Universal Content in Knowledge Bases - Vanilla Success
<main> <article class="userContent"> <div class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote-content"><p class="blockquote-line">š <strong>NOTE</strong>: This feature was made available with theĀ <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/197-release-2020-005" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">2020.005 release</a>.</p></div></div><p>Vanilla Knowledge Bases (<strong>KBs</strong>) have a <strong>Universal Content</strong> setting that enables you to configure a KB such that <em>its content is searchable and viewable from multiple knowledge bases</em>.</p><h3 data-id="benefits-of-universal-content">Benefits of Universal Content</h3><p>Universal Content makes it easy to:</p><ul><li><strong>share content</strong> 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.</li><li><strong>curate content</strong> because it is in a single location, which means only one article has to be maintained/updated, not multiple versions of the same content.</li></ul><h3 data-id="notes">Notes</h3><ul><li>Universal Content is <em>supported in both types of Vanilla knowledge bases</em>: Guides and Help Centers). Details about each are provided in this article.</li><li>The Universal Content setting is <em>not bi-directional</em>; you have to set it for each KB you want to be "universal." Refer to Link Knowledge Bases, below, for details.</li><li>If you have multiple KBs that are in different languages, Universal Content will <em>display in the language that is configured for its host KB</em>; it will <strong>not</strong> be translated.</li></ul><h2 data-id="manage-universal-content">Manage Universal Content</h2><p>When you add a knowledge base, the Universal Content feature is disabled by default.</p><ul><li>You can enable the feature when you <strong>add the KB</strong> and</li><li>You can <strong>edit a KB</strong> to enable/disable it.</li></ul><p>To manage Universal Content:</p><p>1. Access the Dashboard.</p><p>2. Navigate to <strong>Settings > Knowledge > Knowledge Bases</strong>.</p><p>3. Add (click <strong>Add Knowledge Base</strong>, upper right) or edit (<strong>pencil</strong> icon) a KB.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/RWOS3B48XV1W/kbs-list-page.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/RWOS3B48XV1W/kbs-list-page.png" alt="KBs list page.png" height="235" width="811" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>4. On the Add (Edit) Knowledge Base modal, click the <strong>Universal Content</strong> tab.</p><p>5. Slide the toggle to the right (<strong>enable</strong>) or left (<strong>disable</strong>).</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/BE949V2T5TLE/uc-enable.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/BE949V2T5TLE/uc-enable.png" alt="UC-enable.png" height="466" width="1013" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>If you have enabled Universal Content <strong>and</strong> you have existing KBs, they now display in the modal.</p><ul><li>To leave them as is and return to the Knowledge Bases page, click <strong>Save</strong>.</li><li>To manage Universal Content for your KBs, proceed to the next section.</li></ul><h2 data-id="link-knowledge-bases">Link Knowledge Bases</h2><p>When Universal Content is enabled for a knowledge base, you can choose which other KBs "integrate" its content in their searches.</p><p>āļø <strong>TIP</strong>: If you have a lot of KBs, use the search field to quickly find those that you want to link with this KB.</p><ol><li>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").</li><li>Click <strong>Save</strong>.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/01YD0N4Y7OAU/uc-checkboxes.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/01YD0N4Y7OAU/uc-checkboxes.png" alt="UC-checkboxes.png" height="466" width="1013" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h3 data-id="universal-content-a-one-way-street">Universal Content - a one-way street</h3><p>As you set this feature for your KBs, it is important to note that the setting applies <em>only to the KB it is set for</em>; it is <strong>not automatically bi-directional</strong>. For example:</p><p>You enable Universal Content for a KB called <strong>Product</strong> and then link it to a KB called <strong>Service</strong>; now, the content in Product <em>will be included</em> in searches in Service.</p><p>However, the content in Service will <strong>not</strong> be included in searches in Product.</p><p>You must edit Product, enable Universal Content, and check the box for Service to create that distinct, independent link.</p><h2 data-id="universal-content-in-guide-kbs">Universal Content in Guide KBs</h2><p>When Universal Content has been enabled for a <strong>Guide-type</strong> knowledge base (<a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/81" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">descriptions of KB types</a>) and the KB has been linked with other KBs:</p><ul><li><em>all of the content</em> in the Guide KB is searchable in all of those linked KBs, and</li><li>a <em>link to the Guide KB is added to the Homepages</em> of all those linked KBs.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/11Z4SPS5AUV1/uc-guide-kb.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/11Z4SPS5AUV1/uc-guide-kb.png" alt="UC-Guide KB.png" height="579" width="457" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="universal-content-in-help-center-kbs">Universal Content in Help Center KBs</h2><p>When Universal Content has been enabled for a <strong>Help Center-type</strong> knowledge base (<a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/81" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">descriptions of KB types</a>) and the KB has been linked with other KBs:</p><ul><li><em>all of the content</em> in the Help Center KB is searchable in all of those linked KBs, and</li><li>the Help Center's <em>categories and articles display on the Homepages</em> of all those linked KBs.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/705CUJN67V1C/uc-helpcntr-kb.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/705CUJN67V1C/uc-helpcntr-kb.png" alt="UC-HelpCntr KB.png" height="571" width="481" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p><br></p> </article> </main>