Throughout your knowledge base, there are certain text strings that KnowledgeOwl generates. Previously, we had set these as static text fields and you needed to add custom scripts to override that text.
With the Customize Text tool, we're converting those text strings so that you can customize them directly yourself--no coding required!
We're still trying to get a feel for how useful this tool is before we make all text everywhere customizable, so for our initial beta testing release, we've included three areas we get a lot of text customization requests around:
- Search
- Table of Contents/Breadcrumbs
- Top Navigation
Use the Knowledge Base Section selector at the top of the page to move between these sections.
For each section, we provide a list of the Default Text Strings and a more detailed Description of where/how that text string is used. If you've set your own customized text string, it is displayed in the Your Text String column.
To add a new customized text string or edit an existing customized text string:
- Review the available Knowledge Base Sections and select the section your text string belongs to. (This may require some trial and error!)
- Find the string you'd like to update.
- Click the gear cog icon to the right of it in the Actions column:
- This will open the Edit Text String pop-up, where you can enter or edit the text string.
- Once you've added the text you'd like used in Your Text String, click the Update Text String button to save your change.
These changes will immediately be live in your knowledge base, though if you were already viewing your knowledge base you may need to refresh to see them!
Some tips on adding text strings:
- You cannot enter a blank/empty text string or a text string that is all spaces.
- In most places, you can insert an emoji and it will work properly!
- Raw HTML entered here will not render as HTML, but will instead display as an encoded text string.
Resetting a customized text string will remove whatever text you have entered for the string and switch your knowledge base back to using the Default Text String.
To reset a customized text string:
- Go to Tools > Customized Text.
- Find the customized text string you'd like to remove.
- In the Actions column, click the trashcan icon to the right of that text string.
- This will open a pop-up which will ask you to confirm that you really want to remove your customized text string.
- Click OK to complete the text string reset.
- Your text string will be removed and your knowledge base will immediately start using the Default Text String again.
Here's a full list of the Default Text Strings available in the Search Knowledge Base Section, with accompanying screenshots to show how they're used:
| Default Text String | Description | Additional notes/description | Screenshot References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search for articles... | Global search bar placeholder text | This placeholder is used wherever the search bar appears, including on the homepage and top navigation. | Global Search screenshots, #1 | ||
| Hit enter to search | Global search bar autocomplete call to action | When someone has started to type in a search, this text appears at the bottom of the typeahead search results. It appears everywhere the search bar is used. | Global Search screenshots, #3 | ||
| Refine | Global search bar category filter button label | The button added to all search bars when the Filter search by categories option is enabled. | Global Search screenshots, #2 | ||
| Search results... | Search results page header | Search Results Page screenshots, #4 | |||
| Search | Search bar button label, search results page | When you're viewing the Search Results page, the search bar displayed there shows this text label instead of the magnifying glass button. | Search Results Page screenshots, #5 | ||
| Total results: | Search results page total search results count label | This is the label for the total number of search results returned, which is displayed just below the search bar on the Search Results page. | Search Results Page screenshots, #6 | ||
| Sort by: | Search results page sort control label | The label displayed to the left of the Sort by dropdown, just beneath the Search bar. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #7 | ||
| Relevance | Search results page Relevance sort option | The default and first option in the Sort by dropdown, which sorts based entirely on relevancy and ranking algorithms. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #8 | ||
| Popularity | Search results page Popularity sort option | The second option displayed in the Sort by dropdown, which sorts based on views. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #14 | ||
| Last Updated | Search results page Last Updated sort option | The third option displayed in the Sort by dropdown, which sorts based on last modified date. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #16 | ||
| Newest | Search results page Newest sort option | The final option displayed in the Sort by dropdown, which sorts based on create date. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #17 | ||
| Glossary | Glossary snippet search result link to Glossary | The link to the Glossary that is displayed in a glossary snippet search result. Only displayed when Glossary snippets are enabled in search and a glossary term has been searched. | Search Results Page screenshots, #19 | ||
| Glossary | Glossary snippet link to Glossary | The link to the Glossary that is displayed when the word "Glossary" is searched. Only displayed when Add the glossary page to your search results is enabled in search and the word "glossary" has been searched. | Search Results Page screenshots, #20 | ||
| Refine by Category | Search results page category filter heading | The header displayed above the category filters on the Search Results Page. Only displayed when the Filter search by categories option is enabled. | Search Results Page screenshots, #9 | ||
| Refresh results | Search results refresh results button | When the category filters have been changed on the Search Results Page, this text appears with the refresh action to update the search results to use the new filter selections. Only displayed when the Filter search by categories option is enabled. | Search Results Page screenshots, #10 | ||
| No results found. | Search results page text shown when no search results match | Message displayed when no search results have been found. | Search Results Page screenshots, #21 | ||
