Q: How do I create a new knowledge base article?
Answer
In order to create an article you must:
- Have authoring permissions. Authoring permissions are available to MIT community members. You can, Request authoring permission (MIT community only)
- Be logged in. Click on the "Login" link at the top-right corner of the screen.
To create an article:
- Click on the "Create Article" button a the top of the screen on most pages.
Result: You are taken to the "Create a new knowledge base article" page. - Fill in a title for your new article, generally in the form of a question. You can edit it in the next step, so you can just put something in here to get started.
- Select which space it should be located in from the drop-down menu. This determines who can access the article once you publish it. Typically new articles you want anybody to be able to access will go in IS&T Contributions or Community Contributions (depending on if you are an IS&T staff member or not). For more information about the spaces in the Knowledge Base, see Q: What do the Knowledge Base spaces mean?
- Finally click on one of the links in number 3 to create the article using one of the template option provided. The blank template is the simplest one. Go with that if you're not sure what to use.
Result: You're taken to the "Add Page" screen. The one in this example uses the Question and Answer template.
- Enter the content for your article in the box. The Knowledge Base uses wiki markup. For more information on how to format knowledge base pages, see: - Notation Guide (Wiki Markup Help)
If you want to add images to your article, click on the image icon at the top of the text entry box. You will be able to attach files to your article and insert them into the content from there. - Once you have finished entering your article content, save your changes.
- To add labels or edit the space for you article scroll down to edit the space for your article and add labels.
Labels assist with searching and allow you to put your article into categories. Category labels are usually formatted as c-descriptor and file your article in the hierarchical structure you see when you click the "Browse by Category" link under the "Search for Answers" button at the top of the page. You can find out the names of categories by browsing them. The label to use for listing articles under that category can be found in blue at the bottom of on each category page. - Once you're done editing your article, have chosen a space, and added appropriate labels, click save.
Result: Your article has been saved and put into the space you specified. Your article will be displayed. - Review your article. If you need to make any changes, you can click the Edit link to return to the article editing screen and make any necessary changes.