Choose where a Knowledge item can be used and when it should remain active This guide keeps the work focused on Knowledge publication settings and provides a repeatable path that a new Humind user can follow without changing unrelated configuration.

Knowledge is the source of business information that the Agent and Helpdesk can use. Articles, snippets, documents, webpages, and folders have different maintenance needs. Public visibility, publication status, active dates, translations, and Helpdesk eligibility determine where a source can appear, so content quality includes both writing and lifecycle settings.

Before you begin

Access: Knowledge write access is required. Helpdesk publication requires the corresponding Helpdesk and company permissions.

• Identify the intended audience: internal Agent use, public Helpdesk readers, or both.
• Confirm the approval and expiry policy for the content.
• Open the correct Knowledge item and its current parent folder.

Work in the smallest owning area described below and keep the current customer-facing state available while you prepare the change. Before clicking any final action, confirm the active company, Agent, store, language, and market shown in Humind. A missing control can indicate read-only access or a capability that is not configured for this company. In that case, record the intended task and ask an administrator to review the exact permission or dependency. Do not bypass the boundary by sharing an account, copying data into another area, or promising a capability that the workspace does not expose.

Step-by-step workflow

1. Confirm the scope and current state

   Review publication status, public visibility, active-period controls, and the setting that makes an article available to the Helpdesk.

   • Confirm the active company and Agent before editing.
   • Record the current state so the result can be compared after the change.
   • Stop if the screen or permission does not match the intended task.

2. Prepare the change

   Enable only the surfaces approved for the content and use lifecycle dates when the information has a real validity window.

   • Use the smallest change that completes the customer task.
   • Keep authoritative information in its owning source.
   • Review labels, dates, language, and customer-visible wording before saving.

3. Save and allow required processing to finish

   Save the Knowledge item and wait for any indexing work; remember that an active Helpdesk publication is still an immutable older snapshot.

   • Wait for the interface to confirm that the change is saved.
   • If synchronization, indexing, or publication is required, wait for its final state.
   • Reload the area and confirm the saved values persist.

4. Test the complete customer journey

   Test Agent use separately, then publish one new Helpdesk version only when the complete public selection is ready.

   • Use a fresh session and a realistic customer scenario.
   • Check desktop and mobile when the result appears on a storefront.
   • Capture the exact failing step if the outcome differs from the expectation.

Important limits and operating notes

• A successful save confirms persistence, not every downstream synchronization or public update.
• Workspace permissions can hide an area or allow reading without allowing changes.
• Do not copy volatile catalog, account, or customer facts into narrative content as a workaround.
• Test only supported capabilities that are visible and configured for the current company.
• Keep changes in Knowledge publication settings separate from unrelated Agent, Knowledge, catalog, Inbox, or Helpdesk work.

Verify the result

• The Knowledge item reports the intended status and visibility.
• The Agent can or cannot use it according to the chosen scope.
• The Helpdesk publication candidate includes it only when eligible.
• The live Helpdesk changes only after an intentional new publication.

Keep a short record of what you tested, which customer scenario you used, and what changed. This makes later troubleshooting more precise and helps another teammate reproduce the result without relying on memory.

Troubleshooting

The article is missing from the Helpdesk candidate

Confirm that it is an article, published, public, active, Helpdesk-eligible, and included by the Helpdesk content mode. Check its language and folder as well.

An expired item still appears publicly

Check whether the live site is serving an older immutable publication. Correct the lifecycle, review the full candidate, and republish rather than unpublishing the whole Helpdesk.

Related guides

• create and publish a knowledge article
• choose all public or selected helpdesk content
• publish republish and unpublish a helpdesk
• troubleshoot changes that do not appear in the helpdesk