Welcome to our Acrolinx Sidebar quick start. Here you'll learn:
In short: You use the Sidebar to check the quality of your content wherever you create it. After the check, you get a score and suggestions for improvements.
When you use an Acrolinx Integration, you’ll sign in to Acrolinx and get the Sidebar in return. The Acrolinx processes and reads your content when you run a check. Then, it feeds the Sidebar with the outcome of the check. You’ll get your results in colored cards.
Notice
Depending on your setup, the Sidebar integrates into various content-creation tools.
Look out for the little Acrolinx check mark, which will appear in blue or black. Depending on your environment, you might not see it straight away. It's usually included in toolbars and ribbon menus, but sometimes you'll find it listed under add-ons or plugins.
Tip
If you can't find the Sidebar, look at the documentation specific to your Acrolinx Integration. There’s a "Where's my Sidebar?" article that will help you.
Click the check mark icon to toggle the Sidebar!
When you open the Sidebar for the first time, Acrolinx'll ask you for connection details. Your Acrolinx admin should’ve given you your Acrolinx URL and sign-in details. For more details visit Sign In to Acrolinx.
And you're in!
In the Sidebar, you can select the style guide you want to check with. A style guide contains approved style guidance for a particular type of content. You could have a style guide for blog posts and another one for technical documentation. Whoever administers Acrolinx at your company can set these up for you.
Before you start checking, make sure that you have the right style guide. Your Acrolinx admin might have already set a preferred style guide for you. Only change the style guide, if you're sure you need to.
To change the style guide, follow these steps:
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Click the Options tab in the slide-out menu.
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Select an item in the style guide drop-down. Acrolinx configures the rest of the settings for you.
Tip
If you can’t see any style guides in the drop-down, you may not have any style guides assigned to you yet.
Now, you can start checking!
After you've chosen a style guide, you're ready to run a check.
To run a check, follow these steps:
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Click the CHECK button in the first tab at the top of the Sidebar.
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Unless your content is flawless, Acrolinx might find some issues. The Sidebar shows content issues with interactive colored cards.
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(Optional) You can choose which issue types to focus on by selecting specific cards to display. Expand the All issues drop-down and click on a goal name to hide the related issues.
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Click through your Sidebar cards and decide which suggestions you want to accept. Use AI-suggestions to rewrite your content when needed. Visit The Sidebar Card Guide to learn about issue types and card interactions.
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Run another check to see how your content has improved.
Acrolinx gives you a Scorecard that scores your content based on the goals that you're checking for. You also get an overall Acrolinx Score.
To view your Scorecard, click on your Acrolinx Score at the top right of the Sidebar or click Scorecard in the slide-out menu. Learn more about the Scorecard in Scorecard Essentials.