For each version of an article, you can add Version Notes.
Version Notes give you a free-form text field you can use to communicate author-only notes about the versions.
Use them for things like:
- Summarize the changes you made in this version from the current active version.
- Add notes about the content owner or subject matter expert you consulted.
- Provide editorial feedback to other authors.
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 editorTry 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.
In the Versions list in the new article editor, notes for the version you're currently viewing will display in the version's card:
Sample version notes in the currently-opened version
For versions you aren't viewing, hover over a version's card to display the version notes icon (a speech bubble icon). The tooltip will tell you whether any notes exist for this version (Edit version note) or no notes exist for it (Add version note).
In the Versions list in the custom content category editor and the old article editor, versions without any notes will have a yellow icon with a plus sign to the right of them.
Versions that have notes will have a similar icon with two lines in it.
For example, in the screenshot below, version 1.00 doesn't have version notes, but all the other versions do:
To view a version note, select the notes icon next to the version number.
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 editorSample Old editorTry 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.
To view a version note in the new article editor, it depends whether you want to view a note for a version you're currently viewing or for another version.
In the Versions list in the new article editor, notes for the version you're currently viewing will display in the version's card:
Sample version notes in the currently-opened version
For versions you aren't viewing, hover over the version's card to display the version notes icon (a grey speech bubble icon). Select the version notes icon to view other version's version notes:
Sample Edit Version Note modal
In the custom content category editor and the old article editor, the version notes icon is a yellow icon to the right of the version number. When you select the icon, the note displays in a modal below the selected icon:
Authors with custom roles that don't have permission to edit article versions can view version notes, but they cannot add, edit, or remove them:
Sample Version notes when author doesn't have permission to edit versions. Note they can only Close the note.The icons for these authors will show dark grey instead of yellow:
Sample Versions section for author who doesn't have permission to edit versions
Authors with the default Editor or Writer role can add, edit, and delete version notes. If you're using a custom author role, you'll need to have these permissions:
- For article version notes: The Articles custom author role permission to Edit versions of articles. Authors with custom roles without this permission will be able to view version notes only.
- For custom content category version notes: The Category custom author role permission to Edit categories. Authors with custom roles without this permission won't be able to open custom content categories in the editor.
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 editorSample Old editorTry 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.
To add, edit, or remove a version note in the new article editor:
- Hover over the version's card.
- Select the notes icon (grey speech bubble icon) that appears between the version name and the triple dot menu. The Edit version notes modal opens:
Select the version notes icon - Make your edits in the text box itself. To remove a version note, delete all the text.
- Select Save in the modal to save the note.
Authors with custom roles that don't have permission to edit article versions can view version notes for a version they're currently viewing in the editor, but they won't have access to the version notes icon to open the modal or make any edits.
To add, edit, or remove a version note in the custom content category editor or the old article editor:
- Select the notes icon to the right of the version number. Versions with existing notes display two lines in the icon. Versions without existing notes display a plus sign in the icon:
- Make your edits in the text box itself. To remove a version note, delete all the text.
- Select Save to save your changes.
- Select Cancel to close the note without saving your changes.
- You can also select anywhere outside of the note to close the note box if you haven't made any edits.
The text field can hold a large amount of text. If more text is available, a scrollbar appears.
Use the scrollbar or drag the lower right corner to view additional text:
Authors with custom roles that don't have permission to edit article versions can view version notes, but they'll only have the option to Close version notes instead of being able to Save them:
Sample Version notes when author doesn't have permission to edit versions. Note they can only Close the note.