A much-needed feature was just introduced and that is the ability to add software and tags here at ITNinja. We started with a solid list of about 100 tags to cover most of what was traditionally discussed on AppDeploy with several other high-level topics thrown in for good measure. We also had over 50,000 software titles based on the original AppDeploy Software Knowledge Base. So, there have been lots of tags, but there is always a need for more tags and, maybe more importantly, more software.

More tags: new topics and more granular subtopics can make for better browsing of content when used effectively. This is pretty straightforward and is obviously something we could have done early on, but ITNinja is unique in that we mix these traditional tags in with our larger database of software for tagging purposes. Adding a software tag has some real impact on the site—not only does it mean others can choose it when posting in the future and that you can search and browse based on it, but for Software it also adds to our Software Knowledge Base. 

For those familiar with AppDeploy, the “Software Knowledge Base” is the result of merging the AppDeploy Software Knowledge base and AppDeploy Package Knowledge base into one resource. With some simple filters you can see just what has tips and effectively get the same experience you had with the Package KB on AppDeploy, but the entire database is available to host any related content you choose to contribute. You can do this from a specific version of a title in the Software Library or you can be posting content anywhere and choose the software title and/or specific version as a tag.

Here is how it works:

When posting a blog, link or question you’ll notice a “Suggest a Tag” link to the right of the tag field. Click it and you can specify if you are adding a software tag or not. If you are not, you can simply enter the desired term and it will be submitted and added to the tags chosen for the content you are submitting. If you  are adding Software, there is a little more to it:

A form is presented where you first enter or choose the software company. If it is available, choose it. You can narrow the list by typing, but for all fields here you must select an item from the list in order for it to be specified. For “Microsoft” you could type “micros” and choose it from the list, but choosing “micros” would mean you are requesting to add a company named “micros” to the Software Library. 

If you choose a company we have listed already, you will see all software associated with that company in the Software Title field. Again you can type to narrow the list and may enter something new or select a known item from the software titles we have in our database. 

If at any point you choose a new item you have typed, no future lists will be populated with known entries (due to your having entered a new item). Otherwise you can choose from the values in the database. 

For Major Version, a single whole number should be entered. If you were adding “Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5” you would choose or enter “3” here.  

If version 3 is good enough to identify the subject of your content, don’t bother with the “Minor Version” field. However, if the content you wish to submit is more version specific, you can specify a more complete version number in the “Minor Version” field. Here you can enter the full version as long as necessary, such as “3.5.20706” or “3.5.21022”. 

One more quick example: if you wanted to add version 6.5, you would enter “6” for the major version and “6.5” for the minor version.

When you submit this, you’ll see the company, software title, major version, and (if specified) minor version tags all added as chosen tags for the content you are submitting. If any are unwanted, just click the “X” on the tag to remove it from the list of tags.

Like everything else, we will be looking at ways to improve this feature. But also like everything else, we thought it important to get what we can available as soon as possible. Please continue to provide feedback on this and other features of the site to help steer our priorities: http://kace.uservoice.com/forums/139919-itninja 

Note: we didn’t want to delay getting this out to correct this but so you are aware: there is no current page for simply adding software. To add software to the Software Library you must be contributing a blog, link or question. We realize this is an issue for those wanting to post a deployment tip for a version of a software title not already in the Software Library. As a work-around you may either use the feature on a page like “share a link” (suggest the software desired and then cancel out of submitting the link) or you can feel free to write me and I’ll do it for you.