Activity streams

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Activity streams

    Activity streams in ServiceNow provide a dynamic list of entries such as journal fields, comments, and work notes visible within task records and Sidebar conversations using the Core UI. They offer real-time updates and enhance collaboration by showing live activity information related to records and conversations.

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    Types of Activity Streams

    • List activity stream: Displays live activity for all records on the current list, allowing quick access to record activity streams without opening each record.
    • Record activity stream: Appears on forms configured with the activity formatter, customizable to include specific activities. It synchronizes with Connect Chat, so comments in chat update the stream.
    • Visual Task Board: Shows live activity for all task cards on the current board. Clicking an entry opens the associated task card and its activity stream.

    Attachments and Images

    Users can add and preview attachments and images directly in the activity stream by pasting images into journal fields or clicking attachments to preview or download them. All uploaded files are automatically scanned for viruses to ensure security; infected files are blocked from viewing or downloading.

    @ Mentions

    The @ mention feature lets users draw attention to others within activity streams on forms, lists, Visual Task Board cards, and Connect conversations. Mentioned users receive email notifications by default, which can be managed via notification preferences.

    • Users can select mention recipients from a suggestion list that reflects access and presence status.
    • Notification behavior varies if Connect is enabled and depending on whether the user follows the record in Connect.
    • Mentions create records in the livenotification table to manage notification delivery.

    Additional Details

    • Users can filter out certain email types (e.g., auto-generated or correspondence emails) from the activity stream by selecting post types to display.
    • The display name in activity streams (first and last name or username/user ID) is controlled by the system property glide.ui.activity.displayname. Historical entries may show different user identifiers if changes occurred.

    An activity stream is a list of entries in records and conversations, such as journal fields, comments, and work notes that display in task records and Sidebar conversations. Activity streams are available Core UI.

    The three types of activity streams are as follows:

    List activity stream
    Streams live activity information for all records on the current list. For more information, see Activity streams in list view. You can click an item to open the record activity stream without opening the record.
    Record activity stream
    Appears in forms that are configured with the activity formatter . You can customize the activities to include in this type of stream.

    When you follow a record to view it in the Connect Chat interface, the conversation contains the same information as the record activity stream. Comments that are entered in the Connect Chat window update the record activity stream.

    Visual Task Board
    Streams live activity information for all task cards in the current task board. You can click an item in the activity stream to open the task card and view the activity stream of the record.

    Attachments and images

    You can add and preview attachments and images in the activity stream by doing the following actions:
    • Paste an image into a journal field and enter the inline text.
    • Click an attachment to preview it. Use the download option to download the attachment locally.
    • Use antivirus scanning to protect against virus infections that can be introduced by file attachments. After being uploaded, the system automatically scans all files for viruses. If a file is infected, you can't view or download the file.

    @ Mentions

    Get someone's attention on a record by mentioning them with the @ character in an activity stream.
    Note:
    Emails sent for @Mention run against the live_notification table and are not added to the journal field of the parent table.
    Any user can use activity stream mentions in the following places:

    To mention someone, enter the @ character in a supported activity stream. Next, select a user from the suggestion list to select any user in the instance. You can see which users have access to the record and, if presence is enabled, who is online. Enter any other text and post to the activity stream. The following example shows an #Mention on a form.

    Figure 1. Activity stream mention on a form
    @mention in an Activity Stream with the user selector menu open.

    By default, you receive an email notification when someone mentions you. You can disable this behavior by unsubscribing from the Activity Stream @Mention Email notification on your notification preferences.

    If Connect is enabled, you can receive additional notifications, depending on whether you follow the record in Connect. When someone mentions you in a record that you do not follow in Connect, you receive whichever Connect notifications you enabled globally, as well as the Activity Stream @Mention Email notification. If you do follow the record in Connect, you only receive notifications according to your notification preferences for the record conversation. In this case, you do not receive the Activity Stream @Mention Email notification.

    Note:
    The system creates a record on the notification [live_notification] table each time a user is mentioned. The record stores the information required to generate notifications.

    You can filter out emails in the activity stream, for example, auto-generated and correspondence emails, by selecting the Activity stream filter icon.. Select Post types to check or clear the boxes of the types of emails and posts that display in your activity stream.

    Note:
    The activity stream displays either a user's first and last name or their user name/user id, depending on the system property glide.ui.activity.displayname. It is possible that old entries in the activity stream will display a different user name/user id for the same user, if the value has changed. For more information, see KB1706641.