A private link lets you share any article with someone who does not have access to your knowledge base portal or site. The link is unique to the article and can be generated, copied, and deleted at any time. This is useful for sharing draft or restricted articles with reviewers, stakeholders, or external collaborators without publishing the content or granting portal access.
When to use private links
- Share a draft article with a stakeholder or subject matter expert for review before publishing.
- Share a restricted article with an external collaborator who is not a user in your Document360 project.
- Provide temporary access to content without adding the recipient as a reader or user.
Create a private link
- Navigate to the article in the knowledge base portal.
- Click the More () icon in the article header, or click the More icon next to the article name in the category tree.
- Click the Share link () icon.
- In the Share link panel, click Get shareable link to generate a new link.
- Click Copy to copy the link and share it with the recipient.
Manage a private link
Once a private link has been generated, you can manage it from the same Share link panel.
| Action | How to |
|---|---|
| Copy the link | Click Copy in the Share link panel. |
| Delete the link | Click Delete link. The link becomes immediately invalid for anyone it was shared with. |
| Regenerate the link | Delete the existing link first, then click Get shareable link to generate a new one. |
How private links behave
- A private link grants access only to the specific article it was created for. If the article contains links to other articles, clicking those links will prompt the recipient to log in.
- If the article is deleted, the private link will not display the article content. If the article is later recovered from the recycle bin or restored from a backup, the same link will work again.
- Custom CSS styling is applied in the shareable link preview. Custom JavaScript and HTML integrations are not supported in private link previews.
- Private links do not expire automatically. Delete the link manually when access is no longer needed.
Best practices
- Delete private links once a review is complete to prevent unintended ongoing access.
- Generate a separate private link for each article if you need to share multiple articles with the same recipient.
- Use private links for draft review rather than publishing a draft to a restricted reader group. It is faster and does not require adding the recipient as a reader.
FAQ
Can I share an unpublished article with someone who is not a user in my project?
Yes. Private links work for both published and unpublished articles. The recipient does not need to be a user or reader in your Document360 project to access the article via the link.
Does a private link expire automatically?
No. Private links do not have an automatic expiry. They remain active until you manually delete them from the Share link panel. Delete the link once access is no longer needed.
What happens when I delete a private link?
The link becomes immediately invalid. Anyone who tries to access the article using the deleted link will no longer be able to view it. You can generate a new link for the same article at any time.
Can the recipient access other articles linked within the shared article?
No. A private link grants access only to the specific article it was created for. Clicking links to other articles within the content will prompt the recipient to log in. Generate and share separate private links for each article if multiple articles need to be accessible.
Why does custom JavaScript not appear in the shareable link preview?
Custom JavaScript and HTML integrations are not supported in private link previews to ensure consistent performance and security when content is accessed externally. Custom CSS is supported and will be applied in the preview. To test JavaScript or HTML customisations, publish the article and access it from the knowledge base site, or use a Sandbox project for testing.