Published Article
In Salesforce Knowledge, an article version that has been published and is live and available to users through the channels it was configured for (internal app, customer portal, or public knowledge base).
Definition
In Salesforce Knowledge, an article version that has been published and is live and available to users through the channels it was configured for (internal app, customer portal, or public knowledge base).
In plain English
“A Published Article in Salesforce Knowledge is an article version that has been published and is live for users to see. Depending on how it's configured, it might appear in the internal app, a customer portal, or a public knowledge base on your website.”
Worked example
Tarrybrook Software's Knowledge team has 1,400 Knowledge articles in their org. Of those, 1,180 are Published Articles - live, searchable, and visible to customers via the help center; 180 are Draft articles in progress; 40 are Archived (retired but retained). When a Published Article needs an update, the author creates a new Draft version, edits, reviews, and publishes - at which point the new version becomes Published and the prior version automatically Archives. The Published Article state is what users actually see; Drafts and Archives are management states the audience never sees.
Why Published Article matters
In Salesforce Knowledge, a Published Article is an article version that has been published and is live and available to users through the channels it was configured for (internal app, customer portal, or public knowledge base). Articles go through a publishing workflow: draft, review, publish, with publishing being the step that makes the article visible to its intended audience.
Publishing is the key state transition in Knowledge workflows because it's what makes an article visible to real users. Mature Knowledge programs enforce publishing discipline: articles shouldn't be published until they're ready, and outdated articles should be unpublished or updated. Publishing analytics (views, feedback, ratings) help identify which articles are most valuable and which need attention.
How organizations use Published Article
Maintains publishing discipline with review cycles before articles go live to customers.
Tracks published article performance through views and feedback to identify high-value content.
Unpublishes outdated articles during quarterly content reviews rather than leaving stale content visible.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Published Article.
- Publish Articles and TranslationsSalesforce Help
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is a Published Article?
Q2. Where can articles be published?
Q3. What should you do with outdated articles?
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