How to filter by custom fields and get custom knowledge article fields in the KBSearch response

[ZoranG]

Hello,

I’ve encountered a roadblock with knowledge search, both on the portal and the API (sn_km_api/knowledge/articles). I would greatly appreciate any help or advice.

Summary question:  How can I configure KBSearch to either

• Use a custom table (u_kb_template_*) that extends kb_knowledge instead of kb_knowledge OR
• Otherwise include custom article fields in the filters and response (fields block)

Steps I’ve taken:

• Created a custom article template that introduces several new fields to the knowledge articles. These fields are automatically prefixed with u_kb_* as expected.
• Configured the form layout and list view, allowing me to enter and edit articles as defined in the template.
• Configured the list view and can filter by any of the fields. This works great.
• Configured a portal for the KB and verified that the search on the portal (and through the API) includes the custom fields and returns articles that match the entered text in the custom fields too.

The problem (applicable to both portal search and API):

• I cannot configure KBSearch to use the table with the custom fields (u_kb_template_*).
• I can only ask for fields that are on kb_knowledge (e.g., author), but not any of the custom fields (u_kb_*).
• I cannot create filters based on any of the custom article fields.

However:

• The search does return articles that match the entered text when found in the custom fields.
• The article snippet includes text from the custom fields, but the format is not as desired.

Questions:

1. How can I create filters for custom fields and have custom fields included in the search response (in the fields block of each item)?
2. How can I modify the format of the snippet returned with each result?