Vanilla Knowledge Bases (KBs) have a Universal Content setting that enables you to configure a KB such that its content is searchable and viewable from multiple knowledge bases.
Benefits of Universal Content
Universal Content makes it easy to:
- share content that applies to multiple products or KBs. Examples of content that you could share are a company onboarding guide and your company's contact information.
- curate content because it is in a single location, which means only one article has to be maintained/updated, not multiple versions of the same content.
Notes
- Universal Content is supported in both types of Vanilla knowledge bases: Guides and Help Centers. Details about each are provided in this article.
- The Universal Content setting is not bi-directional; you have to set it for each KB you want to be "universal." Refer to Link Knowledge Bases, below, for details.
- If you have multiple KBs that are in different languages, Universal Content will display in the language that is configured for its host KB; it will not be translated.
Manage Universal Content
When you add a knowledge base, the Universal Content feature is disabled by default.
- You can enable the feature when you add the KB and
- You can edit a KB to enable/disable it.
To manage Universal Content:
1. Access the Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Settings > Knowledge > Knowledge Bases.
3. Add (click Add Knowledge Base, upper right) or edit (pencil icon) a KB.
4. On the Add (Edit) Knowledge Base modal, click the Universal Content tab.
5. Slide the toggle to the right (enable) or left (disable).
If you have enabled Universal Content and you have existing KBs, they now display in the modal.
- To leave them as is and return to the Knowledge Bases page, click Save.
- To manage Universal Content for your KBs, proceed to the next section.
Link knowledge bases
When Universal Content is enabled for a knowledge base, you can choose which other KBs "integrate" its content in their searches.
✔️ TIP: If you have a lot of KBs, use the search field to quickly find those that you want to link with this KB.
- Check the boxes for any KBs that you want to link to the KB that you've added or are editing (check the box in the header row to "select all").
- Click Save.
Universal Content - a one-way street
As you set this feature for your KBs, it is important to note that the setting applies only to the KB it is set for; it is not automatically bi-directional. For example:
You enable Universal Content for a KB called Product and then link it to a KB called Service; now, the content in Product will be included in searches in Service.
However, the content in Service will not be included in searches in Product.
You must edit Service, enable Universal Content, and check the box for Product to create that distinct, independent link.
Universal Content in Guide KBs
When Universal Content has been enabled for a Guide-type knowledge base (descriptions of KB types) and the KB has been linked with other KBs:
- all of the content in the Guide KB is searchable in all of those linked KBs, and
- a link to the Guide KB is added to the Homepages of all those linked KBs.
Universal Content in Help Center KBs
When Universal Content has been enabled for a Help Center-type knowledge base (descriptions of KB types) and the KB has been linked with other KBs:
- all of the content in the Help Center KB is searchable in all of those linked KBs, and
- the Help Center's categories and articles display on the Homepages of all those linked KBs.
