Knowledge Sources

Knowledge sources serve as reference files for your Design Assistant to use when creating custom content. Knowledge sources may include, but are not limited to, files such as:

  • Branding guidelines
  • Corporate policies, procedures, and principles
  • Strategy documents
  • Project charters
  • Subject matter presentation decks
  • Onboarding guides
  • Department policies, procedures, and principles
  • Guidelines
  • Statement of work details
  • Glossaries
  • Playbooks
  • Business cases
  • Custom SCORM courses

Knowledge sources can be added at the workspace or project level.

The Design Assistant can recommend knowledge sources that would be relevant and useful. In addition, when you upload knowledge sources, the Design Assistant can use them to answer queries.

Knowledge Source File Information

The following types are supported for knowledge sources:

  • *.csv
  • *.doc
  • *.docx
  • *.html
  • *.pdf
  • *.pptx
  • *.txt
  • *.xlsx
  • SCORM packages

When uploading knowledge sources, the Skillsoft Platform checks the file to ensure it meets the following conditions:

  • The file size should not be greater than 100 MB.
  • The file is not password protected or encrypted
  • The file does not contain a virus or malware
  • The file is not corrupted in anyway

Best Practices

When you upload and share knowledge sources as part of LX Design Studio, we recommend the following:

  • Upload and share the file at the right location based on how you intend to use it:
    • Organization level documents: These are files such as, a branding guides, company guidelines, and corporate policies, which are needed by all teams working on content creation. You should add and share these documents at the workspace level so they are available to all projects under the workspace(s).
    • Project level documents: These are documents such as, a project charter, business cases, or subject matter presentation decks, which only a particular team needs in order to develop content. You should add and share these at a project level.
  • Avoid clutter by scoping knowledge sources to relevant locations and then sharing the file to any additional locations as needed. Do not upload a file multiple times to different locations. Use the same file and share wherever needed.
  • Upload as concise a file as possible. For example, if you have a large file where only a portion of the file is relevant for your content creation initiative, break the file and only upload the relevant sections. This ensures that the Design Assistant is able to stay focused and relevant to your needs.
  • Review files that the Design Assistant recommends before adding them to the Design Brief. This ensures you have what you need for content creations.
  • If you have a source such as a Microsoft PowerPoint or SCORM file that contains media such as images, audio recordings, or videos, those items are automatically extracted so you can use them as media components in your custom content.

Manage Knowledge Sources

Knowledge sources may be added at the workspace or project level, but in order to manage knowledge sources, you must have edit access at that level.

If you only have view level access, you can preview a knowledge source and manage locations, but not edit it. To preview a knowledge source:

  1. From the Knowledge source list page, locate the knowledge source.
  2. From the Show options menu, select View document. The file opens in a separate browser tab.

If you have edit access to a project or workspace, you can take the following actions regarding its knowledge sources:

Add Knowledge Sources

You can add knowledge sources at the workspace or project level. When you add a knowledge source, the associated extracted files are also added at that level.

When you add a knowledge source at the workspace level, it is shared with all projects in that workspace, including any new projects that are created later. These are files such as, a branding guides, company guidelines, and corporate policies, which are needed by all teams working on content creation.

On the Knowledge Sources page, you see both the Knowledge Sources added to the workspace and those added to the projects that you have access to in that workspace.

To add a new knowledge source to a workspace:

  1. Use the drop-down at the top of the left navigation bar to select the correct workspace.
  2. From the left navigation bar, select Knowledge Sources. You are now viewing the Knowledge Sources page.
  3. From the top right corner of the page, select Upload. This opens a pop-up.
  4. Drag and drop supported files or browse from your device's saved files to add your desired knowledge sources. If a knowledge source contains images, videos, or audio segments, the platform automatically extracts those as separate items that you can add to your media library and to custom content.
  5. Select Next.
  6. Give your knowledge source a title and description. This is how it displays to users in that workspace. Select Next.
  7. Select Next again to begin processing your files. This is where the extraction of images, audio files, and videos takes place.
  8. Select Got it. Your knowledge source will display shortly.

When you add a knowledge source at the project level, it can only be accessed by collaborators on that project, and is only applied when creating content in that project. These are documents such as, a project charter, business cases, or subject matter presentation decks, which only a particular team needs in order to develop content.

On the Project Knowledge Sources tab within a specific project, you see both the knowledge sources added to the project and those added at the workspace level.

To add a knowledge source to a project:

  1. From the left navigation bar, select Projects.
  2. Locate the project you want to add a knowledge source to. From the Project options menu, select View project.
  3. Select to view the Project Knowledge Sources tab.
  4. Select Add from the top right.
  5. Drag and drop supported files or browse from your device's saved files to add your desired knowledge sources. If a knowledge source contains images, videos, or audio segments, the platform automatically extracts those as separate items that you can add to your media library and to custom content.
  6. Select Next.
  7. Give your knowledge source a title and description. This is how it displays to users in that project. Select Next.
  8. Select Next again to begin processing your files.
  9. Select Got it. Your knowledge source will display shortly.

When you add a knowledge source directly to a content item, it is only seen by people with access to that content, and is only applied to that content item.

To add a knowledge source when creating content:

  1. From the Knowledge Sources section of the Design Brief of any content item, select Add.
  2. Drag and drop supported files or browse from your device's saved files to add your desired knowledge sources. If a knowledge source contains images, videos, or audio segments, the platform automatically extracts those as separate items that you can add to your media library and to custom content.
  3. Select Next.
  4. Select the level at which to upload the knowledge source. By default, Project is selected. To allow the knowledge source to only be accessible at the content level, select Content.
  5. Select Next.
  6. Give your knowledge source a title and description. This is how it will appear to those in that are working with the content.
  7. Select Next.
  8. Select Next again to begin processing your files. The processing step is where any images, audio files, and videos get extracted.
  9. Select Got it. When you use your design brief to create a content item, the knowledge source is applied.

