Managing Article Versions

A new version of an article is created every time the article is checked out. The Knowledge Console stores and displays all such versions of each knowledge article. Article versions are stored for all article types including suggestions. The version details of an article can be accessed only from the Knowledge Console.

When an article is published, you have the option to enter a summary of the changes that have been made. In addition, you can edit the summary for other article states in the Manage Article Versions window.

If you decide you like an older version of an article better, you can revert to that version.

If the previous version of an article is of a different type than the current version, when you revert to the older version, the article will always retain the latest article type. The article type is not reverted.

Viewing Versions of an Article

To view versions of an article:

In the Navigation menu, browse to Authoring > Articles.
From the Folders List, select a folder.
From the Articles List, select the article for which you want to view versions.
Click the Edit button to check out the article.
From the Content pane, click the Context Menu button.
From the Context Menu dropdown, select Article Versions. If you are viewing versions for a suggestion, select Versions.
The Article Versions window appears. Here, you can see all the previous versions of the article listed in descending order.

You can view the general properties, metadata, content, and attachments of the previous versions. Versions of custom attributes cannot be created, hence they are not displayed in the Properties pane.

The Attachments section is not available for Quick Responses and Quick Links.

Editing the Summary of an Article Version

To edit the summary of an article version:

In the Article Versions window, select the article version for which you want to add or edit the summary.
Click the Edit Version Summary button.
The Edit Version Summary window appears. Enter a summary (up to a maximum of 255 characters).
Click Done.

Comparing the Content of Article Versions

Only two versions of an article can be compared at a time.

To compare the content of article versions:

In the Article Versions window, select the versions of the article you would like to compare.
Click the Compare button.
The Compare Versions window appears and highlights the various changes in the content between the article versions. Click the Close button to close the window.

Reverting to a Previous Article Version

To revert to a previous article version:

In the Article Versions window, select the version of the article to which you want to revert.
Click the Revert button. This automatically checks the article out, and reverts it to the selected version. If the previous article version had not been published, then the Publish State is updated to Abandoned.

You can now edit, check in, or publish the article.