How to Create and Publish a Knowledge Article
Intended for:
Service providers who want to create a knowledge article in ServiceNow.
Scenario/Use case:
This article details how to create and publish a knowledge article in ServiceNow.
There are two types of versions of knowledge articles: Major and Minor. Minor versions include updates to an article that has not yet been published. Changes in minor versions don’t appear to end users until the article is published as a major version. Major versions include updates to an article that has already been published and is available to users. Depending on the knowledge base you are using, these updates may kick off an approval workflow. Once the workflow has completed, the new major version will be published and available to end users.
If your article is in the “Self Help” knowledge base, which is available to end users, after you click the Publish button, the article will be sent to the ITIL Usability, Knowledge and Communications Group in the Information Technology Division for review and approval and will not be viewable by the public. If your article is in the “Computing Services” knowledge base, no approval is required. (For questions about other knowledge bases, contact the knowledge base owner or the Service Desk.)
This article details how to:
- Create an article using a template
- Add an image to your article
- Add a document (e.g., a PDF file) to your article
- Add a link of another end-user-facing article to your article
- Save your article
- Publish your article
Instructions:
Creating a knowledge article using a template
1. Log in to ServiceNow at https://servicedesk.fnal.gov.
2. In the left navigation pane, type “knowledge” in the search box. Click Knowledge and then click the Create an Article icon in the top-right corner.
3. The article creation form will appear. By default, a template for writing how-to instructions will appear. If you want to create an article about a known issue, select Issues KB template instead. To do so, click the icon at the top and select Toggle Template Bar.
You will see two template selections at the bottom. Select the appropriate template.
4. Fill out the following fields:
- Owning Group: Click the magnifying glass to view a list of groups. Select one group as the owning group for this article.
- Knowledge Base: Select a knowledge base for your article. “Self Help” hosts documentation for end users. “Computing Services” hosts documentation for service providers; it is not viewable by end users.
- Short Description: Enter a short description for your article.
- Meta: Enter some key words for your article to facilitate keyword search.
5. Enter the body of your article in the Text area.
Adding an image to your article
1. To insert an image, click the image icon in the tool bar.
2. A pop-up window will appear asking you to select images. Click the down arrow to select Attachment from the dropdown list. Then click the New button to select an image from your computer. Finally, click Attach to upload the image.
3. Enter information in the Tooltip and Alt fields as needed. Then click OK.
Adding a document (e.g., a PDF file) to your article
1. Click the attachment icon at the top to upload a file from your computer.
2. To insert a link that points to the document you’ve just uploaded, click the link icon in the tool bar.
3. Click the down arrow to select Attachment from the dropdown list and select the document you’ve just uploaded.
Note: Make sure you do NOT select Display attachments or Attachment link checkbox unless you want to display your attachment files explicitly.
Adding a link of another knowledge article to your article
If you want to add a link of another knowledge article to your article, use the following link format:
/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB_number
For example, for KB0013375, the link should be /kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0013375
Saving your article
Click the Save button at the top at any time to save your work in a minor version.
Notes:
- You will need to publish the article before users can see it.
- You can also click the Update button at the top to save your work, but please note that once you click that button, you will exit the edit mode.
Publishing your article
To publish your article, click the Publish button at the top. This will create a major version.
- If your article is in the “Self Help” knowledge base, you will see the message “This knowledge item is in review”. This means the article has been sent to the ITIL Usability, Knowledge and Communications Group in the Information Technology Division for review and approval. Once the article has been approved, end users will be able to see it.
- If your article is in the “Computing Services” knowledge base, you will see the message “This knowledge article has been published” and service providers will be able to see the article without requiring any approval.