Document Profiles
New 7.11
Give every technical article, runbook, or design document in a category the same skeleton. A Document Profile is an ordered list of sections, called Parts, that an Article adopts. Shared sections such as a header, a Next Step block, or a copyright footer come from Snippets, and stay identical in every Article. The sections in between are left for each Article's author to write. Edit the profile once, and every Article using it shows the new structure.
- ✅ Define an ordered structure once, reuse it across unlimited Articles
- ✅ Mix fixed, shared sections with sections each Article fills in itself
- ✅ Guarantee every Article using the profile has exactly one Main Body
- ✅ Go from a saved profile to a new Article in one click
- ✅ Start from a seeded, ready-to-copy example instead of a blank designer
Understanding Document Profiles
A Document Profile is an ordered list of Parts. Each Part is one of two kinds:
A Document Profile with three ordered Parts: a Snippet Part showing a standard header, a Content Part marked as the Main Body, and a Snippet Part showing a standard footer.
| Concept | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Part | One section slot in a Document Profile, placed in order |
| Snippet Part | A fixed, read-only section filled from a chosen Snippet |
| Content Part | An editable section that each Article fills with its own text |
| Main Body | Exactly one Content Part, marked with a radio button, as the Article's own main text. When an existing Article starts using the profile, its current content is moved into the Main Body |
| Required | A Content Part setting: an Article using the profile can't be saved while that section is empty |
Document Profile, Template, or Snippet?
All three help you write consistent Articles, but they work at different times:
| Document Profile | Template | Snippet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it gives an Article | The section layout | Starter text — for each Content Part when it uses a profile — plus tags and Custom Metadata | One reusable block of content |
| When it applies | Every time the Article is displayed | Once, when the Article is created | Every time the document is displayed |
| Editing it later | Changes every Article using it | Doesn't change Articles already created | Changes every document that includes it |
They combine: the profile owns the structure, a profile-based Template owns the starter text for each Content Part, and the Article is the instance. The seeded Standard Technical Base Template works this way on new installations (see Seeded Examples).
Designer Rules
The Document Profile can't be saved while any of these is broken:
| Designer Rule | What it prevents |
|---|---|
| Two Content Parts may not sit next to each other | Two open-ended editable sections running together with nothing separating them |
| Every Snippet Part must reference a Snippet | An empty, unresolvable section shipping to every Article that adopts the profile |
| A profile with any Content Part must have exactly one Main Body | An Article with editable sections but no designated main text, and nowhere to put an existing Article's content when it starts using the profile |
Building a Document Profile
- Open the Document Profile designer — create a new Document Profile, or edit an existing one
- Add Parts in the order they should appear: a Snippet Part (choose the Snippet it shows, with a preview) or a Content Part (an editable section with a name)
- Reorder Parts by drag and drop, or remove a Part you no longer need
- Mark exactly one Content Part as the Main Body with its radio button — the first Content Part added takes the mark by default; if that Part is later removed, the mark moves automatically to another Content Part
- Tick Required on each Content Part that every Article must fill in before it can be saved
- Save — the designer refuses the save until every rule above is satisfied
Example of the Document Profile designer with Snippet Parts, a Content Part marked as Main Body, and drag handles for reordering.
Example of choosing a Snippet for a Snippet Part, with a preview of its content.
From Profile to Article
A saved Document Profile is only a structure. It does its job once Articles use it:
The path from a Document Profile to a published Article: design the structure (blue), create and write the Article (orange), save it (green), and read the composed result (teal). Later edits to the profile reach the Article without editing it.
Add an Article Using This Profile
Click Add Article using this Profile in the Document Profile's editor header. The Article editor opens with the profile preselected and the composite workspace ready: Snippet Parts are shown locked, and each Content Part is waiting for its text.
The Add Article using this Profile button sits next to View, Add Document Profile, Clone, and Save in the Document Profile editor.
The same button is on the profile's reader page, and the same action is on its row Action menu on the Document Profiles overview.
The Add Article using this Profile button on the reader page of the seeded Standard Technical Article profile, next to Mapify, Mermaid, Edit, Print, and Download.
On the Articles overview, use With Document Profile… in the Add Article dropdown to pick a profile first. See Ways to Create an Article for every entry point and the profileId deep link.
Continue with Writing a Profile-Based Article to fill in the Content Parts and save.
Profile Changes Are Live
When a Document Profile is edited, every Article using it shows the new structure immediately — the Articles themselves are never edited, only how they're composed for display changes.
Before you change or delete a profile, check its Usage panel in the editor, or the Dependency Impact view in the reader, to see which Articles are affected. Mapify also draws the Document Profile use as an edge between the profile and each of its Articles.
Seeded Examples
Nodinite installs a complete worked example with the database, ready to copy or study:
- Five seeded Snippets: Standard Header, Standard Footer, Standard Copyright, Standard Next Step Section, and Standard Related Topics Section
- A Standard Technical Article Document Profile, built from those Snippets around two Content Parts
- A Standard Technical Base Template that uses that Document Profile and supplies starter text for its Overview and Details Content Parts, so new Articles start profile-based (new installations only; see Templates)
The Standard Technical Article profile has seven Parts, in this order:
| # | Part | Kind | Shows or holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standard Header | Snippet Part | std-header — Standard Header |
| 2 | Overview | Content Part, Main Body | The Article's own main text |
| 3 | Next Step | Snippet Part | std-next-step — Standard Next Step Section |
| 4 | Details | Content Part | Further text written per Article |
| 5 | Related Topics | Snippet Part | std-related-topics — Standard Related Topics Section |
| 6 | Standard Footer | Snippet Part | std-footer — Standard Footer |
| 7 | Copyright | Snippet Part | std-copyright — Standard Copyright |
The two Content Parts are separated by a Snippet Part, as the designer rules require.
The seeded Standard Technical Article profile: five Snippet Parts around the Overview (Main Body) and Details Content Parts.
Delete and Restore
Deleting a Document Profile hides its sections; restoring the Document Profile brings them back. A section an Article had already removed or discarded before the delete stays removed after a restore.