How to control Knowledge Articles Versioning

[SayanG587898829]

Hello Team,

I need to understand where we can control/check the OOB Knowledge Versioning.
Or If anyone help me to understand how the Knowledge Version works
Please check the below screenshot, 

Thanks in Advance

[Dr Atul - LNG]

Hi @SayanG587898829 

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/article-versioning.html

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0713200

Have a look here

Article Versioning

Article Versioning allows contributors to create multiple versions of a knowledge article from existing published or outdated versions, preserving changes in the new version while leaving the original unchanged.

Enabling Versioning

• Install the Knowledge Management Advanced Installer plugin via System -> Plugins.
• Activate the plugin and ensure the property glide.knowman.versioning.enabled is set to true.
• Migrate V2 knowledge bases to V3 by querying the kb_knowledge_base table for records with "Release version - is - 2".

Checkout Button Visibility

• Requires Article Versioning to be enabled, the article to be in Published state, and the glide.knowman.versioning.enabled property set to true.

Editing the Latest Version

• Check out the article to create a new minor version or edit fields configured for minor edits via the glide.knowman.versioning.enable_minor_edits property.

KBVersioningSNC Script

A Script Include containing versioning-related methods, allowing customization by overriding method definitions in the KBVersioning Script Include.

Accessing the Latest Version

• Use /kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KBXXXXXXXX (Knowledge V3) or /kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KBXXXXXXX (KB Service Portal) with the sysparm_view parameter.

Permalink Behavior

• Points to the latest version accessible to the user.
• Contributors with edit access may redirect to a draft; read-only users see the published version.

View Count Discrepancies

• The kb_use table tracks total views, while the kb_knowledge view count reflects views within the last glide.knowman.view_age.days (default: 30 days).

Notifications

Subscribed users or those following the parent knowledge base receive notifications when a new version is published.

[yashkamde]

Hello @SayanG587898829 ,

To turn versioning on/off : navigate System Properties :

glide.knowman.versioning.enabled :

glide.knowman.versioning.enable_minor_edits :

Where to Check Article Versions :

Open any Knowledge Article form and scroll to the bottom. Under the Article Versions related list, you will see a timeline of all past drafts, reviews, and published numbers associated with that specific article.

The versioning works on version increments sequentially based on the article's workflow state:

• Initial Creation : 0.01 (Draft)
• Review : 0.02 (Review)
• First Publication : 1.0 (Published)
• Checkout : 1.01 (Draft)
• Republishing : 2.0 (Published)

Refer below for detailed understanding :

Article Versioning in ServiceNow Knowledge Management 

All About Knowledge Article and Knowledge Block Versioning 

If my response helped mark as helpful and accept the solution.

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @SayanG587898829 

Refer Servicenow Documentation: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/article-versioning.html

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/knowledge-article-version...

Use the Knowledge Management article versioning feature to create and maintain multiple versions of a knowledge article.

Knowledge contributors can create a new version of a knowledge article from an existing published version. This existing version can be either the latest published version or an older outdated version. All changes are stored in the new version of the article and the information in the existing article remains the same.

To track the different revisions, the article versioning feature introduces version numbering.

Knowledge article version numbers follow a specific pattern. Increments to the version number depend on the revision type.

Article version numbers follow this pattern: <major release number.minor release number>.

The type of revision being made to an article determines the increment. A minor revision increments the version number by 0.01. A major revision, such as publishing an article, increments the version to the next whole number, for example, from version 2.02 to 3.0.

The following example illustrates the life cycle of a versioned article and the changes to the version number. User action Article state Version number

Knowledge author creates a new article	Draft	0.01
Knowledge author makes a change and updates the article.	Draft	0.01
Knowledge author submits the article for review.	Review	0.02
Knowledge author recalls the article to make another change.	Draft	0.03
Knowledge article submits the article for review	Review	0.04
Approver rejects the article and requests a change.	Draft	0.05
Knowledge author makes the change and submits the article for review.	Review	0.06
Approver approves the article	Scheduled for publish	0.07
Article is published	Published	1.0
Knowledge author checks out the published article.	Draft	1.01
Knowledge author submits the article for review.	Review	1.02
Approver approves the article	Scheduled for publish	1.03
Article is published When the version 2.0 article is published, the state of the version 1.0 article changes to Outdated.	Published	2.0

Any change to the state of an article results in a version increment, except to and from the Pending retirement, Retired, and Outdated states.

[Sandesh Powar]

Hi  @SayanG587898829 ,

ServiceNow provides Out-of-the-Box (OOB) Knowledge Article Versioning through the Knowledge Management Advanced plugin (com.snc.knowledge_advanced).

Here's how it works:

1. How Knowledge Versioning Works

When a published Knowledge Article needs to be modified:

1. Open the published article.

2. Click Checkout to create a new draft version.

3. Make the required changes and save the draft.

4. Submit it for approval or publish it, depending on the Knowledge Base workflow.

5. Once the new version is published, the previous published version moves to the Outdated state.
   
   

2. Understanding Version Numbers

The versions in your screenshot represent major and minor revisions.

For example:

• 1.0 – Initial published version.

• 1.01 – First minor draft created through Checkout.

• 1.02 – Next minor revision.

• 2.0 – Next major version after the revised article is published.

• 11.0 – Eleventh major published version.

• 11.01 – Minor draft created from version 11.0.

In short:

• Checkout creates a minor version (1.0 → 1.01).

• Publishing the revised article creates the next major version (1.01 → 2.0).
  
  

3. Where to Configure Versioning

Navigate to Knowledge → Administration → Properties.

Check these properties:

Property Purpose

glide.knowman.versioning.enabled	Enables Knowledge Article Versioning.
glide.knowman.versioning.enable_minor_edits	Allows minor changes to published articles without creating a new version.
glide.knowman.versioning.minor_edit_fields	Specifies which fields can be edited without creating a new version.

For example, if you want to allow updates to Valid To and Meta without creating a new version:

• Set glide.knowman.versioning.enable_minor_edits to true.

• Set glide.knowman.versioning.minor_edit_fields to valid_to,meta.

The minor edit feature is intended for authorized knowledge administrators, knowledge base managers, and knowledge base owners.

4. Where to View Previous Versions

Navigate to:

Knowledge → Articles → All → Open the Knowledge Article → Article Versions related list.

From there, you can view the different versions and their respective states.

Important: The Knowledge Management Advanced plugin must be activated, and glide.knowman.versioning.enabled must be set to true.

Official documentation: Article Versioning.

Hope this clarifies how OOB Knowledge Versioning works!

Hope this helps! If this resolves your issue, please mark the response as helpful and accept it as the solution.

Regards,
Sandesh Powar
ServiceNow Rising Star