Basics of Writing Knols

Overview

This knol describes how to use the Knol tools to create, edit, and publish your knols.  Here are some links to other pages that will help you:

• Managing Knols
• Advanced Knol Techniques
• Best Practices: Writing Good Knols

 You can also send us email at knolhelp@google.com.

Creating and Publishing a New Knol 

To create a new knol page, click Write a New Knol at the right side of the screen, under your profile. If this is the first time you have accessed the Knol site, the system will automatically create a new knol for you and put you in edit mode.

For every knol:

1. Enter a title.  Try to include keywords in the title for easier searchability.
2. Enter a subtitle.  The subtitle is optional but it makes it easier for readers to get an idea of the knol content.
3. Enter a summary and alternative titles (optional) at the top.
4. Set the publishing mode for the knol.  By default your knol starts out unpublished. You can decide to publish your knol at any time by clicking on the Publish button in the author controls on the right hand side of your knol.
   
5. Set the permissions for who can edit your knol.  By default, Moderated Collaboration is set (at the right).  This means that if someone suggests a change to the page, you must approve the change before it is made.  You can also disable collaboration entirely or make pages open to anyone who wishes to change them.
6. Select your copyright settings at the right. By default, a Creative Commons Attribution license is specified. You can change this to “All Rights Reserved” (a non-public, traditional copyright choice that prohibits reuse of your materials without express permission) or to a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license, which permits reuse of your knol, provided the reuse gives proper attribution and is not for commercial purposes. Learn more about license options for your knol here.

Saving and Publishing Your Work 

As you work on your knol, you can click Save to save drafts of your work (the button at the left of the toolbar).  When your knol is complete, click Close to exit editing mode.  If your knol is currently published (i.e. visible to the public), then every time you click on Save, your saved knol will be made public, replacing the previous version. Please remember to publish your knol only when you are ready to share it with the public.

Entering Text into a New or Existing Knol

To edit an existing knol, first display the knol. You can see a list of all the knols you have written by clicking on the My Knols link at the top of the screen.  Initially the knol displays in View mode. To edit your knol, click on the Edit tab.

 To enter the contents of your knol:

1. The Knol platform provides basic tools to create your own knol.  Simply type your knol into the editing screen and use the formatting tools (described below) to enter your text.  
2. If you prefer, you can type your text using another editor and paste the contents into a knol. Just use the copy and paste commands in the usual way.
   
3. Import another document (e.g. a Microsoft Word document or a .PDF file) and create a new knol.  To import a document, click on the Manage tab and choose the General tab.  Then click on Import Knol to proceed.
   

Using the Formatting Bar to Edit a Knol

The formatting bar allows you to format your text.  If you put put your mouse pointer over each of the icons, a box will appear, describing what the icon does.  The tools work in a standard way, just like other editors including Microsoft Word and Google Documents.  For example, highlighting a word of text and then clicking on the B icon will make the highlighted text bold.

Headings and Text Formats

The Format pulldown menu allows you to format text as headings or subheadings.  You can also use the pulldown to choose a font and a font size directly.

Creating a Table of Contents

1. Highlight the text you want to appear on the table of contents
2. Go to the Format pulldown menu
3. Select Heading (H2)
4. Save your changes
5. Admire your new table of contents at the top of your knol