KB User Guide
(Can we create this as a user guide KB on success.vanillaforums.com?)
Overview:
Vanilla Knowledge is a feature that lets you create knowledge bases.
KB types
Two KB types are supported: 1) Guide type KBs and 2) Help Center KBs. The Guide type is for a series of articles that should be consumed in sequential order, for example a product user guide. Help Center types are for articles that are consulted individually. Both Guide and Help Center types support creating categories to organize content.
Help Center
Guide Type
Multiple KBs & Localization
Vanilla supports creating multiple KBs of either type. Multiple KBs are useful if you want to create several KBs for several products or if KBs in multiple languages. Vanilla supports localization of the user interface, presently article content cannot be automatically translated.
Permissions
Before getting started, make sure that the user roles adding KB articles have the correct permissions. In your Dashboard under Roles & Permissions click on the edit icon next to the role(s) that can create. Under Knowledge > Articles select ‘ADD’. Additionally, you can select which user roles have the ability to view KBs. At this time, the permission will apply to all KBs.
Creating a KB
The default URL for your KB homepage is https://[yourVanillaURL.com]/kb. To create your first KB go to your Dashboard and under the Settings Tab go to Knowledge > Knowledge Bases. Click on ‘Add Knowledge Base’.
Enter the KB name, the URL code (what is this ??), a short description that will show on the KB home page if you create multiple KBs, an image icon, a banner image that will be displayed at top of page (size recommendation ??), the type (Guide or Help Center) and the article sort order.
Adding KB Articles
Go to the KB home page where you would like to add an article and click on ‘Add Article’. This will bring up the editor that lets you compose an article.
Categories
(This stuff is currently broken so hard to document).
Your first article will be put in the root folder by default. To create a new category click on the category while in the edit view.
This will bring up a dialogue that lets you move the article to a different category or move to a new category.
Ordering Categories
(UI is not working for me right now)
[screen shot needed]
Importing Content
If you already have content and would like to import it to Vanilla, please contact your CSM to see if this can be performed by our professional services team. Self-serve imports or referencing content on a source code control platform such GitHub is not available at this time.
Creating a KB Article from a Community Post
(Not sure if released to demo cluster - not working for me) Navigate to the discussion that you would like to convert to a KB article
Using the Editor
The Editor makes content creation easy and intuitive. The content created will display consistently on any device and adheres to the WCAC AA 2 standard.
The simplified button bar lets you add an emoji, insert an image, attach a file or embed media such as a YouTube video. The editor supports file and image drag and drop and will auto-generate a preview of embedded URLs.
To format text, select the text to be formatted.
To edit a paragraph (set heading level, create bullets, format code, etc.) click on the pilcrow (¶) .
The editor is a true WYSIWYG editor and does not support nor require markdown or HTML taks.
Editing Articles
To edit an article, navigate to the article and click on the ellipsis to bring up the article options.
Drafts and Revisions
When composing an article, Vanilla automatically saves drafts. An article will remain in draft mode until it is published. Article revisions are saved each time an edit is published. You can revert to a previous revision by selecting the desired version under Revision History in the article options.
Theming your KB
You can upload a KB icon for each KB and upload a banner image. Currently, there is no support for CSS or HTML. Please consult your CSM to see if theming can be performed by our professional services team.