Build a knowledge base
Create a knowledge base product, add categories and articles in the full-screen editor, set thumbnails, and publish articles so your clients can read them.
A knowledge base is a product made of written articles grouped into categories, which your clients read in their library. When you finish these steps you will have a knowledge base with a published article, and you will know how drafts, saving and publishing work in the editor.
Write your first article
Create the product
In the left sidebar open Products → Knowledge bases (/knowledge-bases) and click Create
product. How product creation works is described in Product
types. The new product opens in its product hub, on the Content
tab.
Open the editor
On the Content tab click Edit knowledge base (the quick action Manage knowledge base
in the left column opens the same screen). The full-screen editor
(/knowledge-bases/<productId>/articles) has an outline of categories and articles on the left,
the article in the middle, and a top bar with the article status, Preview, Save changes
and Publish. The arrow in the top-left corner returns to the product hub.
Add a category
An empty outline reads No categories yet. Click Add category, type a name in the New category window and click Create. Every article lives in a category: clicking Add article before any category exists shows Add a category first.
Add an article and write
Click the + (Add article) next to the category. A new article opens with the title
Untitled article and the status Draft. Type the title (up to 200 characters) and write the
body below it; typing / opens the list of blocks you can insert.
Set the thumbnail
Under the title, the Thumbnail field shows a Set thumbnail chip. Click it and, in the Pick a thumbnail from your library window, choose an image on the Library tab or add one on Upload new. The image appears in the field right away. Hover it to get Change thumbnail and Remove thumbnail. The thumbnail is saved the moment you pick it; it does not wait for Save changes.
Publish the article
Click Publish in the top bar. The status changes to Available and you see Article published. From now on, edits to this article go live when you click Save changes (Changes saved.).
Preview it and publish the product
Preview opens the article on your platform in a new tab, already logged in, so you see it the way a client does. Clients reach the knowledge base once the product itself is Published and they have access to it; see The product hub.
How saving works
| What you do | What happens |
|---|---|
| Type in the title or the body | The editor saves a draft on its own: the top bar shows Saving draft… and then Draft saved · not published. Clients still see the last published version. |
| Click Save changes | The draft of this article (title, body, category, tags, status) becomes the published version. |
| Click the arrow next to Save changes → Discard changes | After the confirmation Discard unsaved changes? the article returns to the last saved version. This cannot be undone. |
| Change the thumbnail | Saved immediately, with no draft step. |
Article statuses
Each article has its own status, shown as a pill in the top bar of the editor and as a tag on the Content tab of the product.
| Status | Who sees the article |
|---|---|
| Draft | Only you. New articles start here. |
| Available | Clients with access to the product. |
| Hidden | Only you. Use it to take an article down without deleting it. |
Click the pill to pick another status, then click Save changes to apply it. Publish is a shortcut that sets Available and saves in one click; the button disappears once the article is available.
Delete an article
In the outline, open the menu on the article's row and choose Delete, then confirm Delete this article?. If the deleted article was open, the editor opens the first article in the outline.
Good to know
Preview needs your platform address; until it is set, the button stays inactive. To group articles into subcategories, reorder them and add tags, see Organize a knowledge base with categories and tags.
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