| Update in progress. Please wait a minute and try again. | Text displayed when search reindex is running | This message is only displayed when someone tries to search and a search reindex is running. | Search Results Page screenshots, #22 | ||
| Total views: | Individual search result metadata label when Popularity sort used | When the Popularity sort order is selected, this label precedes the view count displayed for an individual search result. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #15 | ||
| Created on: | Individual search result metadata label when Newest sort used | When the Newest sort order is selected, this label precedes the create date displayed for an individual search result. Only displayed when Sorting is enabled in search. | Search Results Page screenshots, #18 | ||
| Last Updated: |
| If sorting is not enabled, this label is shown at all times in individual search results. If Sorting is enabled in search, this labels is shown when the default Relevance sort or the Last Updated sort is selected. | Search Results Page screenshots, #11 | ||
| Tags: | Individual search result label for tags list | If an article has tags, the tags are displayed in the individual search result. This label precedes the tag list. If you have added the article-tags merge code to your Article HTML, this will also update that label in articles and PDFs. | Search Results Page screenshots, #13 | ||
| in | Individual search result text between tags and parent category link | In an individual search result, this preposition is displayed between the initial metadata line (which varies based on sort) and the category the article is stored within. | Search Results Page screenshots, #12 |
Global Search screenshots
The global search bar can appear many places, including:
- The homepage
- The top navigation
- The table of contents
- The right column
Here are a few examples of where it's used:
Global search bar on the homepage
Global search bar on the homepage, with typeahead search
Global search bar in the top navigation & table of contents
Global search bar in the top navigation, with typeahead search
Search Results Page screenshots
The Search Results Page will look a bit different depending on whether you the option to Filter search by categories enabled or not. These screenshots show the page with that option enabled, but if you aren't using it, the Refine by Category section and its elements won't be visible.
Search Results Page with Relevance sort selected
Search Results Page with new Refine by Category options selected and Relevance search result elements highlighted
Search Results Page with Popularity sort selected
Search Results Page with Last Updated sort selected
Search Results Page with Newest sort selected
Search Results Page with matching glossary snippet
Search Results Page with "Glossary" searched and no article results found
Message displayed during search reindex
Here's a full list of the Default Text Strings available in the Table of Contents Knowledge Base Section, with accompanying screenshots to show how they're used:
| Default Text String | Description | Additional notes/description | Screenshot References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Breadcrumb homepage link text | The "Home" link text displayed if Breadcrumbs are enabled in Settings > Basic > Website Settings | Breadcrumbs screenshot, #1 |
| Home | Table of contents homepage link text | The "Home" link displayed in the table of contents, if Add a homepage link to the top of the table of contents is enabled in Settings > Basic > Website Settings. | Table of Contents screenshot, #1 |
| Glossary | Table of contents glossary link text | The "Glossary" link displayed in the table of contents, if Add a glossary link to the top of the table of contents is enabled in Settings > Basic > Website Settings. | Table of Contents screenshot, #2 |
| Full PDF Download | Table of contents full PDF download link text | The link to the full PDF download that is displayed in the table of contents if Add a link to the full PDF download to table of contents is enabled in Settings > Basic > Website Settings | Table of Contents screenshot, #3 |
Breadcrumbs screenshot
If Breadcrumbs are enabled, all content will display a breadcrumb beginning with the "Home" text, which you can customize:
Table of Contents screenshot
The Table of Contents options highlighted here are all set in Settings > Basic in the Website Settings section:
Here's a full list of the Default Text Strings available in the Top Navigation Knowledge Base Section, with accompanying screenshots to show how they're used:
| Default Text String | Description | Additional notes/description | Screenshot References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge Base Logo | Knowledge base logo alt text | This sets the alt text used where your knowledge base logo is used; it won't impact the visual display of the logo at all. It will only be displayed to users if the logo image is broken, and can be read by screen-readers. | Top Navigation text-only screenshot, #4 |
| Contact Us | Text for link to Contact Form | This adjusts the text used for the link to the Contact Form. Only applies if you have the Contact Form enabled and the contact template merge code used. | Top Navigation visible screenshot, #1 |
| Login | Text for reader login option | This adjusts the text for the "login" option if your Settings > Security has default access set to public and has reader logins enabled but also has reader logins enabled. | Top Navigation visible screenshot, #3 |
| Logout | Text for reader logout option | If reader logins are enabled, this adjusts the text for the "logout" link. | Top Navigation visible screenshot, #2 |
| Toggle navigation | Text for search icon on mobile devices, screen-reader only | On mobile devices where the screen is quite small, the search bar in top navigation is collapsed under an icon. This text label is used for screen-readers only. | Top Navigation text-only screenshot, #5 |
| Table of Contents | Text for table of contents button, screen-reader only | This text label is used as the text for the Table of Contents button. It is generally only displayed to screen-readers. | Top Navigation text-only screenshot, #6 |
Top Navigation visible screenshots
These Top Navigation elements are hyperlinks visible to all readers if the feature is enabled:
Top Navigation text-only screenshot
These Top Navigation text options are generally only used by screen-readers or if there are problems displaying logos or icons. Unless one of these situations happens, you can really only see them by looking at the underlying HTML:
