Hudu's dual knowledge base libraries let you create and maintain shared knowledge and quick-reference guides, both internally and for clients. Knowledge base articles can be quick-shared with clients, added to client portals, or linked to relevant assets via the related items tab for easy access.
There are two primary types of knowledge base article:
- Central articles — stored in your Central Knowledge Base (KB). Useful as tutorials and how-to guides for internal use or for information that pertains to multiple clients.
- Client articles — stored inside a specific client/company space, for tutorials and how-tos that pertain only to that space.
Central and client KB articles are nearly identical in their abilities, creation, editing, and sharing/relating — the main difference is where they're stored (centrally or inside a client space).
Visit Mermaid Diagrams and File Management for additional information on diagrams and file attachments in articles.
Guides
This section covers how to create, edit, and manage knowledge base articles.
Creating articles
KB articles can be created at the central or client level, and an article pertains only to the KB library it was created within. These steps apply to both.
- Navigate to your central knowledge base or a client's knowledge base within their space. This view lists all KB articles you have permission to view.
- Click New Article in the top right.
- From the dropdown, choose how to create the article:
- Blank — a fresh new article.
- Upload PDF — upload a PDF to create a formatted article.
- Use template — start from an existing article marked as a template.
- Select your option and start writing.
Mermaid diagrams are supported. See Mermaid Diagrams for how to add them to KB articles.
Editing articles
Editing central or client KB articles requires the author role or above, plus permission to view the article. These steps apply to both.
- Navigate to your central knowledge base or a client's knowledge base, then click into an existing article.
- Click Edit in the top right to open the WYSIWYG editor, where you can write, update, and format the article.
- To publish your changes, click Publish on the right-hand side before navigating away. Articles auto-save, but only to a draft stage.
Managing articles
Managing articles requires the author role or above, though only admins and super admins have access to all management abilities. Articles can be managed individually or in bulk — expand each option below.
Use Bulk Actions when viewing articles in the list — from the main article page (central or client) or from within a folder/subfolder (in which case bulk actions apply only to articles in that folder).
- Navigate to your central or client knowledge base.
- Select one or more articles and click Bulk Actions. (Inside a folder, you'll have a bulk-manage option specific to that folder.)
- For central KBs, options are: Change Company, Change Folder, Archive, or Permanently Delete.
- For client KBs, options are:
- Move to Central KB — moves the article(s) to your central KB. If the article already exists centrally, this moves it to another folder or to the main KB list.
- Change Company — moves the article(s) to another client's KB.
- Archive — moves the article(s) to the museum (the client's museum for client articles, or the "archived" tab for central articles).
- Change Folder — moves the article(s) to a folder, or to a different folder.
Within an individual article, click More Options at the top right. Available actions depend on your role and include:
- Move to Central KB — moves the article to your central KB (client articles only).
- Change Company — moves the article to another client space.
- Archive — moves the article to the museum (or the "archived" tab for central articles).
- Favorite — shows the article in My Favorites on your dashboard.
- Set Expiration Date — designate an expiration. Client KB expirations show in the client's expiration list and the global list (with the company noted); central KB expirations show in the global list without an associated company.
- Lock — mark the article read-only, preventing further editing.
- Delete — permanently delete the article (admins and super admins only).
- Change Permissions — restrict certain security groups from viewing the article.
- View Current Access — see who has access (green check) or is restricted (red X).
- Flag — apply a flag to mark the article for review, update, and so on. Flag types are created in Admin → Flag Types.
Choose exactly which columns appear in the central and company knowledge base table views, even within folders. Click the column visibility dropdown and select or deselect the columns you want to see.
Tools
The sections below introduce tools associated with article creation, management, and sharing. Expand each for an overview.
Folders are the primary tool for organizing articles, and subfolders can be nested for further categorization. Folders can be created at the central or client level; a client-level folder's articles pertain only to that KB library. These steps apply to both.
- Navigate to your central or client knowledge base.
- Select New Folder.
- Name the folder and add a description (optional).
- To add an article, click into the folder and select New Article.
Once an article is created (central or client level), you can designate it as a template so future articles can start from an exact copy.
- Open the article, then click the More Options ellipsis in the top right.
- Click Make Global Template. You can then create an exact duplicate of the article at the client or global level.
Articles created from a template are child articles of the original and are accessible from the Template section on the parent article's right-hand sidebar. Editing a child article does not change the parent or any sibling articles.
All published KB articles can generate quick-share links — public links to view only the selected article, useful for sharing with external users who don't have or need portal access.
From the article's right-hand sidebar, select Create Public Share Link to generate a unique URL for that article. The link can be regenerated or expired at any time; both options disable the previous link. Admins and super admins can remove the ability to share via quick-share links through security groups/permissions.
The Files module lets users attach files to an article. Any user with permission to view the article can see the attached files, and users with the author role or above can upload their own. Click the drop zone on the right-hand sidebar to browse, or drag and drop files directly.
Visit File Management for supported file types and size limits.
The Comments section provides a simple text field for any additional information that may not fit directly into the article or other sections.
Full view minimizes the sidebars while maximizing the article contents, making an article easier to scan and read. Toggle it while inside a specific KB article.
Additional Abilities
The sections below introduce additional features associated with KB articles. Unless noted otherwise, these can be found at the bottom of the right-hand action menu when viewing an article.
Revision histories provide a breadcrumb trail of when edits were made, and by whom. To view it, click a user's name in the Activity Feed at the bottom right; your current version is noted at the top of the timeline. To view an older version, move down the timeline. To revert, select the older version and click Revert to Version.
Activity logs provide detailed information on the actions performed on a specific article. Any action is recorded in the article's log and in the Hudu admin Global → Activity Logs. Logs can be filtered by client name, action performed, user who performed the action, or the IP address the action was performed from.
Visit Activity Logs for additional information.
This lets admins and super admins see who has access to a specific article (access can be denied via security groups).
- Users with access are marked by a green check mark.
- Restricted users are marked by a red X.
If a physical copy of an article is needed, click the Print icon in the top right to open a new tab with a printable version.
FAQ
Select one or more articles from the list view, click the Bulk Actions dropdown, and choose Change Folder. If folders exist, you can then choose which folder to move the article(s) to.
Yes — as of version 2.23, some markdown formatting is supported:
- Italic (
*xxx*) - Bold (
**xxx**) - Bold and italic (
***xxx***) - Headings (
#,##,###,####) - Lists (
*or-)
Troubleshooting
Images that are copied and pasted into an article are just pointers to the image's original location and can break over time. To make sure images are uploaded to your Hudu server, click the Insert/Edit Image icon in the editor, select Upload, browse for or drop in the image, and click Save.