Knowledge base articles can be classified or “tagged” according to several attributes, namely Primary Audience, Topic, and Platform.

A particular article may have multiple Primary Audiences, Platforms, or Topics to which it belongs.

This classification system underlies the knowledge base search function, which includes search filters defined by the tag attributes listed above.

For example, the knowledge base article "Adobe Photoshop Download Instructions" may include the Platform tags "Photoshop" and "Adobe Creative Cloud," the Topic tag "Creative Software," and the Primary Audience tags "Student," "Staff," and "Faculty."

A student user might type install adobe into the KB search, then select both the “Student” and “Creative Software” filters to find the instructions.

A staff member may be able to find that same article by searching photoshop with the “Staff” and “Adobe Creative Cloud” filters selected.

In addition to filtered search, these content tags display on the knowledge base articles themselves, as well as in kb search result listings.

Primary Audience

The primary audience tag describes the intended audience for a given article, though it does not restrict access to those outside the specified audience group. For example, an article about "How to register for classes" may be written primarily for students, but staff and faculty who work closely with students will still need to know and access those steps.

Multiple primary audience tags can be assigned to a specific page as appropriate.

Topic

The topic tag helps define general categories to which articles belong. As with the primary audience tag, multiple topics can be assigned to a single knowledge base article. Topic tags provide another way for users to find relevant instructions, based on the task they are trying to accomplish.

Platform

The platform tag describes the system(s), software, or tool(s) associated with a given article. Multiple platforms can be assigned to a single knowledge base article, though most articles will only involve a single platform.

Format

The format tag describes how the content is structured and what kind of information it's providing. Format works a bit differently from the tags described above, as it is inherited from the page template type. In the case of knowledge base, how-to is one such (the first!) format. Each article only has a single format, and formats can only be changed by using a different page template for the content.

As a page editor, you can tag your knowledge base content using predetermined selection lists. However, we need your input to make sure the tags you need are on those lists!

Help us by adding new Topic tags and Platform tags to the brainstorming spreadsheets we've started.