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Quick Summary: Knowledge Documents are written documents your organization creates and edits together inside SkillsDB, in Library > Documents. You can start from a blank page or a template, share each document, publish numbered versions, and link documents to skills, careers, training, people, and certifications. With the Quality Management System (QMS) capability, documents also gain controlled identity and numbering, approval workflows with e-signatures, Read & Acknowledge, scheduled release, and periodic review.
Note: Knowledge Documents is rolled out per organization. If you do not see Documents under Library in the left sidebar, the feature is not yet available to your organization, or an administrator has hidden it. The Quality Management System (QMS) capabilities described later on this page are an additional layer that appears only when QMS is enabled for your organization — without it, documents use the simpler Draft and Released lifecycle.

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Overview

Knowledge Documents give your organization one place to write and maintain the documents behind its skills — standard operating procedures, work instructions, policies, onboarding guides, and reference notes. Each document is a rich-text page that lives in Library > Documents, so the written knowledge sits next to the skills, careers, and training it supports instead of in a separate file-sharing tool. Several people can edit the same document at the same time. Everyone who has the document open sees the others’ changes as they type, and a presence bar shows how many people are editing and viewing. Every change saves automatically into a working draft. A document has a lifecycle. In its simplest form, a document you are writing is a Draft; when it is ready, an editor publishes it, which creates a numbered version and changes its status to Released. Readers always see the latest released version, while editors keep working on the next draft. When a document is no longer in use, a manager of the document can Retire it: it stays readable but nobody can change it again. Access is controlled per document. Each document has an owner, and the owner or anyone with Can manage access decides who can view, edit, or manage it. Folders and spaces in the Browse view pass their sharing down to everything inside them. Knowledge Documents are different from Files. Files are attachments uploaded to a person’s profile from Profile > Files, such as certificates and training evidence. Knowledge Documents are documents you write inside SkillsDB. To learn about profile files, see Files.

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Prerequisites

Before you use Knowledge Documents, you need:
  • Feature availability: Knowledge Documents is turned on for your organization, and Documents is not hidden in the company’s page visibility settings
  • Permission to create: Your role meets the company’s Who can create documents setting (by default, anyone can create)
  • Access to a document: To open an existing document, its owner or a manager of it must share it with you, or share it through a company link or a folder you can open

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Who Can Do What

What you can do with a document depends on your access level to that document. The library lists only the documents you can open. Global Admins can open and manage every document in the company. When a document’s company link is off, only invited people and Global Admins have access. The company settings also decide two things at the role level, configured in Settings > Documents. Who can create documents sets the minimum role that can author documents in the library. Who can link documents to records sets the minimum role that can attach documents to skills, careers, training, people, and certifications. Each setting offers Anyone, Managers & above, Full Access & above, or Admins only.
Note: Editing a document works on a tablet or a larger screen. On a phone, you can read the document but not edit it.

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Creating a Document

Create a document when you want to capture a procedure, policy, or guide that others will read and maintain. You can start from a blank page or from a template.
1

Open the Documents library

Navigate to Library > Documents in the left sidebar.
2

Start a new document

Open the page’s Actions menu and select Document under Add New. You can also press ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows) and search for “New document”.
3

Pick a starting point

In the Create a document dialog, select Blank document or one of the templates. Templates are grouped as Built-in, Company, Start, and Yours; use the search box to find one by name, description, or label.
4

Choose a document type

If you chose Blank document, select a Document type. A template brings its own type, so this field does not appear for a template.
5

Create

Select Create document.
SkillsDB creates the document and opens it with the title selected, ready for you to type. A blank document starts as “Untitled document,” and a document created from a template takes the template’s name as its title. SkillsDB ships a set of built-in templates — such as Standard Operating Procedure, Work Instruction, Policy, Runbook, and Job Description — so you can start from a familiar structure. If you do not see the Document option, your role does not meet the company’s Who can create documents setting.

