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Collaborative Editing: Working with Others

Basil Mathai avatar
Written by Basil Mathai
Updated today

The knowledge base supports real-time collaboration. Multiple technicians can work on the same article at the same time without locking the document.

Creating a new article and visibility

When you first create a new article:

  • The article starts in a not saved state.

  • It is not visible to other technicians yet.

Once you click save as draft:

  • The article is saved.

  • It becomes visible to all other technicians on your account.

  • Other technicians can open and collaborate on the draft.

This ensures unfinished work is not accidentally shared until you are ready.


Seeing who is editing

When an article is open:

  • Avatars of all currently active technicians appear at the top left of the article.

  • Each avatar represents someone who is currently viewing or editing the document.

  • Avatars update in real time as users join or leave.

This helps you know who else is working on the article.


Real-time editing

  • Changes made by one technician appear instantly for others.

  • There is no need to refresh the page.

  • The editor does not require manual locking.

Everyone sees updates as they happen.


How drafts work in collaboration

When editing a published article:

  • All changes are saved as a draft.

  • The live published version remains unchanged until someone clicks publish.

  • Multiple collaborators can contribute to the same draft.

This ensures the published content stays stable while edits are being made.


Switching between draft and published versions

If a draft exists, you may see a banner indicating:

  • A draft version exists for this document.

  • You are viewing an unpublished version.

You can:

  • Switch to draft version

  • Switch to published version

  • View published version in a new tab

This helps compare live and draft content during collaboration.


Avoiding edit conflicts

To work smoothly with others:

  • Check active avatars before making large changes.

  • Communicate with collaborators when restructuring content.

  • Use drag and drop to move sections instead of rewriting.

  • Review the draft before publishing.

Collaboration works best when changes are intentional and coordinated.


Publishing collaborative changes

When edits are complete:

  1. Review the draft version.

  2. Click publish.

  3. A new published version is created.

The most recent published version is marked with a live tag in version history.


Best practices for team editing

  • Keep sections short and structured.

  • Use headings for clarity.

  • Avoid unnecessary formatting changes.

  • Review version history if something looks incorrect.

  • Use discard draft carefully, as it removes all unpublished changes.


Collaborative editing ensures knowledge is built as a team, not stored in individual silos.

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