About KB Guides
KB Guides is designed to enhance the way you host and navigate knowledge base content within your online community. KB Guides offer a structured and user-friendly approach to presenting valuable information, making it easier for members to find what they need. With KB Guides, brands can efficiently organize and share resources such as training materials, onboarding documents, FAQs, and more. This ensures a seamless and informative experience for community members, helping them access relevant content effortlessly. Enablement KB Guides are enabled by default in Communities Aurora v24.07 and above for all communities using knowledge bases. Permissions Members with the Create, edit, publish, and manage articles permission on the knowledge base board can add a KB Guide to it. Guides widget To start with creating KB Guides, you must add the Guides widget to a Knowledge Base Dashboard template. Set Type in the Guides widget as per your requirement: To view the articles as Type Structured Guide Guides Manually-sorted list Manually-sorted Articles Guides widget configuration Related Topics Adding KB Guides Guides widget configuration General actions on KB Guides, Articles, and ChaptersAurora: Guides widget configuration
The Guides widget appears on the Knowledge Base Dashboard page template in communities that use the KB Guides feature. The KB Guides feature also enables you to turn on or off guide navigation (table of contents) on the Knowledge Base Article template. To learn more about KB Guides, refer to About KB Guides. Type The KB Guides feature enables you to organize your content either by Guides or by Manually-sorted Articles. Guides: Create a hierarchical structure for listing and ordering articles into Guides and Chapters to enhance organization, improve navigation, and provide a more structured learning experience for users. Manually-sorted Articles: Manually sort knowledge base articles on the KB board in Manage Content > Guides by dragging and dropping them into the desired order. This enables members to view and navigate the content in the sequence you prefer. Layout If you choose Guides for the Type, you can select from the following Layout options: List Card If you choose Manually-sorted Articles for the Type, you can select from the following Layout options: Detailed list List Card Configuration options List style The available List style options for Detailed list and List include: Space: Uses whitespace to create space between items. Divide: Adds a horizontal line to divide items. Border: Creates a border that separates items into individual boxes. Card size and text alignment If you select Card as the Layout type, you can set the Card size (Small, Medium, or Large) and the Card text alignment. Widget title The Widget title sets the title that appears at the top of the widget. If the Visible only to screen readers toggle is enabled, the title remains hidden to most visitors; however, the title information is still relayed to visitors using screen readers. Number of items Use the slider to indicate how many articles or guides (up to 20) can be displayed on the widget. List item/card elements Elements are additional pieces of information that can be displayed along with each item in the widget. The list of available elements changes depending on which layout you've selected. Guides Layout options Description: Description of the KB Guide defined in Manage Content > Guides for the knowledge base Avatar: (Card only) Knowledge Base content type avatar or avatar defined in site structure Manually-sorted Articles Layout options Author: Username of the author of the article Body preview/teaser: (Detailed list and Card) Preview text for the article Image preview: (Detailed list only) A preview of any image(s) in the article Centered card content: (Card only) Article content is centered on the card Media preview: (Card only) Preview of any media included in the article Place: (Detailed list and Card) Board where the article lives Reply count: (Detailed list and Card) Total number of replies to the article Tags: (Detailed list and Card) Any tag(s) associated with the article Timestamp: Time and date the article was published Unread message indicator: (Detailed list only) Total number of unread posts or comments on the article (for example, "1 unread"). View count: (Detailed list and Card) Total number of views the article has received Like count: (Detailed list and Card) Total number of likes the article has received Author rank: (Detailed list and Card) Rank of the author of the article Detailed list and List layouts have an additional Lead with drop-down menu. It enables you to choose to display the item author's Avatar, discussion style Icon, or None along with the item in the widget. Max lines of description text The Max lines of description text slider gives you control over how many lines of text from the post are displayed along with the post in the widget. After the set number of lines, an ellipsis (...) is used. More options Additional options are available at the bottom of the Edit Widget panel. Hide if empty: Hides the widget if there are no articles or guides to be displayed. Include “More Guides” link: Adds a link to the bottom of the widget to enable visitors to display additional items once the Number of items has been reached. Optimize page-load time: Uses lazy loading to load images as the member scrolls down the page. Configuring the Knowledge Base Article content widget In communities that use the KB Guides feature, the Knowledge Base Article widget on Knowledge Base Article templates can be configured to show the guide navigation. To configure the Knowledge Base Article widget for KB Guides: In Designer, go to the Knowledge Base Article template where you want to adjust the widget. Locate the Knowledge Base Article widget and select Settings (gear icon). In the Edit Widget panel, below Guides, turn on or off Show guide navigation. With Show guide navigation on, guides appear on the article page within the widget. With Show guide navigation off, the widget appears as though you do not have the KB Guides feature enabled and does not show a table of contents.Add KB Guides
KB Guides can only be added to a knowledge base board. Prerequisites Members with the Create, edit, publish, and manage articles permission on the knowledge base board can add a KB Guide to it. Add the Guides widget to the Knowledge Base Dashboard template associated with the knowledge base where you want to add the KB Guides. Add KB Guides There are 2 two methods in which you can organize articles: Add a structured Guide with Chapters and Articles inside the Chapters. Add a simple list of articles sorted in a specific order on a knowledge base board without the need for a Guide-like structure. Related topics: About KB Guides Add structured KB Guides Add Manually-sorted Guides Guides widget article General actions on KB Guides, Chapters, and Articles CRUD Action audit logsAdd structured Guides
Use this method to create a structured Guide with Chapters and Articles inside the Chapters. Go to the Manage Content page. Select the knowledge base board where the widget was added. Select the Guides tab > Type > Guides. Select Add Guides.A window opens to add the guide. Enter a Title for the guide. Select Add. The guide is added. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the title of the guide. Select Add Chapters. Enter a Title for the chapter. Select Add. Below is an example of two empty chapters in the guide. Select Add Articles (plus icon). Search for and add articles to the Chapters. You can refine your search by switching between Knowledge Base and Community. Here is an example of an article in a chapter: Add an article directly to a Guide Select Add Articles (plus icon). Search for and add articles to the guides. You can refine your search by switching between Knowledge Base and Community. In our example, we have added 2 chapters and an article to the guide we created: View the Guide Go to the knowledge base board in the community. You can see the manually-sorted articles on the knowledge base board. Select the title of the guide to open the guide on the page. You can see the guide with articles organized under chapters. Select the title of the chapters and articles displayed on the left panel to navigate through the guide. Related topics: About KB Guides Add Manually-sorted Guides Guides widget configuration General actions on KB Guides, Chapters, and Articles CRUD Action audit logsKnowledge Base Article content widget configuration
The Knowledge Base Article template contains the Knowledge Base Article content widget that houses the body of an article. While you cannot delete this widget, you can modify some of its features to customize the community experience. Page item elements Date: Shows the date on which the article was published (September 3, 2024) or how long ago it was published (3 days ago) depending on your settings. Versions: A badge displays the version of the article. Helpfulness: Shows the “Was this article helpful?” section with sentiment emojis below the article. Guide navigation: In the left panel, shows the table of contents for the knowledge base guide where this article lives (see About KB Guides). Display contributors as None: No contributors are shown. Link: Select the View Contributors link to open contributors in another window. Detailed panel: The list of contributors shows below the article. Related topics: About Knowledge Bases About KB Guides Guides widget configurationAdd KB Guides with manually-sorted articles
Use this method when you prefer a simple list of articles sorted in a specific order on a knowledge base board without the need for a guide-like structure. Add articles Go to the Manage Content page. Select the knowledge base board where the widget was added. Select the Guides tab > Type > Manually-sorted Articles. Select Add Articles. A window to add articles opens with the options to choose the order in which you want the articles from the knowledge base board to appear. You can also reorder the articles later. In our example, we choose to order them by recency. (Optional) Drag and drop articles to reorder them. Clear the existing Guide To clear the existing list and start fresh to create a new KB Guide: Go to the Manage Content page. Select the knowledge base board where the widget was added. Select the Guides tab > Type > Manually-sorted Articles. The list of articles is displayed. Select Clear List. A window to confirm your action appears. Select Clear. The list is now cleared and the guide is deleted. View the Guide Go to the knowledge base board in the community. You can see the manually-sorted articles on the knowledge base board. Select the title of the guide to open the guide on the page. You can see the guide with the manually-sorted articles. Select the title of the articles displayed on the left panel to navigate through the guide. Related topics: About KB Guides Add structured KB Guides Guides widget configuration General actions on KB Guides, Chapters, and Articles CRUD Action audit logsGeneral actions on KB Guides, Chapters, and Articles
From the Manager Content page you can: Edit a KB Guide Hide/unhide a KB Guide Delete a KB Guide Edit Chapter Move Chapter Delete Chapter Move Article Remove Article For all of these actions: Go to the Manage Content page. Select the knowledge base board where the widget was added. Select the Guides tab > Type > Guides. Edit a KB Guide You can edit any chapter in a guide. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the guide you want to edit. Select Edit. A window to edit the title or avatar or description of the KB Guide opens. Edit the Title, Avatar, and/or Description of the KB guide. Select Save. The Title is updated. Hide/unhide a KB Guide When creating a KB Guide, such as while drafting articles, you can choose to hide the work-in-progress guide from the community. Once you're finished and ready to publish, simply unhide the guide to make it visible. To hide a KB Guide: Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the guide you want to edit. Select Hide. You get a confirmation that the guide is hidden and the KB guide is tagged as hidden. The Guide is marked as HIDDEN. When you’re ready, select Unhide to make it visible in the community. Delete a KB Guide After a guide is deleted, it is no longer available in the knowledge base board. . However, the articles that were in that KB guide are still available in the community. