Exporting data

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

    ServiceNow AI Platform enables customers to export data efficiently in multiple formats, catering to various use cases such as individual records or bulk data extraction. Exporting can be done directly from forms, lists, URLs with parameters, web services, or export sets, providing flexibility for both manual and automated data retrieval.

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    Key Features

    • Individual record export: Export to PDF or XML directly from a form, with PDF available to all users and XML restricted to admins.
    • Multiple records export: Export from lists in CSV, Excel, PDF, XML, JSON, or Google Sheets formats. Excel, CSV, JSON, and PDF are broadly available; XML requires admin role, and Export Sets need exportsetadmin or admin roles.
    • URL-based export: Use URL parameters to export multiple records via CSV, Excel, PDF, or XML processors.
    • Web services integration: Automate data export using REST or SOAP web services for external applications.
    • Export sets: Push data to external files for scheduled or bulk exports.

    Export Formats and Practical Use

    • CSV: Exports displayed fields as a comma-separated text file, suitable for data manipulation. By default, encoding is Windows-1252; UTF-8 is available for translated data via system property adjustment.
    • Excel: Exports displayed fields as a spreadsheet, ideal for analysis and reporting.
    • XML: Exports all table data or single records as XML elements per column; image data is not preserved.
    • PDF: Exports displayed fields into a portable document, optimized for human readability but may have issues with right-to-left languages.
    • JSON: Exports data as JSON strings for integration and programmatic use.

    Column Headers in Exported Files

    The format of column headers depends on export file type:

    • Human-readable formats (PDF, Excel): Use column labels.
    • Machine-readable formats (CSV, XML, JSON): Use database field names.

    Roles and Permissions

    • PDF exports are accessible to all users.
    • XML exports require the admin role.
    • Export Sets require exportsetadmin or admin roles.

    This structured approach to exporting data allows ServiceNow customers to tailor data extraction to their specific needs, whether for reporting, integration, or compliance purposes, ensuring data is accessible in the appropriate format and with the correct permissions.

    Export data from the ServiceNow AI Platform in a variety of formats.

    Key benefits

    • Export an individual record to a PDF or XML file directly from a form. See Export data from a record.
    • Export multiple records to a CSV, Excel, PDF, XML, or Google Sheets file directly from a list. See Export data from a list.
    • Export multiple records from a table using the CSV, Excel, PDF, or XML processor in a URL with optional parameters. See Export directly from a URL.
    You can also export data from your instance using the following options:
    • Export multiple records from a table via a web services request. For example, you can create an external application or process to automate the retrieval of data from an instance via web services such as REST or SOAP. For more information, see Web services.
    • Push all the data that you want to export to an external file by creating an export set. For more information, see Export sets.

    Associated roles

    You can export form data to PDF or XML, depending on your role.
    • The PDF options are available to all users.
    • The XML option is only available to users with the admin role.
    You can export records in a list to Excel, CSV, XML, JSON, PDF, or an Export Set depending on your role.
    • The Excel, CSV, JSON, and PDF options are available to all users.
    • The XML option is only available to users with the admin role.
    • The Export Set option is only available to users with the export_set_admin or admin role.

    Export formats

    Table 1. Available export formats
    Export format Description
    CSV

    Export table records as a comma-separated value text file. Use this option to export the currently displayed fields in the list or form as a text file. Configure the list or form to add or remove fields from the export. When exported to CSV, dot-walked fields appear using their full field name, such as u_assignment_group.parent.

    Note:
    By default, ServiceNow exports all CSV files in Windows-1252 encoding. If you need to export translated data, set the glide.export.csv.charset system property to UTF-8.
    Excel Export table records as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Use this option to export the currently displayed fields in the list or form as an Excel spreadsheet. Configure the list or form to add or remove fields from the export.
    XML Export table records as an XML document. Use this option to export all data from a table or all data for a particular record. The XML file has an XML element for each column in the table. See Exporting and importing data via XML.
    Note:
    Image field data is not preserved when exporting to XML.
    PDF

    Export table records as a Portable Document Format file. Use this option to export the currently displayed fields in the list or form as a PDF file. Configure the list or form to add or remove fields from the export.

    Note:
    The PDF export processor prints data from left-to-right, which can produce rendering errors when displaying right-to-left language data.
    JSON Export the table records as a JSON string. The JSON file has an element for each column in the table.

    Column headers

    The file type you export to, such as CSV or PDF, determines how column headers are exported. In general, formats meant for human consumption such as PDF display the column label, whereas formats meant for machine use, such as CSV, use the database field_name.
    Table 2. Header format by file type
    File type Column header format
    Excel Label
    PDF Label
    CSV field_name
    XML field_name
    JSON field_name