Microsoft's support Knowledge Base, a massive online repository of help-desk information in 21 languages, will move to a new, language-independent article numbering system beginning Nov. 7, 2002. Instead of accessing articles by a language-specific number (e.g., Q110352 for an article in U.S. English, F18657 for the corresponding article in French), users will be able to enter a single article identifier. Microsoft’s Web site will detect the language settings of the user’s browser and route the user to a version of the article in that language. The new system will make it easier for help-desk operators to point users to a specific Knowledge Base article in global organizations that use a central help desk. It will also simplify the task of Microsoft's own help-desk operators located throughout the world.

The new numbering system will apply to all new Knowledge Base articles, but existing articles will still be accessible using the current system for two years. For more information about the change and the new format for URLs to locate Knowledge Base articles, see support.microsoft.com/?pr=kbnumb.