Building actions

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Building actions

    Workflow Studio is the default AI Platform process automation builder in ServiceNow, replacing the older Workflow Editor. It enables customers to create, customize, and manage actions that automate tasks within their workflows. Actions can be core (provided by ServiceNow), spoke-based (application-specific), or custom (user-defined reusable components).

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    Key Features

    • Core actions: These are built-in, read-only actions that cannot be viewed or edited in Workflow Studio but may be extended via spoke actions.
    • Custom actions: Allow flow designers to create reusable, consistently configured actions to streamline automation without repetitive setup.
    • Action design environment: Provides a graphical interface to define inputs, add steps, test actions, and manage runtime data, improving accuracy and efficiency.
    • More Actions menu: Offers options such as copying actions to other applications, enabling inline scripting, generating code snippets, managing security settings, and creating natural language titles.
    • Testing: Actions can be tested by users with actiondesigner or admin roles using relevant input data on non-production instances to ensure safe and effective execution.
    • Action status tracking: Each action exposes an Action Status data pill with runtime details, including error codes and messages, supporting custom error handling and debugging.
    • Complex data handling: Workflow Studio supports working with collections of structured data through a user-friendly graphical interface, aiding in the configuration of complex data elements.

    Practical Guidance for Customers

    • Use Workflow Studio to create reusable actions that standardize common processes, such as approval workflows requiring manager approval.
    • Test new or modified actions in safe, non-production environments to avoid unintended changes to live records.
    • Leverage the More Actions options to customize security, code, and presentation aspects of your actions for better integration and user experience.
    • Monitor action execution using the Action Status data pills to quickly identify and resolve errors during runtime.
    • Assign appropriate roles (actiondesigner or admin) to users responsible for creating and managing actions.

    Workflow Studio is the default ServiceNow AI Platform process automation builder used to create actions. Workflow Studio replaces the Workflow Editor.

    Core actions

    ServiceNow Core actions that come with your instance cannot be viewed or edited from the Workflow Studio interface. Some applications include spokes which include application-specific actions. Spoke actions are typically read-only but can be copied and customized.

    Custom actions

    Unlike core actions where flow designers must manually configure flow logic, custom actions always use the same configuration when added to a flow. If your flow designers often use an action with the same configuration, you might create a reusable action.

    Action design environment

    Action Designer interface

    Create and edit actions by defining inputs and adding action steps. Test actions to verify if they complete successfully and review the runtime values they generate. Copy actions to use existing actions as templates. Publish actions to activate them, which makes them available to activated flows and to preserve their current action steps, variables, and sequence as a snapshot separate from further configuration changes.

    More Actions

    Click the More actions icon (More actions icon) to access additional options for the action.

    Copy action
    Create a copy of the open action in an application you specify.
    Configurations
    Enable or disable the Show inline script toggle option.
    Code Snippet
    Generate a code snippet for the action.
    Manage security
    Enable or disable the Callable by Client API option.
    Manage natural language title
    Create or edit an action title with styled or dynamic text. For more information, see Manage natural language titles.

    Testing actions

    After adding inputs and action steps, users with the action_designer or admin role can test an action. To test an action, provide the required inputs. Action designers should always test actions on non-production instances containing relevant demonstration data because testing an action can make significant changes to records on your instance.

    Roles

    To create custom actions, you must have the action_designer or admin role.

    Action status

    Every action has an Action Status data pill in the Data pane. This object data pill contains the current runtime details about the action. The Action Status object consists of a code and message.

    Action Status > Code
    Integer data pill containing the code returned by the first matching error condition or the last step run. You can return your own code when you create a custom error condition. See Action error evaluation.
    Action Status > Message
    String data pill containing the message produced by a matching error condition or the last step run. You can return your own message when you create a custom error condition. See Action error evaluation.