KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Requesting a Document From Another Group

Sharing documents from other KB groups helps create a single source of truth (SSOT), reduces maintenance overhead, improves consistency, and makes valuable knowledge available across teams while preserving ownership and accountability. This page explains how to find and request those documents.

How to share documents into your KB space

  1. In the KB Admin Tools, go to the Documents > Request a Doc from... link in the left navigation bar.

    The Request a Doc From link is the fifth link in the secondary navigation.

  2. Upon clicking on the Request a Doc from... button, you will be taken to a screen called Request Documents from Other Groups. From here, you can search for documents that may be relevant to your KB site visitors.

    Most of the search filters on this page will be the standard KB Admin Tools search filters described in KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Document Searching and Sorting, with two exceptions:

    • Groups - This dropdown list defaults to All other groups. If you open the dropdown, you will see a list of all active KB spaces with the institution included as a prefix.

    • Age: Defaults to 30 days, showing only documents created within the past month. You can adjust the range between 1 and 100 days, or select All Ages to view all documents.

  3. Once you have the Search filters set as desired, you can begin browsing the list of matching documents.

  4. If you find a document you would like to have shared into your KB space, use the Request button to easily notify the document owner and group admin(s).

    The Request button is located in the Action column

  5. Clicking on the Request button will lead to a pop-up modal with the Document Sharing Request Form. If desired, you can enter a message in the note field explaining why you would like the document to be shared.

  6. Click the Request share button to submit the form. This will send an email with the document ID and title, your name and email address, your group space, and your note (if provided) to the document owner and group admin(s).

    The request form will open in a popup window and display all of the included data i

  7. Once the request is submitted, the document owner and group admin will receive an email. The request will also appear in the owning group's space on the Share Requests under the Documents tab. The document owner will then click on the Take action link at the far right.

    The Share Requests table includes columns Title, Doc ID, Status, Requester Group, Requester Email, Request At, Last Action At, Last Action By, Action.

    The Document Owner can leave a note for the Requester and either Approve or Decline the request, which will trigger an email notification to the requester. If the share request is approved, the document will appear in your group space.

    Checking the Take action box to enter a note, a pre-checked box to notify the requester, and buttons to Approve, Decline, or Cancel.


Why Share in documents from another KB space?

If your KB space allows documents from other groups to be shared into your group's KB, there are several benefits beyond simply increasing the number of available documents:

1. Reduces Duplicate Content

Instead of creating and maintaining the same document in multiple KB groups, one authoritative version can be shared. This eliminates redundant content and reduces the risk of conflicting information.

2. Ensures Consistency

When the owning group updates a shared document, everyone who has access to that shared document sees the latest version. This helps keep processes, policies, and guidance aligned across teams.

3. Leverages Subject Matter Expertise

Documents remain owned by the team with the most expertise on the topic. Other groups can consume that knowledge without having to become content owners themselves.

4. Reduces Maintenance Effort

Your group does not need to review, update, or govern content that belongs to another team. The originating group remains responsible for document accuracy and lifecycle management.

5. Improves Knowledge Discovery

Users can find relevant information from related areas through a single KB experience, rather than searching across multiple KB spaces or contacting other teams directly.

6. Speeds Up Onboarding and Problem Solving

New faculty and staff can gain access to cross-functional knowledge that may help them resolve customer issues, complete tasks, or learn processes more quickly.

7. Supports Cross-Functional Collaboration

Shared documents help teams understand dependencies, processes, and best practices from other departments, encouraging collaboration and reducing information silos.

8. Maintains Clear Ownership

Because documents are still owned by the source group, there is clarity about who to contact for questions, updates, or approvals.

9. Improves Governance and Compliance

A single source of truth (SSOT) makes it easier to manage document retention, approvals, version control, and regulatory requirements.

10. Increases Trust in Content

Users can have greater confidence that they are viewing the official, approved document rather than an outdated copy maintained elsewhere.

See Also


Keywords:
sending generate generating requests use documents articles other kb groups sites spaces share sharing "use docs from" "Use Docs from..." request single source of truth expertise authoritative version accuracy life cycle management collaboration 
Doc ID:
43054
Owned by:
Matt G. in KB User's Guide
Created:
2014-08-21
Updated:
2026-09-15
Sites:
KB User's Guide
Documents Tab