How to Interpret Article Statuses and Metadata
Summary
Learn to interpret the various statuses and metadata associated with your articles. This guide explains the meaning of tags like "Unpublished changes," "Draft," and visibility settings such as "Internal" or "Public."
When to Use This
Use this guide to quickly understand the current state of any article in your knowledge hub by looking at its information in the main list. This is helpful for tracking content updates, visibility, and authorship.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Locate the Article Status: Find the tag next to an article's title. "Unpublished changes" means an existing article has pending edits, while "Draft" indicates it has never been published.
- Check Article Visibility: Look for the "Internal" or "Public" status icon. "Internal" articles are private to your team, whereas "Public" articles are visible to everyone. 3s. Review Author and Time Stamps: Below the title, you can see who published the article and when it was last updated. Hovering over a relative time (e.g., "2 minutes ago") reveals the exact date and time.
- Understand Nested Documents: The metadata also shows if an article has "nested documents," indicating it is a parent article with child articles organized under it.
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Common Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between a "Draft" and an article with "Unpublished changes"? A "Draft" is an article that has been created but never made public. "Unpublished changes" applies to an already published article that has been edited but the new changes have not been published yet.
Who can view articles marked as "Internal"? Only logged-in users within your organization can view articles with an "Internal" status.
How can I see the exact time an article was updated? Hover your mouse cursor over the relative time stamp (e.g., "updated 1 minute ago") to display a tooltip with the precise date and time.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Published Article Not Visible Externally: If a customer cannot see an article you published, check its status to ensure it is marked as "Public" and not "Internal."
- Outdated Live Article: If you notice that a live article doesn't contain the latest information, check if it has an "Unpublished changes" tag. This indicates that the updates have been saved but not yet published.