Export all Knowledge articles (in the event of ServiceNow being entirely unavailable)

drjohnk · ‎10-31-2017

Hi all,

Let me preface this ask by saying that I do understand the availability SLA's for ServiceNow, as well as the extremely unlikely event that ServiceNow would be wholly unavailable...

That being said, an ask coming from my organization from a business continuity standpoint, is to ensure that Knowledge is still available, in the event that ServiceNow is wholly unavailable.

I have been able to report on all Knowledge articles, however what I am looking for is a way to export all Knowledge (including screen shots) from ServiceNow on a monthly basis, to satisfy those business continuity concerns.

Any help, opinions, or otherwise would be very helpful.

Thank you!

Aditya Telideva · ‎11-04-2017

sys_attachment_doc.list

Personalize to include "Sys attachment", this is the name of the document.

Export -> XML

Parse accordingly with an XML parser.

Alternatively you can export to a CSV, but it will still require some work to convert the Base-64 encoded data to binary. or else you would need to map all the fields if there is any provision:

you can refer KB0010009 for more information and you may face some of the challenges as below

#1: Styles for each KB could change based on what style is available as BASE style.

#2: Images being used in KB with relative URL would require a separate export.

#3: Reference fields related data would become static content after exporting it to any external system.

Hope it helps,

Aditya Telidevara

View solution in original post

snowolper · ‎09-23-2019

Best Practice:
Export/Import Knowledge Bases, Categories, and Articles in batches. Do not attempt to transfer all at once as some KB Articles may be bigger than others and can cause corruption, issues or unintended issues (missing attachments and other items) that are easier to fix in batches then an all or nothing method.

Also, create a local update set prior to starting just in case.

Example:

Need to export Knowledge Base, its Categories and all its relative Articles from SNOWsiteA too SNOWsiteB.

Follow these steps:

Be sure to export the Knowledge Base from SNOWsiteA and import the intended SNOWsiteB (Production, Test, Development, etc.).
Export the Knowledge Base Categories from SNOWsiteA and import the intended SNOWsiteB
Export the Articles from SNOWsiteA:
1. Go to SNOWsiteA Knowledge > Articles > All.
2. Create a filter to render a scoped export.
3. Right-click at the tables banner > Export > XML
Import the Articles to SNOWsiteB
Post Import
- Update all articles hardcoded hyperlinks to correct links
- doublecheck all attachments and images
- doublecheck styling
- all other check and tests need to be applied.

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