Share Knowledge Sources

You can share a knowledge source to other projects or workspaces from its Source location which is where it was originally uploaded. Anyone with access to a project or workspace where the knowledge source was uploaded can share it to other projects or workspaces that they themselves have access to.

To share a knowledge source that was uploaded at the project level:

  1. From the left navigation bar, select Projects.
  2. Locate the project where the knowledge source you wish to share is contained. Select View project.
  3. Select the Project Knowledge Sources tab and locate the knowledge source you wish to share.
  4. From the actions menu, select Manage Locations. Note, the Source location must match the project you are currently viewing in order for you to be able to share the knowledge source. In other words, the knowledge source must have been uploaded directly to that project, not shared to it from another project.
  5. Find the project or workspace to which you want to add the knowledge source.
  6. Select or deselect the check box next to a project or workspace to manage whether the knowledge source is available in that location.
  1. From the left navigation bar, select Knowledge Sources. On the Knowledge sources page, you see all knowledge sources added at the workspace level.
  2. Locate the knowledge source you wish to share. Note, the Source location must match the workspace you are currently viewing in order for you to be able to share the knowledge source. If the knowledge source was added at the project level, you must share it directly from the project.
  3. From the actions menu, select Manage Location.
  4. Find the project or workspace you wish to share the knowledge source to.
  5. Select or deselect the check box next to a project or workspace to manage whether the knowledge source is available in that location. For a document shared at the Workspace level, if a user removes sharing to one or more projects under it, the knowledge sources stops being shared at the workspace level and instead is shared with all individual projects in that workspace that are still checked.

Edit details

When you upload a knowledge source, you must give it a title and description so that you and others in your organization can easily locate it. To edit these details after it has been uploaded:

  1. Locate the knowledge source from the project or workspace level.
  2. From the Actions menu , select Edit details.
  3. Update the title and description.
  4. Select Save.

Delete Knowledge Sources

In order to delete a knowledge source, you must have edit access to the project/workspace that it was uploaded to. Additionally, the knowledge source must not be shared to any other locations. Before deleting a knowledge source, it must be removed from any shared locations by a user with edit access in that location. This can be done by selecting Remove from actions menu of the knowledge source within its shared locations. Any user with edit access to the source location can also select Manage Locations and unshare the document from all locations and then delete it.

To delete a knowledge source:

  1. Be sure the knowledge source has been removed from any locations to which it has been shared.
  2. Navigate to the project or workspace where the knowledge source was uploaded.
  3. Locate the knowledge source you wish to delete.
  4. From the Actions menu , select Delete. The deleted document moves to Deleted Items in the Profile menu. It can be restored for the next 30 days from there. The knowledge source gets permanently deleted on the 30th day after it has been deleted.
  5. A pop-up displays asking you to confirm. Select Delete knowledge source.

Move Content

If you choose to move content from one project to another:

  • The knowledge sources associated to the content item are shared with the new location.
  • The knowledge sources associated to that content remain in the source location as earlier and remained shared with all locations as earlier.
For example: You have content item in Project A in Workspace 1, and you move it to Project B in Workspace 2. The knowledge sources associated with the content are now shared with both Project A and Project B.

Manage extracted files

If you uploaded a knowledge such as a Microsoft PowerPoint or a SCORM file that contains images, audio files, or videos, each of those items gets extracted as a separate component so you can use them your custom content.

By default, extracted files do not automatically display in your Media library or your content. You have to explicitly add them.

Workspace level

To add extracted files to the Media library at the workspace level:

  1. Switch to the workspace that contains the knowledge source.
  2. From the left navigation, select Knowledge Sources.
  3. Locate the knowledge source with extracted components, and from the Show options menu, select View extracted files. The View extracted files page displays. Everything that was extracted displays under the appropriate tab:
    • Images: Displays all image files extracted from the source.
    • Slide images: For every slide in a presentation, a slide image gets created and listed on this tab.
    • Audio: Displays all audio files extracted from the source.
    • Video: Displays all video files extracted from the source.
    • Text: Displays text components extracted from the source file.
  4. Locate the extracted component you want to use in your content, select Add to workspace.
  5. Select Add to workspace to confirm. This adds the extracted component to the Media library at the workspace level. After you add it to the Media library, you no longer have the option to add it to the workspace. Switch to the Media library to view the component.

Project level

To add extracted files to the Media library at the workspace level:

  1. Switch to the project that contains the knowledge source.
  2. From the top tabs, select Project Knowledge Sources.
  3. Locate the knowledge source with extracted components, and from the Show options menu, select View extracted files. The View extracted files page displays. Everything that was extracted displays under the appropriate tab:
    • Images: Displays all image files extracted from the source.
    • Slide images: For every slide in a presentation, a slide image gets created and listed on this tab.
    • Audio: Displays all audio files extracted from the source.
    • Video: Displays all video files extracted from the source.
    • Text: Displays text components extracted from the source file.
  4. Locate the extracted component you want to use in your content, select Add to project.
  5. Select Add to project to confirm. This adds the extracted component to the Media library at the project level. After you add it to the Media library, you no longer have the option to add it to the project. Switch to the Media library to view the component.

Add extracted files to content

When you want to add extracted files from knowledge sources you added at the project or workspace level, you must first add those extracted files to the Media library. You can then add them from the Media library to your content.

If you are working in a content item, and add a knowledge source that is only available at the content level, when you want to add the extracted file: