Why are images duplicated in Zendesk storage for Guide articles? | Community
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Why are images duplicated in Zendesk storage for Guide articles?

  • July 19, 2021
  • 3 replies
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D

I've just posted this same question as a support request, but want to ask it here, too:

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Having recently used kBackup to download my entire Guide repository, I am trying to understand how Zendesk saves images.

I have one article that uses the same image (i_icon.png) three times in the article. When I look for that image in "Article Images" - I see it ONE TIME.

BUT kBackup has downloaded the same image THREE times, each named with numbers appended to the original file name. So I have:

* i_icon.png
* i_icon_1.png
* i_icon_1_2.png

The HTML in the article only refers to "i_icon.png", not the other names... WHY does Zendesk duplicate repeated images even in the SAME article.

This will cause problems when I'm moving my repository to another system, as I have to figure out how to clean up duplicate images without breaking my articles.

Because of this duplication, my Zendesk Guide repository has over 8000 images. I do not need to bring all 8000 into my new system, but de-duplicating is going to be a major project.

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      3 replies

      Dave12
      • Dave12
      • July 20, 2021

      Hi Donna,

      Since kBackup is a third-party tool, we don't have a lot of expertise in why that would be happening. Can you ask your question in the comments thread here? Felix has been pretty responsive to questions there. Thanks! Back up your Help Center articles at the click of a button!

      D
      • Donna12
      • Author
      • July 20, 2021

      I don't think this is a "problem" of kBackup. Why can't I get anyone to just tell me HOW duplicate images are handled in Zendesk? If I use "icon.png" 3 times in a single article, but I've only uploaded it into that article ONCE - what's in the image repository?

      I see this in the HTML code:

      <img src="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/360052360694/i_icon.png" alt="i_icon.png"> each time the image appears, but I have no direct access to "article_attachments" to be able to see what's actually STORED there.

      Dave12
      • Dave12
      • July 29, 2021

      Hi Donna, thanks for your patience.

      When you upload an image for a Zendesk help center article, it will only be stored once in Zendesk for that article. That's why you see your image only once when you look at "Article images" in the article, and that's also why you see the same url for all three images when you examine the HTML code for the article.

      (Note that if you upload the same image to be used in a different article, it will be uploaded as a separate copy. But for each article, the image will only be stored once in Zendesk.)

      I suspect that when you download your article using kBackup, it's attempting to download the same image three times, and when it sees the file name in use (e.g. i_icon.png), it appends a number to distinguish the second and third files (* i_icon_1.png and i_icon_1_2.png). This may be something that kBackup is doing on purpose, or it may be something that Windows is doing automatically. But I know it is not something that is being done by Zendesk.

      I hope that helps clarify things, and again I would suggest contacting Felix via the link I shared earlier, as he has shown to be very responsive to customer questions.

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