While the in-app version review process can work well if all of your reviewers are also KnowledgeOwl authors, it's quite possible you have reviewers or subject matter experts who don't have author accounts in KnowledgeOwl.
Or you might want reviewers to be able to see that version they're reviewing live in the full knowledge base, so they can see how it will look to your readers.
For this scenario, use the Preview access settings (new article editor) or the Make Visible to Groups settings (category editor and old article editor). These settings allow you to publish a new version of an article or custom content category to only specific reader groups accessing your knowledge base, so they can view that version as it will appear when it's fully activated. They'll also generate a version-specific URL for your reviewers to access that version in the live knowledge base.
Authors with the default Editor or Writer role can make category and article versions visible to reader groups. If you're using a custom role:
- To make article versions visible, you'll need the Articles custom author role permission to Edit versions of articles.
- To make custom content category versions visible, you'll need the Categories custom author role permission to Edit categories.
How it works
The Preview access and Make Visible to Groups settings display all the reader groups available in your knowledge base.
Use the reader group checkboxes in these sections to share the version live with members of the reader group.
Once you save those changes, a banner message near the top of the editor gives you options to view the version live or copy the version's permalink. Share that permalink with your reviewers. They'll need to be logged in and a member of the selected reader group to access the version.
For these readers, the version will also appear as a separate entry in the knowledge base's table of contents under the article's active version:
Sample version 2.00 shared with reviewer preview access in table of contents
All other readers will continue to only see the current active version in the knowledge base.
Once you activate the version, the Preview access or Make Visible to Groups section disappears entirely and the regular Read access or Restrict to Groups permissions apply.
How to make a version visible to specific groups
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 new article editor, you can share versions this way by setting the Preview access in the Permissions section. To do so:
- Open an article for editing.
- Open the version you'd like to share with reviewers.
- In the Permissions section, select any of the text next to Preview access:
Select any of the text next to Preview access.The Version-specific visibility modal opens. - Select Share with specific reader groups.
- Use the checkboxes to select the reader groups you'd like to share this inactive version with. For example, in this screenshot, we're making our version visible only to members of our KO Authors Only reader group:
Sample Preview access set to the KO Authors Only reader group - Be sure to Save your changes.
- Once you save your changes, a banner in the main editor pane just below the article title includes links to View version or Copy version link. Share the version link with your reviewers so they can view the version.
In the custom content category editor and the old article editor, use the Make Visible to Groups section to share your version with specific reader groups.
The Make Visible to Groups section only appears in the editor when you're viewing an inactive version of:
- An article with a Published or Needs Review publishing status
- A custom content category
Draft articles will not show a Make Visible to Groups section.
When it's visible, the Make Visible to Groups section appears in the righthand panel of the editor:
- In the article editor, this section displays between Inherited Restrictions and Restrict to Groups/Add More Restrictions.
- In the custom content category editor, it displays between the In Category section and the Inherited Restrictions section.
The Make Visible to Groups section shows all the reader groups available in your knowledge base:
Sample Make Visible to Groups section in the article editor
To share the article or custom content category version with members of those groups:
- Check the boxes next to the groups you'd like to make this version visible to.
- Save your changes.
A banner appears at the very top of the article editor with links to Copy Version Link, View Version, and Generate version PDF:
Sample options in the version calloutHere's what each link does:
- Copy Version Link: Copies the URL for this particular version to your clipboard, so you can paste it somewhere else (like an email, a note, etc.).
- View Version: Opens the knowledge base to this version in a new tab.
- Generate version PDF: Generates a PDF you can download to share with your reviewers instead of having them review the version in the live knowledge base. (This is available even if you haven't made visible to groups!) Refer to Generate a version PDF for more information on using this PDF; refer to Change the version PDFs' format or text for instructions on tweaking the format of the version PDF.
This version will only be accessible by readers in the groups you select in Make Visible to Groups.