TDX Knowledge: Create Drafts and View Article Revisions

TDX allows you to edit an existing article and then save your changes as a Draft. The Draft version won't be visible to others until you Approve This Revision it.

Each time you update an article, TDX generates a new version of the article with one exception: if you only change the Subject, a new version is not generated. Otherwise, all article versions are tracked in the Revisions tab where you can do the following:

  • View a previous version of an article
  • Compare the current version to any previous version 
  • Switch between the various versions when comparing
  • Restore a previous version so that it replaces the current version

In this article:

Viewing and comparing article versions

You can compare the current version of an article with any previous version. 

  1. Click the Edit Article button. 
  2. Select the Revisions tab. A list of all the versions displays in the Revision column. The current revision is labeled as Current and a Draft is labeled as Pending Review. To the far right is the Compare to Current column. It contains a Compare button for each of the previous revisions and the Draft.
    Revisions tab; 2 revisions highlighted: Draft Pending Review and Revision 4
  3. Click the Compare button associated with the revision you want to compare to the Current version. The page refreshes showing the differences between the two versions with an option to hide the changes.
         page showing the differences between the current version and the revision
    • When you are comparing a revision to the Current version, you can choose to compare it with another revision without returning to the Revisions tab.
  1. Click the Hide Changes button.
  2. Click the Compare Revisions button. The Compare Revisions window opens.
    Compare revisions window; show changes from drop-down menu; revision 3 highlighted
  3. Choose the Revision you want to view from the Show Changes From drop-down menu. 
  4. Click Compare. The screen refreshes to reveal the differences between the selected revision and the current version.

Restoring a previous version

  1. Click the Edit Article button.
  2. Select the Revisions tab.
  3. Select the revision you wish to restore. 
  4. Click the Restore to This Revision button. A confirmation window pops up asking "Are you sure you want to restore this article to Revision [#]? Choosing to continue will create a new revision of the article that is identical to this one." 
  5. Click OK. The page returns to the Revisions tab; the restored version will be marked as Current. The Summary column indicates that the current article was restored from an earlier version.
    Updated revisions tab
  6. Click the article breadcrumb to view the article.

Saving a Draft

Drafts are useful if you need to:

  • Write content that is not applicable now, but will be in the future, eg. a change to an application will be happening soon. 
  • Keep the current knowledge visible and usable while you work on updating the content behind the scenes.

Any time you edit an article you have the option of saving your changes as a draft. This creates a new version of the article (labeled Draft) that is only visible to other editors. There can only be one draft at a given time.

  1. Click the Edit Article button.
  2. Make your changes.
  3. Click the Save as Draft button. 

The next time you go to edit the article, the Draft is presented to you with an information box stating that you are editing the draft version. Click Edit Current Version if you wish to make changes to the article that is visible to others.
Information box text: "You are editing the draft version of this article. To update the draft, make the desired changes and select Save Draft. To publish the draft, select Save and Publish. Once published the draft will become the current revision of the article."

Editing, Approving, or Rejecting a Draft

When you compare a Draft to the Current version, you can choose to approve, edit, or reject the Draft. 

  1. Click the Edit Article button.
  2. Select the Revisions tab.
  3. Click the Compare button associated with the Draft version.
  4. Review the changes then choose one of the following options if appropriate.
    • Click the Edit This Revision button to edit the Draft. 
    • Click the Approve This Revision button to approve the Draft as the Current version. The page refreshes in comparison mode displaying the revision and an option to Compare Revisions. The Revisions tab is still selected.
    • Click the Reject This Revision button to reject all the proposed changes. The Reject Article Draft window opens. 
      1. Click the Notify checkbox to notify the Draft Author.
      2. Enter your Comments.
        Reject article draft dialog box; notify checkbox checked; comments entered.
      3. Click Save. The page refreshes identifying the draft as Rejected. If you make changes to the draft, it will return to Pending Review.
        Draft Reject information text box text: "This revision has been rejected. If changes are made to the draft it will return to Pending Review.' A 2nd information text box says "Showing changes from Revision 4." It includes a Hide Changes button.
      4. Click the Revisions tab to return to the list.
    • Until further notice, do NOT click Delete This Revision to delete the draft entirely.

Deleting a Not Submitted article

When you create and save an article without submitting it for approval if/when you return to edit it, a red Delete button appears in the upper-right at the top of the article. When you delete an article, you can NOT undo it. The article will be gone including any revisions.

CAUTION

  • Use the Delete button only if you are CERTAIN you no longer need the article.
  • Make sure deleting the article will have no impact on your Group or anyone else who may have edited it.

Additional Resources

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TDX ID

5546