What is the Purpose of the Primary Category in the Knowledge Base?
The instructions below are for desktops and laptops only.
The primary category determines how an article is shown to readers when it appears in more than one category. It helps keep navigation consistent: when a visitor finds your article via search, the primary category appears in the breadcrumbs so readers understand the article’s context and how it fits into your Knowledge Base.
When visitors browse by category (Home → Category → Article), the breadcrumb trail shows the category they used to get there.
When a visitor finds the article via a direct search in the Knowledge Base, the primary category will appear in the breadcrumbs above the article. This makes the article feel like it belongs to a single, logical place, even if it is listed in multiple categories.
Example
An article called “Creating and Responding to Tickets” may sit in both “Dashboard 101” and “Ticketing”. If “Dashboard 101” is pinned as the primary category, that category appears in the breadcrumbs when the article is opened from a search result — even though the article still appears under “Ticketing” when users browse that category.
How to choose the primary category (while editing or creating an article)
3. Click Knowledge Base in the top menu.
4. Open an article or click + Create to create a new article.
5. Under Category in the left Document panel, assign one or more categories to the article.
6. Click the pin icon next to the category you want to make the primary category. The pinned category becomes the primary category for that article.
7. Click Update or Publish to apply your changes.
Additional considerations
Choose the category that gives the clearest context
Pick the category that represents the article’s primary purpose or the path you want most readers to take.Primary category does not remove other listings
The article remains visible in every category you assign — pinning only affects which category appears in the breadcrumbs and search-listed context.If you reorganize categories, review pinned settings
Changing category structure or order might make a previously appropriate primary category less obvious; check pinned categories after reorganizing. For help ordering categories, see the guide below.Private vs public content
Category visibility depends on the visibility of its articles. If a category contains only private articles (or no public articles), it will not appear on the public Knowledge Base. Pinning a primary category does not override privacy settings.
Related guides
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