This is quite a specialised function but very interesting to use when you want to merge knowledge bases.

The knowledge base you want to import should be saved in our XML knowledge base format File > Save KB as.... Hereafter,  in the knowledge base you want to use as basis you select the menu option.  A file dialog will start requesting for the "Name of the QUAESTOR metafile to instert:" which obiously is the XML file.

After selecting this file a window will open providing a lot of import options. 

 

It enables you to define the checks Quaestor should do on the most important aspects of your frame (parameters, relations, functions and contraints) before importing it into your knowledge base.

Note that Quaestor will rename  the original parameter names from <paramter name> to <parameter name>~ (for example: B to B~), when imported relations contain these original parameter names. The imported relations and parameters will have their original names. This is done for safety.

The detailed reason for this is that some of the specified options to reject import do not match but maybe the parameters in the expressions do in fact NOT have the same meaning. To make sure the knowledge engineer takes notice, this action is taken. You can very easily correct this by doing the following:

  1. Use Search & Replace to rename the (relevant) important parameters to the modified original parameter name;
  2. Remove the imported parameters (so the once with the original paramter name);
  3. Change the modified parameter names back to the original original parameter names (hence, you have to rename or delete the impored parameters with the original name because otherwise you cannot rename the modified paramter names to the original names: Quaestor cannot accept two parameters with the same name).

If this turns out to be to much work, you better change the import options, which means that the frames will not be imported.

In addition to importing knowledge bases, you are also able to drag and drop relations from one knowledge base to another. Simply load the two knowledge bases in Quaestor. Select a relation and drag it to the other knowledge base. After answering some choices the relations, including the parameters and optional contrains is added to the other knowledge base. 

 

Quaestor interface