Mobile properties

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

    Mobile properties in ServiceNow enable administrators to activate or deactivate features in mobile applications without needing to upgrade the entire ServiceNow instance. These properties act as feature flags, stored as key/value pairs in thesyssgpropertiestable, and are delivered to mobile apps upon user authentication. Introduced in the San Diego release, mobile properties provide flexibility in managing mobile app capabilities that are updated monthly through app store releases.

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    Application Scope and Precedence

    When creating a mobile property, you select the application scope it applies to, which determines where the property is effective. If multiple properties with the same name exist across scopes, precedence rules apply:

    • Global scope takes highest precedence: If a property exists in the global application scope, it overrides all others regardless of update time.
    • Most recent update wins if no global scope property: When no global property exists, the system uses the property most recently updated among the available scopes.

    Understanding these precedence rules helps ensure you configure the correct mobile properties to control features effectively across different applications.

    Key Mobile Properties and Their Uses

    • clientRefresh: Enables or disables automatic refreshing of mobile apps and adjusts the refresh scope.
    • Enable attachment access for external users: Grants users with the sncexternal role permission to view, upload, and download attachments on mobile.
    • ShowDateTimeInUTC: Controls whether date/time fields display in the user’s device time zone (default) or in UTC.
    • useDeviceSettingsForDateTimeFormats: Configures mobile apps to use the date/time format settings from the mobile device.
    • mobileCardsShowSeconds, recordScreenDetailsShowSeconds, activityStreamShowSeconds: Hide or show seconds in date/time fields on various mobile UI elements.
    • Extend embedded web sessions: Keeps mobile users logged in until their OAuth token expires, improving session continuity.
    • EnableCameraFocusEnhancement and EnableMaxCameraResolution: Improve barcode scanning capabilities on Android devices by enhancing camera focus and resolution.
    • Role-based attachment capabilities on Android: Combine system and mobile properties to control sharing, downloading, or viewing attachments externally based on user roles.
    • preventAppKillOnAuth: Prevents Android devices from killing the mobile app during authentication when the app goes to the background, ensuring a smoother login process.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By leveraging mobile properties, ServiceNow customers can:

    • Control mobile app feature availability dynamically without full upgrades.
    • Customize user experience based on roles and application scopes.
    • Enhance security and usability, such as session management and authentication flows.
    • Tailor date/time displays and attachment handling to user preferences and needs.
    • Improve device-specific functionalities like barcode scanning for Android users.

    These capabilities help maintain a flexible, responsive, and user-friendly mobile experience aligned with organizational policies and user requirements.

    Mobile properties enable admins to turn on or turn off features in ServiceNow apps without upgrading the ServiceNow instance.

    The ServiceNow Platform server controls the features that are available on your mobile app. The server instance is released with new features for every family release. New versions of the mobile apps are released to the Apple Store and the Google Play Store every month. These monthly releases of mobile apps usually contain bug fixes but can also contain new features. These new features can be turned on or off with mobile properties.

    Mobile properties can be configured to set flags on your ServiceNow instance. These "flags" are records structured as key/value pairs in the sys_sg_properties table. They can turn on or turn off features on your mobile client apps. The ServiceNow instance sends the mobile property to mobile client apps after authentication.

    Mobile properties are available starting with the San Diego release.

    Application scope and mobile properties

    When you create a mobile property, you select the application scope for which the property is available in the Mobile Properties New record form. To change the list of available application scopes, select the globe icon (Globe icon.) on the instance banner and then select Application scope:application_scope.

    Application scope precedence

    When multiple mobile properties of the same name are defined for multiple application scopes, the system applies precedence rules to select a mobile property to use. The following scenarios use the clientRefresh mobile property as an example to show how the precedence rules work.

    Scenario 1: Global application scope always takes precedence
    If a mobile property is defined for multiple application scopes and one of those is the global application scope, then the property defined for global application scope always takes precedence. In this case, the following actions occur:
    1. The system calls for the clientRefresh property on an instance.
    2. The system finds three clientRefresh properties defined for this instance:
      Property name Application scope Updated (date and time)
      clientRefresh Global 2021-12-06 10:41:00
      clientRefresh Now Mobile 2021-12-06 10:38:41
      clientRefresh Agent Workspace 2021-12-06 10:42:06
    3. The system chooses the clientRefresh property defined for the global application scope.

    In scenario 1, the clientRefresh property defined for the global application scope takes precedence.

    Scenario 2: If the mobile property isn't defined for global application scope, then the most recently updated property takes precedence
    If a mobile property is defined for multiple application scopes but if there is no property with global application scope, then the system uses the most recently updated property. In this case, the following actions occur:
    1. The system calls for the clientRefresh property on an instance.
    2. The system finds three clientRefresh properties defined for this instance:
      Property name Application scope Updated (date and time)
      clientRefresh Now Mobile 2021-12-06 10:38:41
      clientRefresh Asset Management for mobile 2021-12-06 10:42:06
      clientRefresh Agent Workspace 2021-12-06 12:06:20
    3. The system chooses the clientRefresh property that was most recently updated.

    In scenario 2, the clientRefresh property defined for the agent workspace application scope was the most recently updated. All three mobile properties were updated on 2021-12-06. The property defined for the agent workspace application scope was updated at 12:06:20. That time is almost one and a half hours after the other two. The system chooses the clientRefresh property defined for the agent workspace application scope because it's the most recently updated clientRefresh property.