How to Clone a Knowledge Base Article in BoldDesk
The Clone Article feature allows agents to create a copy of an existing Knowledge Base (KB) article, including its content, structure, and formatting. This feature is useful for creating similar articles, maintaining consistency across documentation, and reusing existing content as a starting point, reducing the time and effort required to create articles from scratch.
Example Use Case
A documentation team wants to create a new Knowledge Base article that closely resembles an existing article in terms of content, structure, formatting, and translations. Instead of creating the article from scratch, the team uses the Clone Article feature to duplicate the article, make the necessary updates, and publish it as a new article. This helps maintain consistency across documentation, reduces content creation effort, and accelerates the creation of multilingual Knowledge Base content.
When to Use Clone Article
Use Clone Article when you need to:
- Reuse the content, structure, and formatting of an existing KB article.
- Create similar articles for different products, features, use cases, or target audiences.
- Use an existing article as a template for new documentation while making necessary modifications.
- Maintain consistency across multiple articles by following a standardized content structure and format.
- Reduce content creation time by leveraging existing documentation instead of building a new article from scratch.
Prerequisites
Before cloning an article, ensure that:
- You have permission to access and manage Knowledge Base articles.
- The article you want to clone already exists.
- If you want translated versions to be copied, the source article must contain translations.
Cloning an article
To create a copy of an existing Knowledge Base article:
- Navigate to Knowledge Base.
- Open the article you want to clone.
- Click the Clone option.
- Please provide the Meta Title and Meta Description when requested. If the main article already includes these, you will not be asked to add them.
- In the Clone Article dialog, check whether to enable Create a copy in translated languages.
- Click Clone.
Please check the GIF file below for more insights.
A new article is created with the same content as the original article.
Create a Copy in Translated Languages
The Create a copy in translated languages option determines whether translated versions of the article are also copied during the cloning process.
When Enabled
If Create a copy in translated languages is selected:
- A copy of the primary article is created.
- Copies of all existing translated language versions are also created.
- The cloned article maintains the same language structure as the original article.
This option is useful when you need to create a complete duplicate of a multilingual knowledge base article.
If Create a copy in translated languages is selected, the primary article is cloned immediately and both the primary article and translated article copies are created in Draft status. The translation article cloning process runs automatically in the background, and an email notification is sent once all translated article copies have been created successfully.
When Disabled
If Create a copy in translated languages is not selected:
- Only the primary article is cloned.
- Existing translated language versions are not copied.
This option is useful when creating a new article based on existing content without duplicating translations.
- Cloning an article creates a separate copy without affecting the original article. The cloned article can be modified independently, and you can choose to clone only the primary article or include all available translated versions by selecting Create a copy in translated languages.
- When an article is cloned, the new article inherits the category and section of the primary article. You can modify the preferred category and section after cloning.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Does cloning an article affect the original article?
No. The original KB article remains unchanged. The cloned KB article is independent. -
Are translated articles copied automatically?
Translated versions are copied only if Create a copy in translated languages is enabled during cloning and the source KB article already has translations. -
Can the cloned article be edited after it is created?
Yes. The cloned KB article can be edited independently after it is created. It is saved as a draft once it is cloned. -
When should an agent clone an article instead of creating a new one?
Use Clone Article to reuse an existing KB article’s structure, formatting, content, and optionally its existing translations, instead of rebuilding the content from scratch. -
What metadata is required during cloning?
The cloning flow prompts for Meta Title and Meta Description for the cloned KB article. -
Does the cloned article keep the same category and section?
Yes. The cloned KB article inherits the category and section from the source KB article’s primary article, and those values can be changed after cloning. -
If translations are not cloned, can translations be added later?
This documentation does not specify translation creation behavior after cloning. If translations need to be added, use the standard KB translation workflow available in your environment. -
If the source article has multiple translated languages, which ones get cloned?
When Create a copy in translated languages is enabled, all existing translated language versions on the source KB article are cloned.
