Ghostwrite Content | Axero Documentation

Axero's Ghostwriting feature enables designated users to create or edit content on behalf of others. This is particularly useful for allowing experts to contribute their insights or enabling editors or managers to update content they did not create.

When Ghostwriting is enabled, the designated user can create and edit content while maintaining the original author's identity. The original author will continue to receive notifications about activity on the content.

The attribution is not just what readers see. It carries into the User Activity Log and the content's version history, both of which record the designated author rather than the person who typed. So an audit of who created or changed something shows the author's name, not the ghostwriter's, and there is no separate record naming who did the work.

How to Ghostwrite Content

1. Click Create in the header.
   
   

2. Select the type of content you want to create. You can ghostwrite Articles, Blogs, Videos, and Wikis.

3. Choose the space where the content will be posted.

4. Fill in the content fields.

5. In the Author field, enter the user for whom you are posting. Start typing a name and select the user from the menu that appears. The field accepts people only, so publishing under a departmental name such as "Human Resources" means creating an account with that name and selecting it here; there is no way to type free text into the Author field.
   
   

6. Click Save and Publish to complete.
   
   

How to Enable Ghostwriting

In a Space

1. Click Manage Space > System Properties.
2. Edit the GhostwritingEnabled property.
3. Set the value to true, in lowercase. The property is read with a boolean parse, so any other word is treated as false and the feature stays off with no error shown.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Permissions.
6. Select the content type from the dropdown menu.
7. In addition to the Create and View permissions, check Edit and Select Author for the desired role.
   
   
8. Click Save Changes.

In the Top Level Community

1. Go to Control Panel > System > System Properties.
2. Edit the GhostwritingEnabled property.
3. Set the value to true, in lowercase. The property is read with a boolean parse, so any other word is treated as false and the feature stays off with no error shown.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Content in the header and select a content type.
6. Click Permissions and add Edit and Select Author permissions.

How to View Author History

To review the history of author changes, open the content and click the gear icon > View History. The Last updated by column shows who last edited the author information.

Ghostwriting Attribution with Multiple Editors

You can maintain consistent author attribution by enabling the MultipleGhostWriters system property. The MultipleGhostWriters system property allows you to maintain consistent author attribution when multiple editors contribute to content. When this property is enabled, all updates to the content are attributed to the originally assigned author, regardless of who made the changes.

This setting ensures the original author’s name remains attached to the content through all revisions, even when different contributors make edits.

With the property switched off, which is the default, attribution moves to whoever edits. The first person assigns an author and the content shows that name, but a later editor with the Select Author permission becomes the author of record for their changes unless they set the field back. That is why a piece of content published under one name can quietly change to another after someone else edits it, and it is the behavior most sites are running.

Note: For the MultipleGhostWriters property to work as expected, the GhostwritingEnabled system property must be set to true, and permissions, including Edit and Select Author, must be configured for the selected content type. 

How to Enable Multiple Ghostwriters

1. Go to Control Panel > System > System Properties.
2. Edit the MultipleGhostWriters property.
3. Set the value to true, in lowercase. The property is read with a boolean parse, so any other word is treated as false and the feature stays off with no error shown.
4. Click Save.

Viewing Author History with Multiple Contributors

To review the history of author changes, refer to the steps in the How to View Author History section.

When MultipleGhostWriters is enabled, the Author column consistently shows the originally assigned author, even if multiple contributors have made updates. The Last updated by column reflects the same author, regardless of who made the most recent edits.

Below is an example of how the author history appears with MultipleGhostWriters enabled:

Related pages

• View History (the version history the author change is recorded in)
• Content Basics (the other things you can do with any content)
• Content Types (the other content types)