Adding a PDF file to a Knowledge Base Article

[rbrenckle]

Hello, 

I am adding new Knowledge Base Articles (KBA) to our system which include a PDF file attached.  Currently, when clicking on the PDF file in the KBA, the file is downloaded.  To view the file, the user has to go to their downloads and open it from there. 

Is there a way in the KBA to set it up so the PDF is VIEWABLE when clicking on it in the KBA?  We would like to click on the PDF file and have it open in another window without having to download it.  This option is available when creating/editing the KBA but not when viewing the KBA in the Knowledge Base. 

Thank you!

[Monique Rogers]

You need to enable and configure Document Viewer to view files within the platform in a new tab/window. 

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/servicenow-platform/document-management-services/Documentvi...

[rbrenckle]

Thank you for the prompt response. 

We have enabled Document Viewer but are still not seeing an option to View the PDF.  If we click on it, the file is still downloaded.

Just to clarify, we are not seeing the VIEW option when we go to the Knowledge Base and select an Article.  If we are editing the article, there IS a View option there.  I have attached screenshots to help explain what we are seeing. 

The 2026-05-01_15-27-03.png shows the files when EDITING the article.

The 2026-05-01_15-29-02.png shows the files when viewing the Knowledge Base Article itself.  There are no options to view it.

[fknell]

Hi @rbrenckle,

Besides installing the plugin, you need to enable the Document Viewer for each table you intend to use it with. To do this e.g. for the incident table, filter for incident in System Definition > Dictionary and edit the record with the type Collection. Add use_document_viewer=true into the attributes field, and you’ll get the view option.  

Hope this helps!

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @rbrenckle 

Solution is given in this post : Why Do Knowledge Article Attachments Only Download as PDF? 

In the ServiceNow Knowledge Base Articles editor, create a link to the PDF and manually append

&view=true to the end of the attachment URL