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the guide you want to delete. Select Delete. A confirmation window opens. Select Delete. 3. The Guide is no longer available in the knowledge base board. However, the articles that were in that KB Guide are still available in the community. Edit Chapter You can edit any chapter in a guide. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the article you want to edit. Edit the Title and/or the Description of the Chapter. Select Save. The title of the chapter is updated. Move Chapter You can move a chapter from one guide to another. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the chapter you want to move. Select Move. A window to select a destination guide opens. Select the Guide to which you want to move this chapter. Select Move. The Chapter along with its articles are moved to the selected guide. Delete Chapter After a chapter is deleted, it is no longer available in the Guide. However, the articles that were in that chapter are still available in the community. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the chapter you want to delete. Select Delete. A confirmation window opens. Select Delete. The Chapter is no longer available in the guide. However, the articles that were in that chapter are still available in the community. Move Article You can move an article from one chapter to another within the guide or directly under a guide. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the article you want to move. Select Move. A window opens where you can enter the destination for the selected article. Select another chapter in the same guide or in another guide as a destination. In our example, we choose to move it under the guide called “FAQs.” The article is now under the “FAQs” Guide. Remove Article You can remove an article from a guide. This does not delete the article from the community. Open the Options menu (3 dots) near the article you want to remove. Select Remove. A window to confirm your action appears. Click Remove. The article is removed from the guide. Related topics: About KB Guides Adding KB Guides Guides widget configuration CRUD Action audit logsAurora: Featured Guides Widget configuration
The Featured Guides Widget allows community members to easily discover and access highlighted guides on your community pages. With this widget, admins can showcase curated guides, providing members with quick links to essential content. They can be made available for use on designated community pages and helps drive engagement by featuring important or popular guides. Open the Account menu. Go to Designer > Page Templates. The Page Templates page opens. Select the page template where you want to add this widget. In this example, let’s open the Community Home template. The designer page for Community Home opens. Find where you want to add the widget and select Add widget (plus icon). Select Content from the Add Widget pane. A list of widgets that you can add appears. Select the Featured Guides widget. Layout The Featured Guides widget includes the List and Card layouts. From the Edit Widget panel, select one of these options to change the layout. List The List layout gives you a simple view of the guides featured. Card The Card layout showcases the guide’s name in the center of the card. The options in the List style section for List layouts are the following: Space: Uses whitespace to create space between items. Divide: Adds a horizontal line to divide items. Border: Creates a border that separates items into individual boxes. Widget title Enter a title to appear at the top of the widget. If the Visible only to screen readers toggle is on, the title is relayed only through screen readers. Edit Sample Featured Guides Select Edit Sample Content to open a window where you can select a sample guide to preview how the widget will look in the community. Search for the guides you want to feature on the community page. You can then reorder the content by grabbing it with your cursor and dragging it to the desired location. Select Preview to return to editing the widget. Number of items Use the slider to indicate how many guides (up to 20) can be displayed on the widget. Max lines of description text Use the slider to set up to 20 lines of text for the Featured Guides description. Lead with From the Lead with menu, select one of the following: the author’s Avatar the Icon None More options Additional configuration options for the widget include: Include “More Guides” link: Creates a Show More link if there are more guides than designated on the Number of items slider. Optimize page-load time: Optimize the page's load time using a lazy load method. Widgets only appear as the member scrolls down the page, shortening the time to render the page. Notes If there are no articles in a guide or if a guide is hidden, and you choose that guide to be featured in the Featured Guides widget, that Guide will not be visible on the widget on the published page. As shown below, “Analytics Dashboard” is an empty guide. Let’s add this guide to theFeatured Guides widget. After publishing the page template, the “Analytics Dashboard” guide is not visible to the community.Audit Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) actions
Administrators can have a comprehensive audit logging for all Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) actions on KB Guides. The following actions will be recorded in the audit log: Guides: Added, moved, deleted, and reordered Chapters: Added, moved, deleted, and reordered within/to Guides Articles: Added, moved, deleted, and reordered within/to chapters or Guides Additionally, audit logs will cover actions taken on Manually-sorted articles, including: Adding Articles Clearing the List Reordering Articles You can access the audit logs from Settings > System > Audit logs Related topics: About KB Guides Adding KB Guides Guides widget configuration General actions on KB Guides, Chapters, and Articles
