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Revising Knowledge Base articles

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This article gives guidance on revising Knowledge Base (KB) articles.

Staff with access to ServiceNow and admin rights can update or amend articles in two ways:

Revising the article from ServiceNow

Revising the article using the “Action” button on the top right of the article

 

Amending the article from ServiceNow

1. Log in to ServiceNow

2. Go to the filter navigator at the top of the left-hand column and: 

  1. type Knowledge Base
  2. Choose "All" or "Published"
    ServiceNow user interface. At the top the search field, where we inserted the words Knowledge base. Under that, the Articles drop-down menu is showing the field Create new, Oublished, Retired, My flagged, All, Open submissions as main results.

 
3. Find the article you want to revise by using the Search box at the top of the page; choose the category by which you want to search by clicking on the drop-down arrow.

In the example below, we searched by the article number (KB0011997):
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4. ServiceNow will show the list of versions already created. In the example below, there are four versions (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0):
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5. By hovering over the arrows in the Workflow column, you can see the status of each version (Draft, Review, Published, Retired, Pending retirement, Cancelled). 

In the following example, Versions 1, 2 and 3 have been returned to draft form: each version has been amended or updated and the author has sent a request for approval to publish a new version of the article.

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Version 4 has been published. Since this is the latest version, this is the one you need to edit:

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6. Select the article number to open it:
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7. ServiceNow will open a window like the one here below.

In the top right-hand corner, you will see the button Checkout. Select it to start updating the article:
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8. Now you can start editing the article. A message in blue will tell you that a new version has been created for revision:

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You can now revise the article following the Editorial Style Guide.

9. If you want to save it to continue working on it later, click on "Save" at the top of the page.
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10. When you are happy with your revisions and want to make the new version available, click on "Publish".

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11. The article will now go for approval, it will not replace the version in customer view until it has been approved.  Once approved, only the latest version will be available for customers to view. 

In the example below, version 4.0 is the live article, and versions 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 are set to "Draft" – they will no longer be visible in the Knowledge Base.

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Amending the article using the “Action” button

1. From the Service Portal, select the article you want to update and open it

2. On the top right, you will find the “Actions” button:

  1. Select it - it will open a drop-down menu with the “Edit Article” button. 
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  2. Select "Edit Articles"

3. ServiceNow will open a window like the one here below. In the top right-hand corner, you will see the button "Checkout":
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4. Now you can start editing the article following the instructions contained in the section “Revising the article from ServiceNow” from step 8.

Related content

Editorial Style Guide - Communications and Marketing

How to create a new Knowledge Base article

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