Reading Lists
Reading Lists group related Help Topics into steps. This is ideal for organized workflows like onboarding, product announcements, or step-by-step process guides. Each step functions as a full Help Topic, supporting rich text and integrated media.
The Reading List Viewer can launch Reading List into a light-box or new tab to suit the context.
Workflow
Create
Create Reading Lists to group Help Topics according to your requirements, e.g. New Hire Onboarding or Quarterly Sales Process.
Share
Share Reading Lists from the Quick Access Menu (QAM), as Help Guides, or standalone links.
Track
Track Reading Lists status (Draft, Published, or Archived) and control their visibility.
Reading Lists Setup
1. Create the Reading List
- Start the Reading List creation. You have two options:
In the Improved Help app, navigate to the Help Reading Lists tab and click New in the list view action bar.
If the New button is missing in the list view action bar, you can enable it by:
- Navigate to Setup > Object Manager.
- Open the List View Button Layout.
- Under Standard Buttons, mark the New checkbox.
- Provide a name for the Reading List.
- Complete the following fields in the creation form:
- Name (Required): A descriptive title for your Reading List that will appear in listings.
- Summary: A brief explanation of the list’s purpose or content.
- Type: Choose between Reading List, for general content grouping and Help Guide, for step-by-step walkthroughs.
- Lightning Presentation Style: Choose the overall style for the Reading List when shown via the Improved Help Reading List Viewer Lightning component.
- Visibility: Used to filter access via data sharing rules.
- Featured Until: Date for ending promoting the list in the Help Portal.
- Status: Lifecycle state, useful for tracking review or publishing workflows.
- Active: Enable this checkbox to make the list visible to users.
- Description: A more detailed overview (rich text supported).
- Click Create.
2. Add entries
Once a list is created, you must populate it with entries. Reading List Entries are the individual units or steps that make up a Reading List. Each entry links to a Help Topic, enabling sequential presentation of related help content. Entries can be reordered via drag-and-drop, and they support features like display settings (e.g., row/column positioning for Page Guides) and navigation controls in the Reading List Viewer.
- In the Reading List Entries tab, click Add Entry.
- Search and select existing Help Topics, or create new ones.
- Reorder entries via drag-and-drop for logical flow. You can grab any part of the entry node (not just the text) to move it.
Add Help Topic to an existing Reading List
If you are currently viewing a Help Topic and realize it belongs in a specific list:
- Open the Help Topic.
- In the Help Portal, select the Reading Lists tab and click the icon.
- Select the desired Reading List.
Pin Reading List
Help authors and admin can pin specific Reading Lists to the top of Help user's view, ensuring critical information, such as onboarding or announcements content, is not missed.
This option is available in the Reading List ellipsis menu. When clicked, the tool creates an author configuration record for the reading list component specifying that the Reading List being viewed should be the default for the component.
