Answer Server 26.3
Answer Server Help

# Update the Question State

The questions in your Answer Bank systems have a state, which can have one of the following values:

- `incoming`
- `answerable`
- `needs_answer`
- `answered`
- `rejected`

Answer Server makes some changes to the question state automatically. You an also modify the question state manually by using the `ManageResources` action.

## Automatic Question State Updates

When you add a question to the Answer Bank, Answer Server automatically assigns it the state `incoming`.

When you add the question to a question equivalence class, the state automatically updates to `answered`.

Similarly, if you remove the question from the question equivalence class (or if you delete the question equivalence class), the state reverts to `incoming`. If you later undelete the question equivalence class that the question belongs to, the question returns to `answered` again.

## Update the Question State Manually

You can modify the state of a question by using the ManageResources action, with the `update` operation, either as part of another update, or as a separate action.

NOTE: You cannot manually change the state to or from `answered` by using a question update. To move the question to the `answered` state, you must add the question to a question equivalence class.

You must include the question IDs for the questions that you want to update. You can retrieve the question ID by sending a GetResources action. For example:

    http://localhost:12000?Action=GetResources&SystemName=MyAnswerbank&Type=question

The following example updates the questions with IDs 9706856188043740111 and 8129920660480699726 to have the state `needs_answer`.

    Action=ManageResources&SystemName=AnswerBank
    data={
       "operation": "update",
       "type": "question",
       "question": {
          "question_ids": [
             "9706856188043740111",
             "8129920660480699726"
          ],
       "new_state": "needs_answer"
       }
    }

You can retrieve the full schema for the JSON object to use by using the GetResources action. See Find the JSON Schema for Your Update.

NOTE: The ManageResources action fails if you attempt to use request JSON that contains properties that are not contained in the appropriate schema.

TIP: Typically, OpenText recommends that you send ManageResources as a POST request. For testing, you can use a GET request, in which case you must base64 encode the JSON data.

You can use the question state to filter questions in the GetResources action. You can also use the GetStats action to return information about the questions in the Answer Bank system by state. For more information, see Retrieve the Information Stored in an Answer Bank.

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Version 26.3 | Last updated July 2026

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Product: Knowledge Discovery Answer Server 26.3

Topic Title: Update the Question State