This guide will walk you through the steps of setting up your Zendesk integration with ScreenSteps.
Note: You must have a Zendesk account and a ScreenSteps account with one available site for this integration to work.
Create the integration in ScreenSteps
1. Go to Account > Integrations
Click on Zendesk Help Center
Enter your Zendesk account name
- Your Zendesk account name is the name at the front of your Zendesk URL. For example, if your help desk is at https://mycompany.zendesk.com then the account name would be
mycompany. - Your Zendesk host name is an optional parameter. This should be the host name where your customers come to view your Zendesk site.
-
Important: If you are using a custom domain name on your Zendesk account then you will need to enter the full domain name with protocol. For example:
https://support.mydomain.com.
Enter your username and API Token
- The email should be the email address you use to login to Zendesk––Important: must be a Zendesk Admin login.
- You can retrieve your Zendesk API Token by following these instructions.
Enter Locale and click Create
- The Locale setting defaults to US English. If you would like to push to a different language in your Zendesk account then you should set the locale here. Note that ScreenSteps can only push content to a single locale.
- Select Create.
You will be taken to your newly created ScreenSteps site that is connected to Zendesk.
Do you already have existing content in Zendesk that you want to import into ScreenSteps?
Import the structure from Zendesk
First, let's import the structure by clicking on the following link:
Import structure (category and sections) from Zendesk HC
Click the continue button below once you are done.
Before you import articles from Zendesk...
Importing an article from Zendesk will connect the ScreenSteps article to the Zendesk article so that when you publish updates from ScreenSteps, the updates will go to the correct page in Zendesk.
Important: If you further edit the article in Zendesk later on, the changes will not be imported back into ScreenSteps. You should make all edits in ScreenSteps going forward.
Import articles from Zendesk
Now you are ready to import articles from Zendesk into ScreenSteps so that you can edit the articles in ScreenSteps.
Click the following link for instructions on importing articles:
Import individual Zendesk articles into ScreenSteps
Click the continue button below once you are done.
See how to create content in ScreenSteps
If you don't have any content in Zendesk already, no problem! These next few steps will show you how to create the basic structure in ScreenSteps (which will then be pushed to Zendesk).
You should also check out our documentation on creating content in ScreenSteps so that you can be proficient when building out your knowlede base.
Create a new Manual
A manual in ScreenSteps is the same as a category in Zendesk. When you create and publish a manual in ScreenSteps, it will create and publish a category in Zendesk.
Select Manual from the Create New menu
Give the manual a title and save
Your new manual appears (unpublished)
Your new manual will be unpublished so that your end users do not see it right away. You can publish and unpublish manuals at any time.
Add an article to the default chapter
Click on the manual and chapter
You will create articles in chapters. Click on the manual title to load the manual table of contents. Click on the Default chapter to load the chapter table of contents. This is where you will add an article.
Create a new Article
An article in ScreenSteps is the same as an article in Zendesk. When you create and publish an article in ScreenSteps, it will create and publish an article in Zendesk.
Click Create New Article
When you create a new article, it will be created in the Manual and Chapter that are selected.
Write the title > click Create Article
Publish changes (when you're ready)
When you are ready to publish content to Zendesk, publish the manual.
Use manual menu to publish changes
From the manual menu you will see one of two options. Publish in Zendesk HC will appear if the manual hasn't been connected to Zendesk yet. Push update to Zendesk HC will appear if the manual is already connected to Zendesk.
Publish
- By default the chapter positions and titles will be updated along with other changes you've made to the manual. To only update the manual uncheck this checkbox. If you uncheck Update chapter positions and titles then only the Manual title and sort order will be updated in Zendesk.
- Click either the Publish (manual doesn't exist in Zendesk yet) or Push Changes (manual is connected to Zendesk already) button.
Add ScreenSteps features and styles to Zendesk
In order for the features and styles that you use in your ScreenSteps articles to work in Zendesk you will need add some JavaScript and CSS files to your Zendesk template. Follow the instructions in our article Add ScreenSteps Styles, Foldable Sections, and Workflow features to Zendesk HC