Categories and Keywords for All Knowledge Base Articles

kbref

To categorize articles within the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) and to make finding information easier, Microsoft has developed a common set of keywords for use throughout the KB.

Each KB article has at least one subject keyword, and the first keyword in the list is the primary subject category for that article. There may be additional secondary subject keywords on that same line as well as type keywords (such as kbhowto and kbfile) that categorize the type of the article (such as a how-to article or an article that points to a file).

NOTE: The kbfile type keyword is required in all articles that point to a file in the Microsoft Software Library (MSL) in addition to the primary subject keyword.

NOTE: At the end of this article is a table that lists formerly used keywords and their replacements.

CATEGORIES AND KEYWORDS

Keyword     Article Subject

kb3rdparty Interactions with third-party products

kbdisplay   Display (video, monitor, resolution) issues

kbenable    Accessibility issues or information for persons with
            disabilities

kbenv       Environment and configuration information including operating
            system settings, Windows registry settings, .ini file
            settings, and development environment issues

kbgraphic   Graphics, including programming issues

kbhw        Hardware

kbinterop   Interaction (connectivity) between Microsoft products (for
            example, Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, OLE, and MAPI) but
            not between shared components such as the Jet engine,
            forms, and so on

kbmm        Multimedia (all homemm articles, Haunted House, Magic School
            Bus, Explorapedia, and so on), including programming issues

kbnetwork   Networking, including programming issues

kbole       OLE technology, including programming issues

kbother     Other, any subject not covered in other categories

kbpolicy    Support boundaries, policies, processes, and procedures

kbprg       General programming not covered by other subject keywords

kbprint     Printing, including programming issues

kbreadme    Readme files

kbref       Lists (vendor phone numbers, disk directories, reading lists,
            and so on), FAQs, and other general references

kbsetup     Setup and installation issues

kbsound     Sound (audio) issues

kbtool      Tools, utilities, wizards, compilers, and applets such as MS
            Draw or Write

kbui        User interface, including programming the user interface

kbusage     Description of product features or functionality

Keyword     Article Type

kbappnote   Application notes

kbbuglist   Goes in the official bug list for a particular version of a
            product

kbbug       Any article that discusses a confirmed bug.

kbcode      Sample code

kbdocerr    Documentation errors

kberrmsg    Error message follow-up information

kbfaq       List of frequently-asked questions and their answers

kbfasttip   FastTip scripts or maps

kbfile      Pointer to one or more files in the Microsoft Software Library

kbfix       Any article that discusses a fixed confirmed bug

kbfixlist   The official fix list for particular version of a product

kbhowto     Step-by-step examples or procedures to accomplish a task

kbkeyword   Articles listing product-specific keywords

kbmacro     Sample macro

kbprb       Problems not classified as bugs

kbtlc       Articles and Application Notes that are listed in the FastTip
            Technical Library Catalog

kbtshoot    Troubleshooting information