Start from Scratch (New KB Site)

So you'd like to create a new KB site... Here is, step by step, what you need to do:

1. Use your page editor first. Create a site, a barebones default/front page with an empty <body> tag, and some topics, which you'll probably base on an HTML template. Topics must be located in the root folder of the site (required).

Note. There is no need to organize topics in folders at editor/web level, since this task is taken over by KSW completely.

2. Configure the default/front page. See Default/Front Page.

3. Close editor, open KSW.

4. Make new KSW project, point to the new site location on disk.

5. Enter the required project info and proceed. KSW scans and parses files in the local/working web, sets up databases of the project, and loads the project.

6. Open project. Here you'll find many tabs you can explore; they're all self-explanatory.

7. Stay in 'TOC Builder' first:
    • You'll find all your topics in a list called 'Available Topics'.
    • Located on the left is a panel called 'TOC Folders', a place where folders are shown in a hierarchy; it contains only the root for now, selected. You only use this panel to locate and select folders.
    • The middle panel contains the expanded folder that is selected in 'TOC Folders'. Here you can...
            • create new folders (right-click), or
            • add topics (drag from 'Available Topics').
    • Now categorize the available topics in folders. You may drag the same topic from the Available Topics' list to multiple folders.

8. Go to the 'Index Builder' tab. All topics you categorized have already been inserted in the Index. You may use the Index as an alphabetic list of all topics. These new topics also appear in the 'Available for Terms' list, because they are new and susceptible for being used for terms.

9. To create a new term in the Index, drag a topic from 'Available for Terms' to the Index list on the left.

10. Do as much as you feel it's enough, leave the rest undone. Save the project.

11. Open the editor and publish. Check site on web; first you'll see the welcome page; then the frameset; check functionality, it should work.

12. Next time you open the project, you'll see topics you left uncategorized, again in 'Available Topics', together with any new topics. You may ask, what if I need a topic already categorized, to place it in additional folders? For that, you don't need 'Available Topics' anymore. Just go to the 'TOC Explorer' tab. Between the two middle panels there you can copy, move, and do all operations common to file management. So you can use an existing topic and copy to any number of other folders.

That's about it, enough to get us started. Always, remember the Context Help expandable bar everywhere; it may give you the quick answer you need, so you won't have to open the help file.