Topics Map > Documents Tab

KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Redirecting a Document

This document describes how you can configure a redirect from an old KB document to a new one, or from an old KB document to an external website.

Redirecting to another KB document

This feature is useful in cases where you want to make sure that users who try to access an archived document (through saved bookmarks, links from other websites, etc) are able to find more current information that is also documented in the KB. For example, perhaps you want to explain why the old documentation is no longer available, or you have a new document that has effectively replaced it.

Please note that this redirect feature currently requires that the document you are redirecting to is shared with the same site(s) where the old document was published. Make sure you check the site access on the old document and confirm it matches the site access on the newer document before proceeding.

  1. In the KB Admin Tools, edit the document that you are planning to archive.

  2. Expand the Related Documents section of the side panel. In the See also field, enter the ID number of the document you would like to redirect to.

    In this example, the ID number 12345 is entered in the See Also field under the Related Documents section
    • Note: The redirect will only work if there is a single document ID in the field, so make sure you delete any other ID numbers that may already be present.

  3. Your redirect will only work until the document Expiration date passes, so expand the Activation and Expiration section and set this as desired. In most cases, we recommend clicking the Set to never expire link to prevent the document from expiring. Doing so will set the expiration date of the obsolete document to 3000-01-01 00:00:00.

  4. In the status dropdown menu, select the option to Archive your document (or choose Request to archive... if you do not have publish rights).

    The status dropdrown menu is opened by selecting the More Status Actions button next to the Save Draft button.

Check the Redirect on the Live Site

On the live site where your document was previously published, (attempt to) open the document that has been archived by entering the Document ID into the search field. The KB application will check to see if this archived document has a document ID number in the "See also" field. Next, the KB application verifies that the redirected document is published and unexpired. Your link should appear to "jump" to the document you entered in the See Also field. The word "redirect" will appear in the URL.

In the image below, the obsolete document redirected to a document with the ID of XXXXXX. In this example, your specific Document ID number will appear in the place of the XXXXXX.

URL bar showing a KB document link with the document number and redirect circled in red

Redirecting to a different website URL

In some cases, information you had previously documented in the KB may be moved to another website entirely, like your department's WordPress site. In this situation, you have the ability to redirect a single KB document to a specified non-KB URL.

  1. In the KB Admin Tools, edit the document you want to redirect.

  2. The document will need to stay published for the redirect to work, so we recommend editing the title of the document to note this for your KB authors. For example, you might prefix the title with something like, "[Redirecting to dept website]". It may also be a good idea to note the redirect and its purpose in the document body to avoid any confusion.

  3. Expand the Advanced section of the side panel. In the Custom / redirect URL field, enter the website URL that you want to redirect to.

    In this example, the URL https://wisc.edu has been entered in the Custom / redirect URL field.

    Please note that the URL must:

    • Begin with https://
    • Be fewer than 256 characters in length
  4. Your redirect will only work until the document Expiration date passes, so expand the Activation and Expiration section and set this as desired. In most cases, we recommend clicking the Set to never expire link to prevent the document from expiring. Doing so will set the expiration date of the obsolete document to 3000-01-01 00:00:00.

  5. When you are ready, use the status dropdown menu to Publish the document (or choose Request to publish... if you do not have publish rights).

Check the Redirect on the Live Site

On the live site where your KB document is published, (attempt to) open the document that you set the redirect for. The KB application should immediately redirect you to the specified URL, provided the document is published and unexpired. If it does not work the first time, please clear your browser cache and cookies and try again.



Keywords:
obsolete trash trashed Inactive deactivated redirect route rout routed routing info outdated url address forward prevent broken link guide refer location retired 
Doc ID:
52086
Owned by:
Leah S. in KB User's Guide
Created:
2015-06-08
Updated:
2025-09-16
Sites:
KB User's Guide