Where did the kbfiles directory go?

[jkrelic]

I am updating my KB's and I just now noticed that I am not seeing the kbfiles directory that should be found at c:\Program Files (x86)\Lansweeper\Website\Knowledgebase\____________

I am on 6.0.130.40

Before someone says, you need to upgrade to .48, please check your file path as well.

I have a lot of missing and broken links (404 etc) that need to get fixed asap.

[Esben_D]

The current Knowledgebase is pretty basic. You're not the first to ask for a more modern knowledgebase module with more customization options along with other features. However, changing the entire knowledgebase is a big change, and involves a lot of decision making, research and development time. All I can say is that we are aware that customers want it, and the more customers ask for it the higher priority it will get.

As for the broken links. I'm not quite sure how these links got broken. As mentioned, during an update the files are automatically moved and links are adjusted accordingly. To fully troubleshoot the cause of the issue I recommend replying to the support ticket.

[jkrelic]

I received a reply from my support desk email about my problem here and this is really upsetting.

The public change log includes most changes made, however, background changes are often left out since they have little impact on customers and to keep the public change log clear.

Reading this felt like it was being hidden intentionally. The public change log was already a mile long for the 130.40 upgrade. What difference would 1 or 2 more lines of information change?

Unfortunately, there is no system in place to find an exact knowledgebase file since the fileuid is randomly generated. We will however mark this ticket as a feature request and add it to our wish list along with the HTML5 request. Features on the customer wish list get development prioritization based on a combination of customer demand and difficulty to implement. As such we can unfortunately not give an estimated release date when this update may get released.

I am not sure how old the KB system is with LS. We chose LS over 3 other systems and even moved from Spiceworks which had their own KB system that was using HTML5. The LS system as a whole is vastly superior to Spiceworks and I know that the helpdesk aspect is still being worked out. However, the KB system feels like it is being neglected.

[jkrelic]

I really don't think anyone is understanding how problematic this situation is for my coworkers and myself. Many of the files are pictures and some PDFs that I just don't have access to anymore.

That said, I have broken links to PDFs and pictures that are no longer shown in my KBs. Without access to these files anymore, I cannot just re-upload or re-attach a file. This is basically forcing me to redo everything that is broken from the beginning.

With the amount of SQL to generate reports and API for helpdesk emails and such, why isn't there more support for customer controlled HTML with KBs? The WYSIWYG editor is very lackluster and unappealing which is why I do things on the backend.

[Esben_D]

Taken from a support email regarding these questions:

Currently, when files get added to a knowledgebase article they are added to the Program Files (x86)\Lansweeper\Website\helpdesk\files folder. In the knowledgebase article themselves, they are referenced to with their fileuid, which is also used as their file name in the saved folder.

In old Lansweeper versions knowledgebase attachments were stored in their own separate folder kbfiles and a very long ID was generated for these files (It used base 64 encoding for some files). To allow more file types to be added to knowledgbase articles the current fileuid system has been implemented. When updating an old Lansweeper installation to a current version, the knowledgebase files, and links within the knowledgebase articles are all adjusted to reflect the new method.

If a knowledgebase attachment is no longer working, the easiest way to resolve the issue is to re-upload or re-attach the attachment.

[jkrelic]

I guess the biggest problem I am facing is that the file id for all of my PDFs has been changed and I have a lot of broken 404 links. How do I fix this with the new structure?

As a workaround, I have created my own kbfiles and placed that in a completely different directory other than LanSweeper that way it won't get blown out of the water when a new revision of LS comes out.

I do not want to upload icons using the WYSIWYG editor for a couple of reasons.

1) I don't want the file links showing up at the top or the bottom of the page, yes I know I can turn that off/on
2) The HTML code is horrendously ugly as it is and when you upload a file using the editor, it makes it even worse

Just look at this:

<img src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="max-width:900px;max-height:900px;">

[jkrelic]

Okay. That solves that problem. Now I have another one. All I am seeing are GUID type files and I have absolutely no idea which file is what.

Name: f100943e-bbbf-403e-b0f8-8550d8bd08f3
Type: File
Size: 12.3 KB

I have hundreds and hundreds of these. What happened here? I can't spend hours going through each file 1 by 1 like this.

EDIT:
Looking at some of my KB articles, I see the following

src="/Knowledgebase/KnowledgebasePageActions.aspx?action=getattachment&amp;fileuid=8bbd14f1-7bea-4e6d-a366-f784d8d6737e&amp;kbid=16" alt="chromeMore.png

Yeah that isn't going to work at all, getting a fileuid like that. Big waste of time to update file names and an even bigger waste of time to redo it all. Why can't the LS KB use the typical HTML5 src code? This just made things a lot more complicated and unappealing.

[Esben_D]

If you are talking about files attached to KB articles, they are stored in the following directory: Program Files (x86)\Lansweeper\Website\helpdesk\files