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Editing a Document Together

Editors can change a document’s draft directly on its page. Changes save automatically, so there is no Save button. When other people have the same document open, their edits appear on your screen as they make them. The presence bar at the top of the editor shows how many people are editing and viewing the document at that moment. The document header holds the title, the document type, labels, a description, and the version. Select the title or Add a description… to change them. If your connection drops while you edit, SkillsDB shows that the connection was lost and keeps trying to reconnect. Edits you make in the meantime stay in that browser window and sync once the connection returns, so keep the tab open until then. If your access to a document changes while you have it open — for example, an owner changes you from Can edit to Can view — SkillsDB tells you your access changed and switches the page to read-only.
Tip: A reader with Can view access sees the document’s View page instead of the editor. Select Open fullscreen on the document page for a distraction-free reading view.

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Publishing Versions

Publishing turns the current draft into a numbered, released version. Readers see only released versions, so publish when a draft is ready for everyone.
1

Open the document

Navigate to Library > Documents and select the document.
2

Publish

Open the page’s Actions menu and select Publish.
3

Name the version (optional)

In the Publish this document? dialog, enter an optional Version name. SkillsDB appends the version number automatically.
4

Confirm

Select Publish.
The document’s status changes to Released, and readers now see this version. Prior versions stay available as read-only copies on the document’s Versions page. After a document is released, editors keep working on a new draft. A banner tells editors when the draft has changes that are not released yet. Readers do not see those changes until the next publish. On the Versions page, you can open any released version, compare two versions side by side to see what was added and removed, and restore an older version. Restoring a version replaces the current draft with that version’s content; it does not change what readers see until you publish again. If you have Can view access to a document that has never been released, SkillsDB tells you the document has not been released yet. You can open it once an editor publishes it.
Note: When a document’s type is change-controlled under QMS, it does not publish directly — it releases through an approval workflow instead. See Quality Management System (QMS) below.

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Sharing a Document and Handling Access Requests

The owner and anyone with Can manage access decide who can open a document.
1

Open sharing

On the document page, open the Actions menu and select Share.
2

Invite people, teams, or roles

In the share dialog, type in Add people, teams, or roles… and select from the suggestions. Choose the access level beside the field (it starts at Can view), then select Invite.
3

Change or remove access

Each person or group with access appears in the list with its level. Select the level to change it to Can view, Can edit, or Can manage, or select Remove access.
4

Turn on the company link (optional)

Switch on Company link to let anyone in your company open the document from its link, then choose whether link holders can view or edit. Select Copy link to copy the address.
When the company link is off, the dialog reads “Off — only invited people and Global Admins have access.” If someone opens a document they cannot access, SkillsDB shows “You don’t have access” and offers Request access. A reader who wants to edit can select Request edit access. Requests appear in the Access requests section of the owner’s share dialog, where a manager of the document can choose a level and select Grant access, or select Ignore.

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Organizing Documents with Browse, Folders, and Templates

Library > Documents opens to a table of the documents you can open, with Name, Type, Owner, Status, and Updated columns (a Labels column is available from the Display menu). Use the Display menu to switch between the List and Browse views. Turn on Always open in Browse if you prefer Browse as your default. Browse organizes documents into spaces and folders:
  • Spaces are top-level containers. Only Global Admins create spaces.
  • Folders live inside spaces. Anyone with edit access to a space or folder can add a folder inside it.
  • Sharing a space or folder gives access to everything inside it, including nested folders. When you move a document into a folder, the document takes on the folder’s sharing and keeps its own.
  • Browse also offers Recent, Starred, Shared with me, Activity, and Recently deleted. Deleted documents stay in Recently deleted for 30 days, and their owner, the person who deleted them, or a Global Admin can restore them.
Templates let people start new documents from a reusable structure. To create one, open a document’s Actions menu and select Save as template. Give the template a Template name, a Document type, an optional description and labels, and a Visibility: Private (only you can see and use it) or Company-shared (anyone in your company can start documents from it). Open Templates from the Documents library’s Actions menu to browse your templates, company templates, and built-in templates. Document types categorize documents across the library. Global Admins manage them from the Documents library’s Actions menu (Document types) or from Settings > Documents. System types come with every company and cannot be removed. Removing a custom type moves its documents to the General type.

