The Knowledge Base (KB) in BoldDesk enables teams to create structured help content for agents and customers. Articles are organized under Categories and Sections, ensuring easy navigation and discoverability in the Customer Portal.
Only users with the appropriate article permissions can create, edit, review, or publish articles.

To learn more about creating and managing categories, explore further instructions about Organizing Knowledge Base: Categories & Sections in BoldDesk.

Prerequisites for Creating Articles

Before creating an article, ensure the following:

• You have the Create Article permission
• A Category (and optional Section) already exists
• You have access to the Knowledge Base module

Creating an article

Follow the given steps to create an article:

1. Select the KB module from the left menu.

2. Open the category or section you want to add an article to under the Manage Articles section.

3. Click on the plus icon and select the New Article option.

   
   
   

4. You can also select the Create dropdown and click on the Article option as shown:

   

5. The create article page will be shown as follows:

   
   
   

6. The following details can be filled:

   • Title

   • Description

   • By default, the Markdown editor will be selected. There is an option to change it to a WYSIWYG editor.

   • The editor supports the following options:

     • Table
     • Image
     • File
     • Video
     • Link
     • Info and warning box

   • Attach files

7. The following article settings can be filled:

   • Select the category or section under which this article should be created.
   • To allow customers to post comments to the article via the self-service portal, the Allow Comments option will be chosen by default. If you don’t want the customer to comment on the article, you can disable it.
   • Select the option from the listed options to whom this article should be visible.
   • The appropriate tags for the article can be added here.
   • By using the Article Expires On option, you can set the article expiration date. After the specified date, the article will no longer be visible in the customer portal. If the date field is left blank, the article will be visible indefinitely.
   • Set a status indicator to indicate whether the article is new or updating the existing article. This status will be visible in the portal once the article is published.

8. Knowledge Base provides on-page SEO. You can enter the meta title, meta description, and canonical link here.

9. If you do not want this article to appear in the site map or in user search results, check the appropriate options.

10. Choose the image and enter the title and description for the open graph.

11. You can select the following options to save the article:

    • Click on publish if you want to publish the article. After publishing, the article will be exposed to the self-service portal.
    • You can save as draft, and after drafting the content, it will be listed on the KB article listing page.
    • You can also assign the article for review using the Send to Review option.
      
    
    
    

12. After the article is saved, the article details screen will be loaded.

    

13. When the KB article with drafted status is loaded, there is an option to see the preview of this article to ensure the content is aligned and rendered correctly.

Editing an article

Follow the given steps to edit an article:

1. Open the article you wish to edit and click on the Edit icon on the article details page, or click the Edit option from the article listing page.

   
   
   

2. The article will be opened in edit mode and you can make the changes. For title and description changes, a new version will be created.

3. You have the options as shown:

   
   
   

4. Click on the Preview draft option to preview this article to ensure the content is aligned and rendered correctly. (Preview draft option is only visible if there are unpublished content changes.)

5. Click on the Discard option to ignore the content changes made.

6. Click on the Save as Draft option if you do not want to publish the changes made.

7. Click on the Publish option if you want to publish the article.

8. Click on the Unpublish option if you want to stop displaying the article in the self-service portal.

Unpublishing an article

When you unpublish an article, it will not be listed in the self-service portal but will still be listed in the agent portal.

Follow the given steps to unpublish an article:

1. Open the article you want to unpublish.

2. Click on the Unpublish option at the top right corner.

   
   
   

3. After clicking, the article will be unpublished.

Consider the following when unpublishing an article:

1. The status will be changed to Draft.
2. The article will no longer be listed under the self-service portal, and it cannot be found on the search engine.
3. A new version will be created.

Clone Article

Follow the given steps to clone an article:

1. Open the article you want to clone.

2. Click on the Clone option.

   
   
   

3. The article create screen will be opened with prepopulated values of the selected article.

4. You can make the changes as required and click on the Clone option.

   
   
   

5. After cloning the article, a new article will be created.

Deleting an article

Follow the given steps to delete an article:

1. Open the article you want to delete.
2. Click on the Delete option.
3. Confirm if you want to delete and click on the Delete option.
4. The article will be removed and moved to the deleted state.

Use Cases

1. Build a Customer Self‑Service Portal
   Publish how‑to guides and FAQs to reduce ticket volume.
2. Maintain Internal Agent Documentation
   Restrict article visibility for agent‑only operational guides.
3. Content Review Workflow
   Use Draft and Review states to ensure accuracy before publishing.
4. Time‑Sensitive Announcements
   Set article expiration dates for temporary notices or updates.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can articles be created without a category?
   No. Articles must be created under an existing Category or Section.

2. Does BoldDesk support article versioning?
   Yes. Editing key fields such as title or description creates a new version.

3. Can unpublished articles be previewed?
   Yes. Draft articles include a Preview Draft option.

4. Are deleted articles permanently removed?
   No. Deleted articles can be restored from the Deleted Articles section.

5. How is the read time for Knowledge Base articles updated in BoldDesk?
   In BoldDesk, the article read time is recalculated only when a new major (published) version of the article is updated. If the content is modified but not republished, the Customer Portal may continue to display the previously calculated read time.
   To update the read time, edit the article and publish it as a new major version. After publishing, refresh the Customer Portal page or clear the browser cache to view the updated read time.

Related Articles

1. How to Format Articles Using WYSIWYG Editor in BoldDesk
2. How to Format Article Content Using Markdown Editor