Editing articles in the knowledge base

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Knowledge admins can edit all existing articles in the knowledge base. Agents who are not Knowledge admins can create and edit articles if they havemanagement permissions. End users can't contribute articles to the knowledge base. See thecomplete list of agent privilegesfor existing published articles.</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can edit knowledge base articles if you’re a knowledge admin, and agents with management permissions can also create and edit them. Watch for warnings on API-managed or legacy editor articles, then use the article editor to update content, links, images, tables, HTML, or Markdown. You can save drafts, preview changes, or publish when ready.</p>
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<p class="p">Knowledge admins can edit all existing articles in the knowledge base. Agents who are not
Knowledge admins can create and edit articles if they have <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827952538" target="_blank">management permissions</a>. End users can't contribute articles to the
knowledge base. See the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827952538#topic_tmz_zrp_gfb" target="_blank">complete list of agent privileges</a> for existing
published articles.</p>
<div class="p">In some cases, a banner appears at the top of the article when you open it in edit mode with
messaging that explains the risks of editing and/or saving the article. Specifically, banners
appear for the following:<ul class="ul" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ul_bnc_2bq_s3c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">API-managed articles</strong>: Banner notifies you that any content you edit locally in
the article will be overwritten the next time article content is updated through the API.
<div class="note" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__note_y3c_kxl_1jc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> When editing API-generated articles using the article
editor, you may encounter formatting issues resulting from the blended workflow. For
best practices and help troubleshooting these issues, see <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/help_center/help-center-api/article-editor-troubleshooting/" target="_blank">Preserving article editor formatting when updating help
center articles using the API</a>.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Legacy editor articles</strong>: Banner recommends you preview your changes before saving
and migrating to the current article editor. If you aren't happy with the previewed
article, you can close without saving to retain the unmigrated article.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">There are some article updates that you can make on multiple articles in bulk. For more
information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836336154" target="_blank">Updating knowledge base articles in bulk</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To edit knowledge base articles</strong>.</p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ol_rpt_tdq_cy">
<li class="li">Open an article in edit mode by doing one of the following:<ul class="ul" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ul_fpb_j3p_s3c">
<li class="li">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_dzz_4wn_s2c" target="_blank">help center</a>, navigate to the article you want to
edit, then click <strong class="ph b">Edit article</strong> in the top menu bar.</li>
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_b5q_nwn_s2c" target="_blank">Knowledge admin</a>, click <strong class="ph b">Manage articles</strong>
(<img class="image" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__d8e24" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide_icon_manage_articles.png">) in the sidebar.</span> Search for the article, then click the title to open it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">(Select users) If you see a warning at the top of the article for API-managed
or legacy editor articles, review the message, then click <strong class="ph b">Edit content</strong> on the
banner and the subsequent modal to proceed.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you need to update the management permissions or placement of the article, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839258778#topic_bpt_tdq_cy" target="_blank">Configure article settings</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Edit the article content.<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ul_evq_wk1_xy">
<li class="li">Use the article editor's toolbar for formatting options or to add links, images, or
tables. This toolbar is not the same as the toolbar in community posts.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__image_wpd_ll1_xy" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-new-art-editor-toolbar-ga.png" width="800"></p>
<div class="p">For
information, see the following articles about:<ul class="ul" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ul_nds_wds_dfc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839186586" target="_blank">Help center article editor toolbar reference</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822378266" target="_blank">Inserting and editing links in
articles</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824620698" target="_blank">Inserting images in articles and content
blocks</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829384986" target="_blank">Inserting videos and embedded files in articles
and content blocks</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829307418" target="_blank">Adding and formatting tables in help center
articles</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9195508027034" target="_blank">Adding article summaries to knowledge base
articles</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11042727986330" target="_blank">Using callouts to highlight content in the
article editor</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11042696237850" target="_blank">Using accordions to create expandable and
collapsible sections in the article editor</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11042740425754" target="_blank">Using tabs to group content in the article
editor</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">
<p class="p"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824584602" target="_blank">Edit the HTML source</a> by clicking the
<strong class="ph b">HTML</strong> button at the end of the editor's toolbar. </p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__note_zlc_xkx_cfc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> To keep your help center secure and provide the best
experience for your end users, Zendesk limits the HTML you can use in articles.
For information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824584602#topic_ihw_rcy_kxb" target="_blank">Allowing unsafe HTML in articles</a>.</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Format article and content block text using markdown. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846544922" target="_blank">Formatting text with Markdown</a> for a list of supported
Markdown commands.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">When you are finished working on your article, do one of the following:<ul class="ul" id="topic_f2r_1py_43__ul_xkx_pnd_ybb">
<li class="li">To save your new article as a draft or work in progress to publish later, click
<strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Preview</strong> to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8290688602906" target="_blank">view the article in your help center</a>. </li>
<li class="li">When you're ready to publish your article, click the drop-down arrow on the
<strong class="ph b">Save</strong> button, then select <strong class="ph b">Publish</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
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