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Linking Documents to Skills and Other Records

Documents can be attached to the records they support — skills, careers, training resources, people, and certifications. A record’s Documents panel lists the documents linked to it, and Use existing Document… links one from the library. A skill’s Linked Resources tab also lists its linked documents. Who can link and unlink documents is set by the company’s Who can link documents to records setting (by default, managers and above). A manager of a document can also turn on Expose as AI Skill on the document’s Settings page. This lets the SkillsDB assistant read the document and answer from it, using only the released version. To connect an AI assistant to SkillsDB, see Connecting Your AI Assistant.

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Deleting and Retiring Documents

A manager of a document has two ways to take it out of use, and SkillsDB offers the one that fits the document’s history: To retire a document, open its Actions menu, select Retire, enter a Reason, and confirm. A retired document shows a note with the date, the person who retired it, and the reason. Retired documents can still be read, exported, and saved as a template, but they cannot be renamed, moved, published, or shared beyond view access, and the AI assistant no longer reads them. When a document uses e-signatures under QMS, retiring it asks you to sign first.

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Exporting a Document

Anyone who can open a document can export it from the document’s Actions menu:
  • Export as PDF downloads a PDF of the document
  • Export as Markdown downloads the document as a Markdown file
  • Copy as Markdown copies the content to your clipboard
  • Link copies the document’s address
An editor who exports a draft that differs from the released version gets a file named as a draft. Administrators can also export the library list as a CSV file with Export in the Documents library’s Actions menu.

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Quality Management System (QMS)

The Quality Management System capability turns Knowledge Documents into controlled documents suitable for a formal quality system. It adds document identity and numbering, a richer lifecycle, change control with approvals and e-signatures, Read & Acknowledge, scheduled release, and periodic review.
Note: QMS is an additional capability that appears only when it is enabled for your organization. Without QMS, documents use the simpler Draft and Released lifecycle described above. The controls in this section — lifecycle statuses, document numbers, approvals, Read & Acknowledge, and periodic review — appear only with QMS on.

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Controlled document identity

With QMS on, each document carries a controlled identity: A document can be Written in SkillsDB or an Uploaded file brought in as a controlled document.

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Change control

Change control is set on a document’s type, and can be overridden per document. A change-controlled type defines:
  • Change categories — Editorial (keeps the number, revises in place), Minor, and Major, which set how the revision number advances. You can require readers to acknowledge again after a given category of change.
  • Approver rule — how many approvers must agree: All approvers, Any one approver, Quorum, Sequential, or Single approver.
  • Signing method — E-signature (the signer confirms with their password or SSO) or Simple sign-off.
  • Read & Acknowledge — whether readers must acknowledge each released revision.
Global Admins configure the company default in Settings > Documents, set change control per type on the Document types page, and can review every type’s approvers on the Change control approvers page. Both the Document types and Change control approvers pages are Global Admin only.

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Approval workflow and e-signatures

When a document’s type is change-controlled, it releases through an approval workflow instead of a direct publish.
1

Request approval

Open the document’s Actions menu and select Request approval. Choose the Change category, enter a Reason for change, and optionally add a Note to approvers. The draft locks while it is out for approval.
2

Approvers review the revision

Each approver opens the Review revision page, compares the changes, and records a decision — Approve, Approve and sign (when e-signatures are required), or Reject. Approvers are notified by email and by an inbox task.
3

Release the approved revision

On approval, choose Release now or Schedule a release. A rejected revision reopens for editing so the author can address the feedback and request approval again.
The document page shows a notice chip for where a revision stands — In review, Approved, Scheduled, Sent back, Review overdue, Acknowledge, or Retired.

