk Import.
  4. Enter your Freshdesk Domain: this is your Freshdesk subdomain name. For example, knowledgeowl is the Freshdesk subdomain for knowledgeowl.freshdesk.com.
  5. Enter a Freshdesk API Key: Enter your Freshdesk API key. See the Freshdesk API documentation for instructions on finding your API key. Here's what the import fields might look like importing from a knowledge base that's part of the knowledgeowl.freshdesk.com account:
  6. Once you've filled in each of the fields, select Start Import.

The import will display a progress bar and confirm once it completes. If you're testing the import in a new knowledge base and want to make changes and try to re-import, you can delete this knowledge base and create a new knowledge base to re-test the import. See Testing imports for more details.

Import using the API

You can use the KnowledgeOwl API to import content. The API is available on all plans, and you will need development resources to be able to use it. Visit our API documentation to learn more.

Testing imports

New or trial accounts 

If you have a new or trial account without much content or customizations, you can test imports without worry. If something goes wrong or you want to try again, you can delete the current knowledge base and create a new one.

To delete your knowledge base and start over:

  1. Click on the owl in the top left to go to your dashboard. 
  2. Click on the gear icon next to your knowledge base and choose Delete.

If you only have one knowledge base, this will restart the setup process for a new knowledge base. If you have multiple knowledge base slots on your account, you can then choose New Knowledge Base to try again. 

To add multiple knowledge bases to your trial or account:

  1. Click on your profile icon/name in the upper right.
  2. Select Account from the dropdown.
  3. Use the + control for Knowledge Bases to add another knowledge base.

  4. Once you make the change, an Upgrade button appears at the bottom of the Plan Cost section. Click this button to finalize the change. Your credit card on-file will be charged.

Existing accounts 

If you already have an account with a knowledge base set up, you might not want to test an import in your production knowledge base. Here's a few options for testing imports outside of production:

  • If you have additional knowledge base slots in your subscription, you can create a new knowledge base to test the import. 
  • If you do not have additional knowledge base slots, you can add more to your subscriptions under your profile icon/name > Account
  • If you want a temporary knowledge base for testing, contact us so we can set you up with a complimentary sandbox knowledge base.