How to restrict a knowledge article on a user role, group or other criteria?

Rain Vaine · ‎03-31-2023

Hello,
Is there a way to restrict a specific knowledge article depending on a user role? Or if not the knowledge article, is it possible to restrict the categories displayed in the portal? It seems that restriction on knowledge articles is applied on knowledge base using user criteria and I cannot find a way to restrict a select knowledge article.

Community Alums · ‎03-31-2023

Hi @Rain Vaine ,

You Will have to create a User criteria using : https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-servicenow-platform/page/product/knowledge-management/task/c...

Then follow the below steps :

Open a knowledge article.

Note: You can update only the latest version of the knowledge article.

Assign access based on user criteria.

Access

Procedure

Allow read access

In the Can Read field, search for and add user criteria. For example, to allow read access to a user, search for a user criteria that the user matches and add it to this field.

Deny read access

In the Cannot Read field, search for and add user criteria. For example, to deny read access to a user, search for a user criteria that user matches and add it to this field.

Note:

If users have contribute access to the knowledge base, they also have read access to the knowledge article regardless of the Cannot Read setting.
Activate the property (glide.knowman.apply_article_read_criteria) to override contribute access to a knowledge article based on Can Read and Cannot Read user criteria at the article level. For more information, see Knowledge Management properties.
Users who meet both Can Read and Cannot Read user criteria are denied read access to the knowledge article. The Cannot Read setting overrides the Can Read setting for the knowledge article.

Note: If the Can Read and Cannot Read fields aren't visible, configure the Knowledge form to display them. For more information, see Configuring the form layout.

On the Knowledge form, click Update, and then click Publish to apply the changes.

View solution in original post

Community Alums · ‎07-29-2024

I am having the same issue. How were you able to restrict users from reading a Knowledge Base and the articles in them even if they have the knowledge_admin role?

Mayank Das · ‎04-16-2024

Hi @Rain Vaine,

Article level user criterias are available on the article form itself as fields. You need to configure the form layout to display those fields on the form. You do not need to add the article level user criterias using Related List.

Hope this solves your question.

BrianR · ‎09-19-2024

If you have a general access knowledge base defined with a Can read = SNC_Internal, the assumption is that anyone not in that criteria group Cannot Read even though the Cannot Read option is not populated on the knowledge base correct? So in this example, only internal employees are able to read. Given the above configuration, it seems not easily possible to configure a specific article to be readable by only a single department, lets say the "maintenance" department. All internal employees have been added to the Can Read (SNC_Internal) which would include the maintenance dept, so you would need to create a criteria that somehow includes every possible viewer in the organization, except those you wish to be able to read the article (the maintenance dept), and add that new massive criteria to the Cannot Read at the article level. If you specify only the maintenance dept in the Can Read at the article level, this doesnt seem to mean that only the maintenance department can see the article presumably because all internal employees are that the knowledge base level, essentially making the article can read setting redundant.

----
Knowledge Base Level
Can Read - SNC Internal
Cannot Read - Blank
Result - Gives read access to all internal employees (including maintenance) to all articles

Article Level
Can Read - Maintenance
Cannot Read - Blank
Result - All internal employees (including maintenance) still can read the article
----
Knowledge Base Level
Can Read - SNC Internal
Cannot Read - Blank

Article Level
Can Read - Maintenance
Cannot Read - Some super duper criteria group that includes everyone but maintenance
Result - Only maintenance can read the article
----

The takeaway being you have to be able to create that super criteria to be able to micromanage access to an article. Do I have any of this incorrect?

PennyDMc · ‎06-10-2025

Same question about restricting articles at the article level vs. knowledge base level.......

Can it be assumed that if you set the override contribute access based on can/cannot read to Yes and you populate who can read an article, with that take precedence over the knowledge base criteria settings?

For example:

1. I have an IT knowledge base where the can read criteria is set to the ITIL role

2. I have a subset of articles that I want to restrict to only one group

3. If I set the glide.knowman.apply_article_read_criteria to True to override contribute access to a knowledge article base don Can/Cannot read user criteria, AND add the group to the Can read user criteria on those articles, will only that group be able to read that subset of articles?

Thoughts?