For each knowledge article created in ServiceNow, there are two versions of the "Permalink." Once an article is assigned its permalilnks, the links will not change, even if the article is retired and then republished.

UT Self-Service Permalink (Recommended)

The first permalink is the UT Self-Service version of the link. Using this link will direct users to a view of the knowledge article that is UT-branded and displayed within the UT ServiceNow website's interface, giving users the ability to access all the features on the self-service website from the article.

Using this link will also direct users to log in if certain credentials or permissions are required to access a certain knowledge article. A message will appear indicating that authentication is required, then the user will be directed to UTlogin to authenticate before either being directed back to the article or receiving a message that they are not authorized to view the article.

The UT Self-Service permalink is displayed at the bottom of the body of each knowledge article both in the fulfiller view of the article (more on that below) and on the edit view of the article. The link looks like this:

This is the recommended link to use any time you are providing a direct link to a knowledge article.

Sample Self-Service View Permalink view:

Fulfiller Permalink

The second permalink is the Fulfiller version of the link. Using this link will direct users to the internal view of the knowledge article, which is what fulfillers see when navigating knowledge within the ServiceNow tool. This version of the link does not include UT-specific branding and does not include the self-service website navigation. This is the view of knowledge fulfillers have by default when accessing articles within the ServiceNow tool.

This version of the link also assumes authentication, since it leads to an internal view. Currently, if a user tries to access an article from this version of the link that requires authentication, and they are not logged in or do not have appropriate permissions, they receive a misleading "Article Not Found" error rather than being redirected to login. Assuming the fulfiller has appropriate permissions, they can log in to ServiceNow to view the article, but will need to navigate back to the knowledge article link rather than being automatically redirected.

As such, this version of the link should generally be avoided unless it is being shared with a known fulfiller, and even then it can cause confusion.

The Fulfiller permalink is displayed at the very bottom of a knowledge article, and is only visible from inside the fulfiller view of knowledge. Unlike the UT Self-Service permalink, it only displays as a link called "Copy Permalink" with no URL or article number specified. Clicking this link will open a popup window with the URL for the Fulfiller permalink displayed.

Sample Fulfiller Permalink view:

Visual of Permalinks

The image below shows the internal view of a knowledge article. This is where a fulfiller can go to find the appropriate permalink for the article. The top permalink is for the Self Service view of the article; the bottom permalink is for the internal fulfiller view of the article.