Generate a version PDF

PDFs for the current live article are generated and updated automatically when you publish an article or save changes to a published article.

But what about versions?

If you use the Preview access or Make Visible to Groups section to make a version visible to groups, as outlined in Version review process for readers, the PDF icon isn't visible when a member of that group views the version.

Instead, you can generate a PDF of a version from within the article editor. Version PDFs are available for 24 hours from the moment you generate them or until you save new changes to the version, whichever comes first. You are welcome to download and save the version PDF, share that download with anyone else who might not have access to KnowledgeOwl, or just use it as a record of what a version looked like at a given time.

The information below varies based on whether you're using our 2026 new editor or old editor.

To figure out which instructions to follow:

Open any article for editing.
If the lefthand navigation is collapsed and there's a link near the top of the page to Switch to old editor, follow the New editor documentation.
If the lefthand navigation is expanded and the top of the editor and the righthand column have a heavier grey background, follow the Old editor documentation.

Here are side-by-side examples of the new editor and the old editor:

Sample New editor

Sample Old editor

Try out the new editor
We'd love your feedback on the new editor. To switch to the new editor, open any article for editing and select the Switch to new editor link at the top of the editor.

Generate inactive version PDF (new editor)

To generate a PDF of an inactive version from the new article editor:

Open the article for editing.
Open the inactive version you'd like to generate the PDF of.
Select the triple dot menu in the very upper right of the article editor, next to the Open article link:
Select the triple dot menu in the far upper right of the editor, then select Export version as PDF
Select Export version as PDF.
The Generate version PDF modal opens. When the PDF is complete, select the Download version PDF link in that modal:
Select Download version PDF in the Generate version PDF modal
If you get interrupted, repeat these steps to download a version PDF you've generated within the last 24 hours.

Generate active version PDF (new editor)

To generate a PDF of an active version from the new article editor:

Open the article for editing.
In the Versions list, hover over the current active version and select the version triple dot ... menu.
Select Export as PDF.
The Generate version PDF modal opens. When the PDF is complete, select the Download version PDF link in that modal.
If you get interrupted, repeat these steps to download a version PDF you've generated within the last 24 hours.

PDF layout
Active version PDFs generated this way will use the Article Version layout for the PDF, not the Article layout. Refer to Change the version PDFs' format or text for more information on customizing that layout to more closely match your article layout.

Generate inactive version PDF (old editor)

To generate a PDF of an inactive version in the old article editor:

Open the article for editing.
Open the inactive version you'd like to generate a PDF of.
When viewing an inactive version, there's a warning across the top letting you know it's a version. Within that warning, you may see several different links depending on whether this version has been made visible to groups or not.
Select Generate version PDF in the banner to generate the PDF. You can navigate away while it generates, if you'd like.
Generate version PDF link when the version has been made visible to groups

Generate version PDF link when the version has not been made visible to groups
Once the PDF is generated, the link in the warning will update to read Download version PDF. Select that link to download the version PDF that you just generated.
Download version PDF link in the banner
Once PDFs are generated, they can also be accessed through the article editor's righthand column. (Note: these options won't exist if you've kept this page open through the entire PDF generation; you may need to refresh the page to see them!)
To download a PDF of the version you're currently viewing, click the Version actions triple dot menu to the right and select Download PDF:
Click the Version actions ... menu and select Download PDF
To download the version PDF for a version you aren't currently viewing, click the link icon to the right of the version in the Versions list:
Click the link icon to the left of the version notes icon

Once a version PDF has been generated, it is available until any changes to the version are saved. Once you make any edits and save, the link will switch back to "Generate version PDF". If no changes are made, the PDF will remain available for download for 24 hours from when you first generated it. You can regenerate a new version PDF after that window has passed if you need it again!

Generate active version PDF (old editor)

To generate a PDF of an active version from the old article editor:

Open the article for editing. It should open to the active version.
Select Generate version PDF above the View Article link in the main editor pane:
Generate version PDF link for active version
As with the inactive version PDF, the link will update to Download version PDF once the PDF has been generated. Active versions don't get the triple dot Version actions menu, so you can only download the version PDF from the main pane if you have this version open. Alternatively, you can open any other version to see the version PDF link in the Versions list and download using that link.

Generate a version PDF