Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we hear most often.
Which file types can I upload?
Knovas accepts text. Your software converts files to text first. Our free knovas-extract library does this for PDF, Word, HTML, RTF, email and text files.
Which languages are supported?
Knovas handles many languages, including German and English. Search works best when the question is in the same language as the documents.
Do I have to use Python?
No. Knovas works with any programming language that can send web requests with a certificate. The docs show curl and Python because they are the most common; the same requests work from Java, C#, JavaScript, Go and others.
How soon can I search a new document?
Usually within a minute after the last part is sent. Very large documents can take longer.
Does a search return the full document?
No. It returns the document’s identifier, score and location, and a short snippet of the passage that matched (up to 240 characters). Your software shows the original document from your own system.
How many results do I get?
The number is set by Knovas for your account. Some setups return only clearly relevant results, so you may sometimes get fewer, or none.
Can I attach my own data to documents, such as a date or a client?
Yes, with Document fields, an optional feature that Knovas enables for your account on request. You can then filter searches and list documents by these values.
Can different users see different documents?
Yes. Label documents with access groups and send each user’s groups with their searches. See Access control.
Can Knovas employees read my documents?
No. Knovas employees never access your documents. Only you and your software can read them, and we make absolutely sure that nobody else ever will. See Security & privacy.
I lost my private key. What now?
Contact us right away. We can withdraw the old certificate so it can no longer be used, and help you get a new one.
Can we create clients ourselves?
Yes. Ask Knovas for an organisation key. With it your organisation creates its own clients, gets their certificates in the same answer, and renews them. See Create your own clients.
Our organisation key leaked or was lost. What now?
Tell us at once. We revoke the key, and it stops working on its next use. We can also withdraw the certificates it created. A lost key cannot be shown again: we revoke it and issue a new one.
Can I rename a document?
Upload it under the new identifier and delete the old one. Knovas notices the content is the same and does not store it twice.
Is there a test environment?
Ask your Knovas contact about a separate account for testing, so your test data never mixes with your real documents.
How do I reach support?
Write to contact@knovas.ch. If you have one, include your client_id and the time of the problem. Never send your private key.
Questions? Write to contact@knovas.ch.
This page describes Knovas 1.6.0. Last updated .