Making ServiceNow Work for Everyone: A Quick Guide to Accessibility User Preferences
Let’s be honest — accessibility settings aren’t just for people with disabilities. Features like speech-to-text may have started as an accessibility feature yet today this feature is not only common, it's expected! Accessibility preferences are just one more way folks can customize the user interface (UI) to make their digital life easier.Whether you’re navigating complex dashboards, trying to read tiny text, or just looking for smoother shortcuts, accessibility preferences can seriously boost your experience. And if you’re a developer, understanding these features means you’re building better tools for everyone, not just a few. In this guide, we’ll break down our Next Experience accessibility preferences — what they do, why they matter, and how they can improve usability for all.
To get started, navigate to your profile photo in the upper right corner of your Platform for left-to-right readers or in the opposite corner for right-to-left readers. Select the "preferences" link to initiate the pop up window. From here, you can use the Display preferences to set up dark theme, or choose Accessibility preferences to select options like reducing motion or turning charts and graphs into table data. For a robust understanding of accessibility preferences, see the full feature descriptions, benefits, and documentation related to each option below.
Quick Navigation
Jump to:
Accessibility Preferences
- Date and time formats on forms
- Replace colors with patterns in charts and graphs
- Enable keyboard shortcuts
- Show all buttons without need to hover
- Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel
- Enable data table for charts and graphs
- Reduce motion
- Enable accessibility in Classic
- Enable keyboard focus on text that displays tooltip
Display Features
Other WCAG Features
Accessibility Preferences Window
Date and time formats on forms
Feature: Clearly display the expected date and time input format to prevent errors and confusion.
When forms explicitly show the date and time format (like MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY), users know exactly how to enter the information correctly. This is especially helpful in global contexts where formats differ by region, reducing mistakes and improving form completion rates.
Who benefits:
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Users in different locales with varying date/time formats
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Screen reader users needing clear input guidance
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Anyone filling out forms quickly and wanting to avoid errors
📄 Check out accessibility preferences documentation
Replace colors with patterns in charts and graphs
Feature: Makes charts understandable for colorblind users and adds clarity overall. Patterns or labels ensure everyone can interpret visual data accurately. Users can enable this from the accessibility preferences and instantly change any chart or graph representation into one that relies on patterns--not just colors--to distinguish chart segments.
Who benefits:
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Users with color vision deficiencies
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Black-and-white printing users
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Anyone needing extra clarity in data visualization
📄 Admins can adjust this setting globally for mobile users. See how to configure charts on the documentation site.
Enable keyboard shortcuts
Feature: Navigate quickly without relying on a mouse or touchpad. Keyboard shortcuts speed up your workflow, reduce strain, and make navigation more precise. Whether you have limited mobility or just prefer a faster way to move through complex interfaces, this is a game-changer.
Who benefits:
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Users with mobility impairments
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Power users who want faster navigation
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Anyone working in high-efficiency environments
📄 Get CoreUI standard keyboard shortcuts
📄 Get NextExperience keyboard shortcuts
📄 Customized Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
Show all buttons without need to hover (No hidden controls)
Feature: Makes all interactive elements visible and discoverable. Visible controls remove the guesswork and help users confidently take action. For a demonstration, see the video below.
Who benefits:
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Screen reader users
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Keyboard-only navigators
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Anyone unfamiliar with hidden user interface (UI) patterns, including older users, non-digital-natives, and folks from other global regions.
Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel
Feature: Hands-free navigation and data entry.
Voice input allows you to control your device and enter text using speech.
Who benefits:
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Users with mobility or dexterity limitations
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Multitaskers who want to work hands-free
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Anyone experiencing temporary injuries (e.g., repetitive strain)
📄 Read the documentation for how to enable Voice Input
Enable data table for charts and graphs
Feature: Makes complex data readable and navigable with screen readers or by keyboard. Tables provide a linear, text-based format for easier exploration and exportation of data.
Who benefits:
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Screen reader users
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Users who prefer data in structured formats
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Anyone needing to copy/paste data for reports
Reduce motion
Feature: Reduces the speed of the animations when switching between screens. This reduction pertains mainly to login animations. Reducing motion helps people who experience discomfort, disorientation, or nausea from animated effects. It also speeds up navigation for users who prefer a more static interface.
Who benefits:
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Users with vestibular disorders or motion sensitivity
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People who experience migraines triggered by animations
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Anyone preferring faster, distraction-free interaction
Enable accessibility in Classic
Feature: Use for folks on the Classic UI (also known as UI16 or CoreUI).
Who benefits:
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Anyone on the legacy Classic UI
Enable keyboard focus on text that displays tooltip (truncated text)
Benefit: Makes hidden text accessible when you navigate with a keyboard. Ensures full context is available without relying on a mouse hover. Truncated text is text that doesn't fit on the screen and is indicated by an ellipsis (...). Check out the demo below.
Who benefits:
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Keyboard-only users
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Screen reader users
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Power users tabbing quickly through interfaces
- Anyone working with dense data displays
Display Features
Enable Dark Theme
Features: Reduces eye strain and improves readability, especially in low-light environments. A dark theme isn’t just an aesthetic choice — it helps reduce glare and fatigue, making it easier to focus for long periods.
Who benefits:
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Users with light sensitivity
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People working in dark environments
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Anyone prone to eye strain
📄 Step-by-step directions from the documentation site to enable the dark theme.
🎥 See the dark theme in action in our 90 second accessibility commercial on Youtube.
Other WCAG-based Built-in Features
400% Zoom with Reflow
Features: Makes text and visuals larger for better visibility. Zoom features let you magnify parts of the screen without losing clarity. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommend products have a 400% zoom and reflow with zoom (reorganize on the page) to be considered accessible.
Who benefits:
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Users with low vision
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Anyone reading detailed data or fine print
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Presenters needing to enlarge visuals for groups
Forced Colors
Features: Overrides default colors with high-contrast system colors for better readability. Forced Colors Mode helps people who need strong visual contrast by applying a consistent, high-contrast color scheme — regardless of how a site or app was designed. It makes content easier to read and ensures UI elements remain visible and usable.
Who benefits:
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Users with low vision or light sensitivity
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Colorblind users who need strong contrast
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Anyone using Windows High Contrast Mode or similar OS settings
Accessibility Checker for Theme Builder
Features: Automatically scans content or UI for common accessibility issues.Accessibility checkers help developers and theme creators catch issues like missing alt text, poor contrast, improper heading structure, or unlabeled form fields — all before the user ever encounters them. It's a crucial step in building inclusive experiences from the start.
Who benefits:
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Developers or Admins building inclusive applications
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Content creators managing accessible documentation
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Anyone wanting to validate accessibility before publishing
📄 See the documentation on how to use the accessibility checker in Theme Builder.
Wrapping Up
Exploring accessibility preferences helps everyone create a more comfortable and efficient digital environment. If you have questions, need support, or want to share your experience, start a thread in our A11y Community Forum or send us an email at accessibility_support@servicenow.com. We’re here to help!
