Draft a new KB

Summary

How to draft a new knowledge base article.

Body

1. Check for existing

Does the knowledge article already exist in the knowledge base for the subject?

To ensure one source of truth, use Search to find and confirm if the information you want to add already exists in a KB, Service article or website.

If an article already exists, then consider only editing the existing article.

2. Determine a category / location

Categories are like folders, they help to organize your articles by topic.

You cannot create new categories but you can request new or different categories as needed.

Select the category in which the new article is to be published.

Note: An article should never need to be presented in more than one category. If necessary, a shortcut can be added to a different category, which will bring the client to the same knowledge article.

3. Open a new KB article

Click +New Article to start a new blank article page.

4. Give your KB a Subject (aka Title)

Go to the Settings tab.

A good Title (Subject) must be:

Use a good search term.
Write in active voice the subject comes before the verb.
Thirty characters or less as Google will truncate longer titles in any web analytic reports.
Use title case:
- Capitalize the first and last word, in addition to nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
- Do not capitalize articles. prepositions or coordinating conjunctions.
Do not begin with "How to..."

5. Rank the KB

You can let the articles sort alphabetically by Subject (name of the article).

Or you can choose what order the article will appear in the list of articles by entering a number.

Note: Ordering your articles in increments of 5 will allow for insertion of an article without renumbering other articles.

6. Write a Summary

The summary helps users discern how relevant your article is to them.

Write a brief (keep to one to two sentences) meta-description about the article content.

This summary will appear underneath the article title when the article is displayed within a Category, but also appears in a user Search.

Fill in the Summary section by typing in a very brief phrase to describe the article.

Note: Use unique key words in your phrase that you think the user will search to find this information.

7. Enter descriptive tags for search terms

Keywords are effective with internet Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Keywords help users easily find the article when they are searching the IT Services portal.

Typically, tags are words found in the 'Subject' description.
To add a tag, click on a tag or enter the a tag topic in a search box.
Use hyphens between multiple words or phrases.
Do not use the tags student, employee, or faculty.

8. Save your draft

Click Save to commit your changes so far.

Note: If you are working in Firefox, choose to Leave Page if this message appears.

It is recommended to frequently click Save as Draft or Safe Draft button when creating or editing a knowledge article.

9. Enter your KB text

In the Body section enter your article information.

Note: When deciding what to include in the knowledge base article, ask yourself, “What do UFV students and/or employees need to know when are they getting stuck and what information will they need to help them?”

Use Ctrl+V to paste your content as plain text directly into the main body section.

You can also click Source in the upper-left corner to view and edit the source code.

Note: To exit this mode and return to the normal view, click Source again.

10. Format headings

Format headings only (excluding body text) using the KB editor's headings with either Heading 2 or Heading 3 from the menu pull down.

Do not use Heading 1 as this is reserved by the system for the Subject (title).

11. Insert images

Content goes here

12. Format body

Format the body text only (exclude headings) with Arial Font, Size 16.

Note: If your Heading format changes when you edit the Body Text, you may need to go into source code and adjust the HTML. Ask for assistance if needed.

13. Save as Draft - do this step often!

As you work on your first draft, it will be in the Not Submitted state and not visible to others.

Continue to Save as Draft as needed.

Note: Each time you Save, you have the option to make a note as to what has changed in the Draft Summary.

If you exit the KB and return to edit an article later, find your draft article by:

Using the menu Search.
Set the Status to Not Submitted.

When an article is in Draft Status, the Contributor has the option to:

Approve the draft to publish it and make it available to end users.
Edit the draft and save it as a draft revision (not visible to public) or publish it as a full revision (visible to public).
Reject the draft and mark the draft as rejected.
Delete the draft and remove the draft.
Compare revisions (see the Revisions tab) and revert to previous versions if necessary.