Journal field frameworks

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated May 13, 2026
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    Summary of Journal field frameworks

    The Journal Field Framework (JFF) in ServiceNow enables real-time synchronization of journal type fields, such as comments and work notes, between provider and consumer instances. It improves operational transparency by preserving historical context and ensuring that updates are attributed to actual users rather than generic company identities. This synchronization is facilitated through a Remote Task Definition (RTD) configured with compatibility version 2.2.x or later.

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    Key Features

    • Journal field mapping: You can map and synchronize any journal type fields between provider and consumer based on inbound and outbound field configurations in an RTD. For example, mapping comments to work notes or vice versa. By default, comment-to-comment mappings are created during RTD setup.
    • Rules for mapping: Supported mappings include journal field to journal field and journal field to non-journal field. Mapping from non-journal to journal fields is not supported. Also, a single journal source field cannot be used for multiple mappings within the same RTD.
    • Write journal entries as actual users: Journal entries reflect the identities of individual users (e.g., “David (XYZ company)”) rather than a generic company name, enhancing transparency.
    • Synchronize historical journal entries: If the “Sync pre-existing entries” option is enabled during RTD setup and activation, all prior journal entries on a remote task are synchronized between instances when the remote connection is established.

    Considerations

    • Journal synchronization will not work if a remote task is deleted and recreated later for the same parent task and RTD.
    • Synchronization of historical journal entries stops if a remote task is disconnected and later reconnected, even when the “Sync pre-existing entries” option is enabled.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers leveraging the Journal Field Framework can ensure seamless and transparent communication between connected instances by synchronizing journal fields such as comments and work notes. This facilitates better collaboration and historical tracking across provider and consumer environments. Proper RTD configuration and adherence to mapping rules are essential to fully utilize JFF capabilities and maintain consistent journal synchronization.

    The Journal Field Framework (JFF) enables real-time synchronization of journal type fields, such as comments and work notes, between provider and consumer.

    JFF also enhances operational transparency, preserves historical context, and verifies that updates are attributed to actual users for greater transparency.

    The synchronization of journal type fields between consumer and provider instances is enabled through a Remote Task Definition (RTD) configured with compatibility version 2.2.x or later.

    With JFF, you can do the following:

    Journal field mapping
    Map and synchronize any journal type fields between provider and consumer instances based on the Inbound and Outbound field configurations in a remote task definition.
    For example, while creating an RTD, you can create mappings such as:
    • Comments to work notes
    • Work notes to comments
    When a remote task is created based on the RTD, these mapped journal fields are automatically synchronized between the provider and consumer instances. As a result, when comments or work notes are posted in one instance, they appear in the connected instance as well.

    A comment-to-comment mapping is created by default in both the Inbound and the Outbound field configurations while creating a remote task definition from Service Exchange version 2.2.x. For more information, see Create a remote task definition in Service Exchange for Providers.

    Rules of journal field mapping
    Journal field framework supports the following format (source to target).
    • journal field (source) to journal field (target)
    • journal field (source) to non-journal field (target)
    Journal field framework doesn’t supports non-journal field (source) to journal field (target) mapping.
    Note:
    In a Remote Task Definition (RTD), you cannot use the same journal source field twice for different mappings. For example, work notes to work notes and work notes to comments in the same RTD are not allowed.
    Write journal entries as an actual user
    Write journal entries using user identities rather than a generic company name. For example, all comments for user David would appear as David (xyz company).
    Synchronize historical journal entries
    Synchronize all historical journal entries between consumer and provider instances for a remote task.

    If the Sync pre-existing entries option is configured during Remote Task Definition (RTD) setup and while activating the RTD, all journal comments made in a task are synchronized between the consumer and provider instances when a remote task is connected.

    Considerations

    Journal synchronization or synchronize of historical journals might not work for the following scenarios:

    • Synchronization of Journal fields won’t work if a remote task is deleted and a new remote task is later created for the same parent task and RTD.
    • Synchronization of historical journal entries stops and doesn’t resume if a remote task is disconnected and later reconnected, even if the Sync pre-existing entries option is enabled in the connected RTD.