Using Article Versions in Knowledge base

Using Article Versions in Knowledge base

Versioning helps to keep track of and manage multiple revisions applied to a KBase article. You can view different versions of an article, compare an older version, restore to a previous version, leave a note on a particular version and much more.

Benefits
  • Retrace the history of an article since the date and time it was first created until present. You can click on a major or minor version to see the changes made, who made them and when.
  • Compare any two versions of an article to view the changes it underwent. The differences between the versions are highlighted to fix inaccuracies if any.
  • Restore an older version of an article if need be. It effectively means one thing: you can't mess up! The old version when restored will create a new one, making it the latest version.
  • Add notes to existing versions of an article. It can be a change you have made in that version or merely an alert to other agents.

How do versions work?
Any time you change the content of an article – a new version is created. If you just view an article or update their properties (like Title, SEO information, etc.) – the new version is not created, it is only created when you actually change something in the content editor.

What are 2 types of versioning?
You can have both minor and major versions on an article. Both the versions are identified numerically wherein unique numbers are assigned in increasing order. For example, version 0.1 is used to denote the initial draft or the minor version of an article. A major version is numbered by increasing the first part of the version number, e.g., 1.0. Subsequent minor versions are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and so on.

Minor Versions
Minor versions are created when you save a draft of an article. There is no limit on the number of minor versions you can save except that it makes the user interface more complicated.

They are highly useful when:
  • The current article (major version) is published and available online.
  • You need to review and update the article or want to propose a change while the published document is still the official one.
  • This reviewed, updated or changed article version is added to the Drafts folder and kept invisible to the end users until it has been published as the new official article.

Major Versions
Major versions are created when you publish an article. If an article requires approval, it remains as a draft until the reviewer publishes it and assigns it a major version. Please note that only the published or the major version of the an article is accessible for your end users in the Help Center.

How to view version history?
You can keep track of all of the edits that were made in an article under the Versions tab.
To see the versions in an article:
  1. Click the Knowledge Base (KB) module.
  2. Navigate to the article for which you want to see version history.
  3. Click the Edit icon (  ) in the top menu bar.
    The article editor opens.
  4. Click Versions at the top of the right panel.
    You can view all the versions created for the article along with their respective owners and the time stamp.

How to add a version note?
You can add a short description to an article's version to help you remember the changes you’ve made to it.
To add a note to a version:
  1. Click the Knowledge Base (KB) module.
  2. Navigate to the article in which you want to add a note.
  3. Click the Edit icon (  ) in the top menu bar.
    The article editor opens.
  4. Click Versions at the top of the right panel.
    You will see the minor and major versions if available.
  5. Click on the version for which you want to add a note.
  6. Click +Add Note link corresponding to it and then enter the description.
  7. Click Add.
The description you've entered will be displayed on hovering the version. You may click the Edit link to modify the note.

Note:
  • You can't delete a note that's left on a version.
  • The note cannot exceed the maximum length of 250 characters. 

How to compare versions?
You can compare two specific versions of an article to view what has changed between the versions. It is especially helpful when several people work together on articles, or when information goes through several stages of drafts and review. Please keep in mind that you can compare only the contents of two article and not their properties like Title, SEO information etc.
To compare two versions:
  1. Click the Knowledge Base (KB) module.
  2. Navigate to the article in which you want to compare versions.
  3. Click the Edit icon (  ) in the top menu bar.
    The article editor opens.
  4. Click Versions at the top of the right panel.
    You will see the minor and major versions if available.
  5. Click Compare link at the top of the versions panel.
  6. Check the boxes next to the versions you would like to compare. You can select a maximum of 2 versions.
  7. Click Compare at the bottom of the versions panel.
  8. On the next screen, you will see the results of the comparison.
When you compare versions, Zoho Desk displays the two versions side-by-side — the most recent one on the left and the version that you are comparing it with on the right side of the window. The two versions scroll synchronously so that you can see the changes in context. You can also click the Expand icon (  ) to view the comparison panes on a larger window.

Note:
  • You cannot edit the versions while you are comparing them.

How to track changes during comparison?
You can track changes between two versions based on colors. Text that has been removed is marked in red, text that has been added is marked in green and text that has been modified will be marked in blue.

How to restore a version?
You can review different versions of your article and restore to an earlier version if required. 
To restore to an earlier version:
  1. Click the Knowledge Base (KB) module.
  2. Navigate to the article in which you want to restore a version.
  3. Click the Edit icon (  ) in the top menu bar.
    The article editor opens.
  4. Click Versions at the top of the right panel.
    You will see the minor and major versions if available.
  5. Review the versions that are listed and select the one to be restored.
  6. Click Restore this version at the top of the versions panel.
    Note: Quick Edit is displayed for the version that is available online.
    The contents from your restored version will be loaded into your editor.
  7. Click Publish.

What is Quick Edit?
The quick edit mode allows you to edit articles in-version. Specifically, it enables you to start in-version editing of the article's content without having to create a new major version. But there is a catch. The quick edit option is available only when an article is published and also has a draft version in progress. We'll look at it through an example.

Let's say you have an article published under the version 3.0. Subsequently, you have been working on a new draft of it say, version 3.1. This new draft will be available under the My Drafts view of your KBase. Now, what if you want to edit the live version (i.e., v3.0) without publishing the changes in its draft. This is where the Quick Edit feature comes in handy. It allows you to edit and publish the article in its current version without having to interfere with its draft content.

You can click the Quick Edit icon (  ) in an article to edit it in-version. However, this option is available only for articles under the Published and My Articles view.

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