Set up a review gate so finished drafts are approved before anyone can publish them. This configures a standard Approval Process on the Knowledge object; a Flow-built approval is the modern alternative when you need conditional routing.
- Plan the review rules
Decide who reviews what before touching setup. Write a short review checklist (accuracy, tone, Data Category, links, duplicates) and map which article conditions route to which reviewers.
- Create the Approval Process
In Setup, build an Approval Process on the Knowledge object. Define entry criteria for which drafts need approval and add one or more approval steps that assign the right reviewers.
- Set the final approval action to keep the record editable
Choose a final approval action that leaves the approved draft editable rather than locked, because Salesforce does not publish at the end of approval. That keeps the draft ready for a publisher to act on.
- Add pre-submit automation (optional)
Build a Flow that runs on submit to block drafts with missing Data Categories, empty bodies, or broken links, so reviewers only see drafts that already clear the mechanical checks.
- Test the submit, approve, publish path
As an author, submit a draft for approval. As a reviewer, approve it and confirm the Approval History related list updates. Then click Publish and verify the article goes online.
The conditions that decide whether a given draft enters the approval process at all, for example only articles in a certain Data Category.
The reviewer or queue that receives the submitted draft. Route by Data Category, author seniority, or topic so the right expert sees each article.
The action that fires when approval completes. Choose one that keeps the record editable so a publisher can act, since approval never auto-publishes.
Appears on the article once an Approval Process is enabled. It records who approved or rejected each draft and when, giving you the audit trail.
- Approval is not publication. After the approval completes, a user must still click Publish for the article to go online.
- Submitting a draft for approval locks the record, so authors cannot keep editing while a reviewer reads it; plan the handoff around that lock.
- A user with only read access can publish a draft once its approval is complete, which is intentional but worth confirming against your access model.
- If you expect the article to auto-publish at the end of approval, publishers can get stuck; a final action that keeps the record editable is the recommended choice.