Generate Stable Links (Context Keys)

Reliably point to your versioned, translated and conditionalized content and prevent outdated links using context keys as unique content identifiers.

To use this feature you will need to install Scroll Documents. Trial the app for free for 30 days.

As your content becomes more complex, the more likely it is to change - especially over time. As you change the content and move it around, it’s more difficult to always provide the right links to the right piece of content.

Context keys address this problem by providing you with unique identifier for the pages across your variants, version and languages that you can share with readers or embed in your product.

Why Use Context Keys?

Content constantly changes. However, no matter where your content ends up, context keys ensure that you or others get there from any context.

Restructuring your content might change the regular URL of an article in your site, causing previously shared links to fail. Using links with context Key enables you to quickly re-assign the key to keep the links working.

Context keys are unique content identifiers that can reliably point to your versioned, translated and conditionalized content. Thus, they make your documentation more resilient to changes.

Context keys are especially helpful when you

• Share or embed links in published assets that can’t be modified after publication (e.g. software products, QR codes)

• Migrate from Scroll Versions and Scroll Viewport on Confluence Server to Confluence Cloud. Context keys give you a way to continue using Scroll Version’s page keys to maintain legacy help links.

Assign and Append Context Keys

Context keys are created in the Scroll Documents' Document Manager. To be able to create and assign context keys to your pages, your content needs to exist as a Scroll Document.

Please note: You need to update your Viewport site for new or updated context keys to take effect.

Navigate to Manage Context Keys

To start managing context keys, navigate to the space where your document is located and find the document in your document library:

1. Click on the document card to navigate to the Document Manager.

2. Select Manage in the top-right corner of the Document Manager.

3. Select Context Keys

You are now in the Manage Context Keys section of your document from where you can create new keys and assign them to the pages of your document.

Create and edit keys

A context key can be assigned to any existing page of your document. It will apply to all version of the selected page. A page can be assigned to multiple context keys but a Context key can only be applied to one page (in all its versions).

To assign a new key to a page:

1. Select the Add new key button in the top right corner. The Create context key dialog opens.

2. Click on the Page field and select the page you want to assign a Context key to. To find your page, use the dropdown menu or type the title of a page of your document.

3. In the context key field, type the key you want to assign. Acceptable characters are "a-Z", "0-9", "_", "-", "+"

4. Select Create

The Create context key dialog closes. You can now overview the created context keys and see which versions of the page the key will apply to. The key will list all existing versions of your document, except those where the particular page doesn’t exist.

You can modify which page your key applies to at any point. To edit the assigned pages, find your context key in the list:

1. Select •••.

2. Select Edit. The Edit Context Key dialog opens.

3. Click on the Page field and select the page you want to assign the context key to. To find your page, use the dropdown menu or type the title of a page of your document.

4. Select Save.

Append a key to build a Viewport link

Once created and assigned to pages in your document, you can use your context keys to give access to the articles in your Scroll Viewport help center.

Please note: You need to update your Viewport site for new or updated context keys to take effect.

To start using context key links, find your context key in the list:

1. Select Get link. A pop up opens.

2. Select the version and, optionally, the language and variant you want to link to.

3. Select Copy to Clipboard

4. Compose your URL: Append the copied value to the URL for that particular content source (example.scrollhelp.site/content-source/). Make sure to remove the language code from the URL if your site URL includes it.

5. Use that URL you composed wherever you need a stable link

The resulting Viewport link will direct to the page that is specified in the appended parameters.

Example

A copied value could look like this:

?contextKey=1234&version=latest&language=default&variant=default

When appended to the base URL of a Viewport site (with the language code removed), the link will be:

example.scrollhelp.site/content-source/?contextKey=1234&version=latest&language=default&variant=default

This link will lead to the page that is assigned to the key 1234, more specifically to the page

• in the latest version that is added to your site (latest as defined by the order in the version list in the documents manager)

• in the site’s default language

• in the variant that is set as default in your document.