Publish, review and restore articles
Take a help article from draft to review to published, edit a live article safely, unpublish or delete it, and restore any earlier version from History.
Last updated 2 min readPreview
Every article moves through three stages: Draft, In review and Published. Agents write; owners and admins publish. Every save is kept, so any version can be restored.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins publish, unpublish and delete. Agents save drafts and send them for review.
- Plan: all plans.
Step by step
If you are an agent:
- Write the article and press Save draft.
- Press Send for review. A message confirms: "Sent for review".
If you are an owner or admin:
- On the Articles tab, press the In review filter.
- Open the article and read it. Use Preview to see it as readers will.
- Press Publish (or Publish changes for a live article). A message confirms: "Published".
- Press View live to open it on your help center.
What happens next
| Status in the list | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved, not visible to readers |
| In review | Sent for review by an agent |
| Published | Live on your help center |
| Published · draft changes | Live; newer edits are saved but not published |
| Published · changes in review | Live; newer edits wait for review |
| Team only | Visible to your team only, wherever its stage |
While a live article has unpublished edits, the editor says "Readers still see the published version until these changes are published."
Unpublish, delete and restore
- Unpublish asks "Take this article off the help center? It stays here as a draft."
- Delete asks "Delete this article and its history? This can’t be undone."
- History lists every save, such as "Saved", "Sent for review", "Published" and "Restored an earlier version". Press Restore next to an earlier version.
Every publish, unpublish and delete is also written to the workspace's audit log.
Tips
- Agents: send one article at a time for review, so the reviewer can check it properly.
- Reviewers: fix small things yourself and publish, rather than sending it back.
- Before a big rewrite of a live article, check that History has the current version.
- Use Team only for internal guides your agents should follow but customers should not read.
Troubleshooting
"Only owners and admins can publish. Save it and send it for review."
You are an agent. Press Send for review instead of Publish.
"Write the article before publishing it"
The body is empty. Add the answer, then publish.
"Only owners and admins can delete articles"
Ask an owner or admin, or ask them to unpublish it.
"Another article now uses that version’s address. Change the slug first."
The version you want to restore had an address another article uses now. Change one of them first.
"Version not found"
That version is no longer available. Refresh the page and pick another one.
"Article not found"
The article was deleted, or belongs to another help center. Go back to the list.
Frequently asked questions
Can agents publish help center articles?
No. Agents can write and edit articles and press Send for review, which marks them In review for an owner or admin. Only owners and admins can publish, unpublish, delete articles and change collections. The editor tells agents that an owner or admin publishes articles.
Do readers see my edits to a published article straight away?
No. When you edit a published article and save, the changes are kept as a draft. Readers still see the published version until someone presses Publish changes. The article list shows Published, draft changes, or Published, changes in review, so nothing half-finished goes live.
How do I restore an earlier version of an article?
Open the article and look at History in the side panel. Every save, review, publish and restore is listed with the time and the person. Press Restore next to the version you want. An owner or admin restores a live article straight to the help center; anyone else gets it back as a draft.
What is the difference between Unpublish and Delete?
Unpublish takes the article off your help center but keeps it in the editor as a draft, with its history, so you can publish it again later. Delete removes the article and all its history for good and cannot be undone. Only owners and admins can do either.
How do I see which articles wait for review?
On the Articles tab, press the In review filter. It lists every article an agent has sent for review, newest changes first. Open one, read it, make any edits and press Publish, or Publish changes for an article that is already live.
Can I keep an article for my team only?
Yes. In Details, set Who sees it to Team only. The article stays out of your public help center, its search and the chat widget, and the list marks it Team only. Your team can still open it in the editor, for example for internal refund or escalation guides.
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Related articles
- Write a help articlePreviewUse the help center editor to write clear answers with headings, steps, pictures, videos, tables, callouts and click paths, then save a draft as you go.
- Set up your own help centerPreviewPublish a help center for your customers at your own Hushdesk address, with a title, a tagline, collections and articles they can search on their own.
- Help article SEO, summaries and FAQsPreviewHelp customers find your articles on Google and in search: set a focus keyword, search title and description, follow the live checklist and add FAQs.
- Roles and permissions explainedWhat owners, admins, agents and viewers can and cannot do in Hushdesk, and how to change someone's role from the Users page.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.