Bringing your existing knowledge into Waybook is the fastest way to give your team one place to find what they need. There are four ways to get content into a step, and each one suits a different job. Pick your route based on two things: what you already have, and what your team needs to do with it.
Import turns a file into an editable Waybook document.
Embed shows the original inside a step, exactly as designed.
Attach adds a file your team can download.
Create lets you write it in Waybook from scratch, with or without AI.
Most teams use all four, matching each piece of content to the route that suits it best.
Not Sure Where to Start? Ask Three Questions
Will your team read and search it in Waybook, and will you keep it updated here? Import it or create it. You get an editable document with search, tests and version history.
Does it need to look exactly as it was designed, or is it a video? Embed it. The original shows right in the step, with nothing to download.
Does your team need to take the file away with them? Attach it. This is the one for forms, templates, certificates and anything people fill in or print.
Import: Turn a File into a Waybook Document
Start here if you have a written document, like a policy, a code of conduct, a procedure, or a training deck that's really a document in slide form.
Waybook imports Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Markdown files:
From the New Step menu or within Create, select Import.
If you're importing from Create, choose the Subject the document belongs in.
Drag and drop your file into the uploader.
Edit and publish it like any other Waybook document.
What comes across: your words, your images, and the formatting a Waybook document can hold, like headings, colors, lists and tables.
What stays behind: the design of the original file. Custom fonts, slide layouts and backgrounds belong to Word or PowerPoint, so an imported deck reads as a document rather than looking like the slides.
That's the real win of importing. From now on your content is searchable, you can test your team on it, and you update it in Waybook instead of tracking down the old file.
đĄ Waybook Tip:
Style one document of each type first, then use it as the model for the rest. A consistent look across fifty documents comes from one template, not fifty restylings.
Use Split Step to break a long import into short steps your team can work through one at a time.
AI can polish an import with AI Actions and draft a test for it, but you can import and edit without it.
Learn more in Import Existing Documentation and Importing from Markdown into Waybook.
Embed: Show the Original Inside a Step
Start here if you have a designed PDF, like a brochure, slide deck or poster, or a video on Loom, YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia or a similar platform.
Embedding keeps the original exactly as it is and shows it right in the step:
For a PDF, choose to embed a PDF from the + menu or slash commands, then upload your file.
For a video, paste the platform's embed code or link into the Waybook embedder. If your tool gives you an embed code, it'll work.
Training from slides? Try this
Embed the deck as a PDF.
Add a short summary step above it so your team can find it in search.
Add a test step below it.
Print a QR code for the room so people can open it on their phones.
Embedding from Google
Google files need the right sharing settings before they'll show. A Google Drive video needs to be shared with Anyone with the link, and a Google Doc, Sheet or Slide needs to be published to the web first.
Can't make a file public?
Some teams can't share files outside their own domain. That only rules out Google embeds. Import the document instead, or save it as a PDF and embed the PDF. Both live inside Waybook with your normal permissions and no outside sharing.
If an embed that used to work stops showing, check the sharing on the original file first. For more help, see Can I embed content from Google?, Why are Google embeds not working? and Embedding Videos in Steps.
Attach: Add a File to Download
Start here if your team needs to take a file away with them, like a form to fill in, a template to copy, a certificate, or a checklist to print.
Open the editor menu with the + icon or slash commands.
Select Attach File.
Upload your file.
Add a short line of text next to it saying what the file is and what to do with it.
đĄ Waybook Tip:
If your team needs to find a file by what it says, import it instead, so the words live in Waybook.
For video, embed it so it plays right in the step.
Learn more in File Attachments, including when to attach a PDF and when to embed it.
Create: Write It in Waybook
Start here if the knowledge lives in someone's head, a Loom recording, a transcript or rough notes, and nothing is written up yet. You've got three ways to capture it:
Type a document directly in Waybook.
Draft one with the AI Document Writer from your notes or a transcript.
Capture a process on screen, step by step, with Waybook Shots.
Set your tone of voice and document types once in Settings > AI, so every author gets consistent results. AI is a shortcut, never a requirement. Everything in Waybook works without it.
For more on writing documents your team will love using, see Best Practices for Creating Documents.
All Four Routes at a Glance
Route | Best for | What your team sees | Edit it in Waybook |
Import | Policies, procedures and text-heavy decks (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Markdown) | An editable Waybook document | âď¸ |
Embed | Designed PDFs and videos | The original, shown in the step |
|
Attach | Forms, templates, certificates and checklists | A file to download |
|
Create | Knowledge that isn't written up yet | An editable Waybook document | âď¸ |
đĄ Waybook Tip:
Waybook has four levels: Category, Subject, Document and Step. Subjects don't sit inside other Subjects, so if you find yourself wanting folders inside folders, add more Subjects and set permissions on them instead. Learn more in Best Practice for Structuring Waybook.
Need help choosing? Your account manager will happily go through your document types with you and agree on a route for each before you build anything. Or get in touch with our customer success team to plan your setup.