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Scheduled release and Pending Effective

An approved revision can release immediately or at a scheduled date and time. Until the scheduled moment, the revision is Pending Effective: it is approved but not yet live. You can Change release date or Cancel release while it is pending, and SkillsDB releases it automatically at the chosen time.

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Read & Acknowledge

Read & Acknowledge asks specific people to read a released revision to the end and confirm they have read and understood that exact revision.
1

Request acknowledgement

On the document, open the Actions menu and select Request read & acknowledge…. In the Request Read & Acknowledge dialog, add the people, set a due date if you want one, and select Request.
2

People read and confirm

Each person opens the document and reads to the end — SkillsDB enables the Confirm button only once they have scrolled to the last page (or downloaded an uploaded file). Where the document requires it, they confirm with an e-signature.
3

Track acknowledgements

Open the Read & Acknowledge log to see each person’s status — Acknowledged, Pending, Overdue, or Replaced — along with when they were asked, when they acknowledged, and the revision. Use Nudge or Nudge all pending to send reminders.
Every new release re-asks for acknowledgement, because people must confirm the revision that is now in effect. Retiring a document closes its outstanding acknowledgement requests.

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Periodic review

Change-controlled documents can be set to be reviewed on a schedule, so controlled documents do not drift out of date. Administrators set a company-wide or per-type cadence — a Review every interval and a Remind ahead lead time — and individual documents can override it. A document that is past its review date stays Active but is flagged Review overdue and surfaces in the Library’s Next review filter until someone reviews it. A review re-approves the document as it stands, with a simple sign-off or an e-signature.

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Importing existing files as controlled documents

You can bring existing Word and PDF files into SkillsDB as controlled documents.
1

Open the Documents import

From the workspace menu, select Import, then open the Documents tab. Choose the controlled documents option.
2

Map the files

Provide the title, type, number, owner, labels, and folder for each file, and whether each one lands as a Draft or Released (with an effective date).
3

Review and import

Each row shows whether it is ready, carries a note, or is blocked — with the reason, such as an unknown type or a file larger than 10 MB. Fix the flagged rows and import. Released rows are signed once for the whole batch.
An import report shows the outcome of each file and lets you retry any that failed.

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Common Questions

Knowledge Documents is rolled out per organization and may not be available to yours yet. If it is available, an administrator may have hidden Documents in the company’s page visibility settings. Ask your administrator whether Documents is turned on for your organization.
Yes. Everyone with Can edit or Can manage access can edit the draft at the same time, and each person sees the others’ changes as they happen. The presence bar shows how many people are editing and viewing. Editing requires a tablet or larger screen.
A document whose type is not change-controlled publishes directly: an editor selects Publish and the new version is released. A change-controlled document (a QMS capability) instead goes through Request approval — approvers review and sign off, and the approved revision releases now or on a schedule.
When Read & Acknowledge is in use, yes — each new released revision re-asks the assigned people to acknowledge it, because they must confirm the revision that is currently in effect. Their status for each revision appears in the Read & Acknowledge log.
Delete is available only for a document that was never released and never shared; it removes the document, which can be restored from Recently deleted for 30 days. Retire is for any other document; it keeps the document readable for everyone and stops all future changes. Retiring cannot be undone.
Files are uploaded attachments on a person’s profile, such as certificates and training evidence, managed from Profile > Files. Knowledge Documents are documents you write and edit inside SkillsDB in Library > Documents, with sharing, versions, templates, and — with QMS — controlled identity, approvals, and Read & Acknowledge.

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Related Articles

Files

Upload and manage file attachments on employee profiles.

Email Notifications

The emails that accompany document sharing, approvals, and Read & Acknowledge.

Connecting Your AI Assistant

Let your AI assistant work with your SkillsDB data, including documents.

Organization Settings

Configure who can create and link documents, and manage document types.

Search

Find people, skills, training, and documents across your organization.

Navigation and Shortcuts

Use the Actions menu, the command menu, and keyboard shortcuts.

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Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization’s SkillsDB administrator or contact SkillsDB Support.