Definition
A Draft Article is a Knowledge article in draft status that has not yet been published for end-user access. Authors can save, edit, and preview draft articles before submitting them for review and eventual publication.
Real-World Example
At their company, a customer success manager at CloudNine Solutions leverages Draft Article to streamline support operations and reduce the backlog of unresolved customer issues. With Draft Article in place, the team routes cases to the best-qualified agents, tracks SLA compliance automatically, and provides self-service options that deflect 30% of incoming volume.
Why Draft Article Matters
A Draft Article in Salesforce Knowledge is an article in Draft status, meaning it has been created but not yet published for end-user access. Authors can save, edit, format, and preview draft articles freely before submitting them through the review and publication workflow. Drafts are visible only to the author and other users with appropriate permissions, not to customers or other end users browsing the Knowledge base.
Drafts are the natural starting state for any new Knowledge article, and they're also created when an existing published article is edited (the changes go into a draft version while the published version stays live). This dual-version model lets authors work on updates without taking the published article down. Once the draft is ready, it goes through any approval process the org has configured and is then published, replacing the previous version. Mature Knowledge programs treat draft management as a real workflow with stages, owners, and quality checks rather than letting drafts pile up unmanaged.
How Organizations Use Draft Article
- •CloudNine Solutions — Authors create draft articles based on emerging support trends, refine them through internal review, and publish only after a peer SME approves the content.
- •ShieldGuard Security — Maintains a 'drafts in progress' dashboard showing which articles have been in draft status for too long, so the Knowledge team can follow up and unblock authors.
- •Oceanic Corp — Uses drafts to update existing articles when product changes happen. The published version stays live until the new draft is reviewed and ready, avoiding any gap in customer-facing content.