Knowledge Base Article Guidelines

Overview

This article should be used as a how-to guide for writing knowledge base articles so that we have consistency in formatting for CCTS.

KEEP IN MIND, you must Save or Update the article as you go along OR you can create the article in a Word document to avoid losing your work.

 

Guidelines

To begin writing an article: 

  1. log in to https://support.uidaho.edu/ (with your employee account)
  2. click the Knowledge Base tab at the top
  3. click + New Article

To edit an existing article, find that article in the knowledge base and click Edit Article

Element Standards
Category         Be sure to select or create the Category that best fits the article. Also consider whether the article should be internal/external when selecting the category.
Order Keep the order at 1.0
Subject

Enter a title for the article that will be obvious to users searching for the article

  • Capitalize standard Titles:
    • "Ethos Applications & Tools"
    • "Procurement Terms and Definitions"
  • Titles formatted as a question should have only the first word and proper nouns capitalized and a question mark at the end:
    • "How to share Zoom recordings from OneDrive?"
    • "What software is available for students?"
Body The body of the article includes the sections and the text of the article
- Sections
  • Use the format dropdown menu to select Heading sizes (2,3, or 4) to insert in the article. for each section. DO NOT use Heading 1 because the title is that size
    • For overview and section titles, use Heading 2
    • For sub-sections, use Heading 3
  • All articles should have an Overview Section which includes a bulleted list of sections if there are more than two sections
  • After creating a heading:
    • highlight the entire heading title
    • click the Anchor button (flag) 
    • add an Anchor Name
      • Note that Anchor names cannot contain spaces. Keep it as one word or use a "-" to separate words. 
        • For example, instead of "Classroom Help Calls" you will do "Classroom-Help-Calls" when creating the anchor.thumbnail image of how to add an anchor name in TDX
    • Click OK
  • Be sure to link the section titles in the bulleted list to the corresponding Anchors:
    • Highlight the section title in the bulleted list
    • Click the Link button (chain)
    • Change the Link Type to "Link to anchor in the text"
    • Select the correct Anchor
    • Click OK
Images

Add images where relevant to support the user. Use the following method:

  • leave one space after the text where you want to insert the image
  • click on the Image tool
  • click on the Upload tab
  • click Choose file and find the image
  • click Send it to the server
  • click OK when the verification window pops up
  • enter 1 in the Border field
  • click OK

Use Greenshot to edit photos for adding step-by-step instructions to articles to support users

  • You can access Greenshot from the Show hidden icons up arrow in the lower right of the desktop image of the Greenshot logo
  • To take a screenshot, choose Capture region or use the prnt scrn button on the keyboard, then click and drag to select the image you need. 
  • Then select Open in image editor Shows where to open the image editor in Greenshot
  • Use the Rectangle tool to highlight items in the image, the Speech bubble tool to add instructions, and the Add counter tool to number the steps 
    • To be sure the image is accessible:
      • use red to outline items with the Rectangle tool
      • use black text on a white blackground for speech bubbles
      • use a white number on a red background for the Add counter toolThis is an image of how to edit an image using Greenshot using the rectangle, speech bubble, and add counter tools.
  • Save your image
  • To add the image you've created to the KB article, use the Image tool that appears in the toolbar when you're editing the article in TDX.image of the image tool in TDX
    1. Select the Upload tab and then
    2. Click Choose file to upload the image.
    3. Click Send it to the server 
    4. Click OK when the success message pops up Steps for adding an image to a KB article
    5. Be sure to complete the Alternative text field to describe the image in detail
    6. Add 1 in the Border field
    7. Click OK This image shows the final steps in adding an image in TDX with entering alternative text, adding a border, and submitting.
Article Summary One sentence describing what the article is about
Tags Add one or more key words that people might search for when trying to locate the article
Status Use the pulldown menu to select Approved
Published Check published whenever it's ready to be published. You can get back to this mode by clicking on the Settings tab when editing the article.
Next Review Date Enter a date approximately 6 months from when the article is published
Related Articles Use the Related Articles tab to add any article on the same/similar subject

When you are finished working on the article, click Save or Update Article. 

 

Tips and Tricks for KB article Creation

Warning: using custom elements, which require changing the source, will make it much more difficult for future updates by team members using the TDX WYSIWYG editor. It is preferable to use the section link guidance above vs. using collapsible lists.

Collapsible Lists - You can use a collapsible list to put in details but doesn't want it to show on screen by default, TDX supports collapsing elements via CSS. Here is an example of a collapsible list:

<ol>
<li data-target=".IDClickHeader1" data-toggle="collapse">Step one (click to expand)
<ol aria-expanded="false" class="panel panel-body IDClickHeader1 collapse">
   <li>substep</li>
   <li>substep</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li data-target=".IDClickHeader2" data-toggle="collapse">Step two (click to expand)
<ol aria-expanded="false" class="panel panel-body IDClickHeader2 collapse">
   <li>substep</li>
   <li>substep</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>

Example: Click on the below steps to expand the list.
 

  1. Step one (click to expand)
  2. Step two (click to expand)
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Details

Article ID: 2898
Created
Thu 2/1/24 1:28 PM
Modified
Mon 10/7/24 9:29 AM