How to Add & Use Merge Tags

 

A merge tag is a small placeholder tag that may consist of a few words or strings of text, which you can add to any page on your help site. You can create merge tags once and use them multiple times across different pages on your help site.

 

Note: The text you add to the page is not formatted and is stored as plain text on publishing the page.

 

Merge tags are flexible and reusable. You can make site-wide changes by editing the merge tag source. It saves you from the tedious task of modifying tags on different pages separately.

 

There are two types of merge tags:

 

1. System merge tags - These are pre-defined tags that you can reuse to quickly update a page’s content. You cannot alter or edit these tags.

 

System Merge Tags

 

2. Custom merge tags- You can create tags per your requirements and add them to pages on your help site.

 

Custom Merge Tag

 

In this article, you'll learn:

 

 

How to Create a Merge Tag

 

Step 1: On your ProProfs Knowledge Base dashboard, go to +Add New > Merge Tag.

 

Add a new Merge Tag

 

Step 2: Provide the Title and Default Value for the placeholder. Click on Save.

 

  • Title - Enter the name of the tag you want to create.

  • Default Value - Enter the default value of your tag. This value will display by default if you haven't defined any tag value.

 

Enter the details

 

You have successfully added a new merge tag.

 

How to View, Edit, and Delete Merge Tags

 

After adding a new merge tag, you will see a window displaying all the custom tags you have created till now.

 

Follow the screenshot instructions.

 

View, Edit, and Delete Merge Tags

 

  1. Edit a merge tag by clicking on its name.

  2. Create a new merge tag.

  3. Delete a merge tag.

  4. You can access the page through Preview > Merge Tags.

 

 How to Add a Merge Tag to a Page

Step 1: Navigate to the page in the TOC where you wish to add the merge tags and click Edit Page.

 

Go to Edit Page

 

Step 2: Go to Insert > Merge Tag in the toolbar.

 

Insert a Merge Tag

 

Step 3: Select the System Merge Tag or Custom Merge Tag and click Insert to add it to the page.

 

Select the system or custom tag to insert

 

When to Use System Merge Tags

 

ProProfs Knowledge Base offers a library of system merge tags you can use at a click. Here are some scenarios where you can use system merge tags:

 

1. User Identification - Use these tags to identify the profile of the author or editor who created or made changes/edits to a particular page on your help site.

 

Tag Name Description
user.first_name Display the first name of the user.
user.last_name Display the last name of the user.
user.email Display email address of the user.
user.role Display the role of the user like admin, editor, etc.
user.language Display the language preference of the user.
user.timezone Display timezone of the user
user.last_login_time Display the last login date and time of the user.


2. Page identification -  Use these tags to identify the attributes of a page, such as its title, id, status, etc.

 

Tag Name Description
page.id Display unique id of the page.
page.type Display the type of the page as text or video.
page.title Display the title of the page.
page.status Display status of the page like published, draft, etc.
page.toc_name Display the name of the page on the table of content.
page.url Display URL of the page.
page.created_at Display the date and time of the page when the page was created.
page.created_by Display full name of the user who created the page.
page.last_modified_at Display date and time of the page when the page was last modified.
page.last_modified_by    Display full name of the user who modified the page last time.
page.published_at Display date and time of the page when the page was last published.
page.published_by Display full name of the user who published the page last time.
page.related_articles Display the related articles on the page.
page.published_till Display the expiry date of the page.

 

3. Navigation - Use these tags to add navigation menus to a page, such as the "Next" or "Previous" link, breadcrumbs, inline, and more. 

 

Tag Name Description
page.next_page Display a hyperlink of the next page based on the table of content order.
page.next_page_url Display URL of the next page based on the table of content order.
page.previous_page Display a hyperlink of the previous page based on the table of content order.
page.previous_page_url Display URL of the previous page based on the table of content order.
page.breadcrumb Display the breadcrumb based on the table of content. Ex - You are here XYZ.
page.pages_in_folder Display all the pages located in the folder.
page.folder_name Display the name of the folder in which the page is located.
page.children_pages Display all the pages located inside the page as a hyperlink.
page.inline_toc Scan the headings on the current page to create an inline table of content based on those headings
page.embed_page Display the embedded page.

 

4. Additional information - Use these tags to give additional information about your company, website, recently published pages in your knowledge base and more. 

 

Tag Name Description
site.name Display the name of the help site.
site.url Display the URL of the help site.
site.language Display the language of the help site.
site.recently_published_pages Display the most recently published page.
company.name Display company name.
company.website Display company website.

 

How to Add Custom Color to Merge Tags

 

Once you add the merge tag, click the tag and go to the text color in the toolbar. Select the color for your merge tag.

 

Add Custom Color to Merge Tags

 

After selecting a color, save the page and click Preview.

 

Alternatively, you can use Content Snippets to insert short content pieces that you write once and use on many pages.

 

That is all about adding & using merge tags in your knowledge base.

 

 

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