Write an answer
Fill it in
Write the Question the way a reader would ask it, and the Answer in Markdown. Under Other ways this gets asked, add other phrasings of the same question.
Fields
| Field | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Question | 3–500 characters | Also the answer’s title in citations. |
| Answer | 20,000 characters | Markdown. Can’t be saved while it still contains a [[NEEDS INPUT: …]] placeholder. |
| Other ways this gets asked | 10 phrasings | Optional. Duplicates of the question are dropped. |
| Answer with this | on | Turn off to stop using the answer without deleting it. The row shows Not answering. |
| Source | Shown when the knowledge base has more than one Q&A source. Picks which one the answer belongs to. |
How it works
- Your first answer creates a source called Curated Q&A in the knowledge base. You don’t add it yourself.
- Each knowledge base can hold one answer per question. A second answer to the same question is refused.
- An answer gets no ranking boost. It competes with your other pages on relevance. If a wrong page keeps winning, fix that page too.
- A citation of a written answer shows as text, since there is no page to link to.
- There is no Sync Now. The answer is re-indexed every time you save it.
Separate sets of answers
To keep some answers apart, for example internal answers and public ones, add another Q&A source: click Add source on the knowledge base, pick Custom Answers and click Continue. Enter a Display name, click Next twice, and click Add source. Then click Add answer to write its first answer. On an Enterprise plan, put each source in its own source group, and pick the Source when you write an answer. A widget or client key scoped to one group then sees only that group’s answers. Each Q&A source’s Answers tab lists and adds the answers filed on it.Where answers come from
Each row on the Q&A page has a badge, and the page filters on the same three:| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| From Knowledge Maintenance | Drafted by Knowledge Maintenance and accepted by a person. |
| From a knowledge gap | Written from Coverage Gaps with Answer this. That gap then shows as Answered. |
| Added manually | Typed on the Q&A page. |
Troubleshooting
- The answer isn’t used. Check Answer with this is on. Ask the exact question in the Playground. If another page wins, add more phrasings or fix that page.
- “already has an answer for that question”. Edit the existing answer instead, or add your wording to its Other ways this gets asked.
- Similar questions show up separately in gaps. Put them on one answer as other phrasings.