Knowledge Article Versioning - Why does the KB number increment?

MarkD · ‎05-06-2022

We would like to enable Article Versioning so that previous versions of articles are available to be referenced, however we've noticed the following behavior.

When you've checked out an article, the KB number changes.

KB0024898 3.0 will become KB0024899 v4.0 once published - why?

This also changes the sys_id of the article and URL used to reference it, which means that if we've linked to articles from catalog items or widgets on our portal, we will also need to update those.

Is there a way to enable versioning, while not incrementing the article KB numbers for each update?

Allen Andreas · ‎05-06-2022

Hi,

The reason is because a new record is created. A new record is created, because the old version is retained and can be used to revert back to, if you ever needed to.

If a user click an "old" link, it will auto-direct them to the new article.

How do you get a link to the latest version of the article regardless of which version the article is in?

Accessing the article based on the sysparm_view parameter renders the latest version of the article accessible to the user:

Knowledge V3: /kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KBXXXXXXXX
KM Service Portal: /kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KBXXXXXXX

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0713200#mcetoc_1fihli4m54s

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View solution in original post

Allen Andreas · ‎05-09-2022

Hi,

Please see my reply below to another poster for assistance on where to check and what may be going on in your instance.

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Michael QCKM · ‎05-12-2022

Thank you Barry! I was thinking the same.
I'd say something's broken or configured/misconfigured.

Allen Andreas · ‎05-12-2022

Thanks!

There's been some guidance given on what/where to check so perhaps we'll learn more so what may have been the issue 🙂

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Jason Sturgeon · ‎05-09-2022

Hi Allen, Mark said 'KB0024898 3.0 will become KB0024899 v4.0' so I am wondering if versioning is the issue. With versioning enabled the article number should remain the same but the version should increase right? That's how our instance behaves but versioning was enabled before I got here so not sure what the challenges are with turning it on later in the process.

Allen Andreas · ‎05-09-2022

Hi,

I don't think it's the actual versioning causing a problem as I've implemented it several times after the base Knowledge was all set up. If anything, that's normal because versioning comes with an additional plugin that is later turned on.

I believe it's something custom they did on their instance as this part of the screenshot they included in their original post:

Is unlike out of box messages because the field name "kb_knowledge" is used in that manner and so this definitely seems custom.

I'd recommend they check their business rules for the kb_knowledge table or check the "checkout" button (UI Action) script to see if it's been adjusted. They can simply search or the text: "Set kb_knowledge Number to" and should find where this info message is being set from.

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