Workflows in ServiceNow automate processes and contain a sequence of activities. Common workflows include routine changes, incident resolution, and notifying users of pending approvals. Here is an example of a routine change workflow:
You can use a workflow field to display workflow progress. There are differences in how workflow fields are displayed in a list and in a form:
- List: workflow field displays stage icons that represent the series of states, stages, phases, or tasks within a workflow.
- Form: workflow field displays the current stage as a choice list value.
Workflow stage renderers determine how a workflow displays stages in a workflow field. There are multiple stage renderers available. Selecting the most appropriate renderer can help you avoid annoying issues with your workflows.
Note: The most important information to know about workflow stage renderers is that in the vast majority of cases a workflow should use the workflow-driven renderer. This is the default option. Use a different stage renderer only after careful consideration and to satisfy specific requirements for how the stages appear.
Available stage renderers
Workflow-driven
Use the workflow-driven renderer as often as possible. This renderer displays icons for stages using the stage state controlled by the workflow. Icons are displayed in a way that is meaningful for many situations. This renderer can display stages from a main workflow and subflows. The order of the icons is determined by the expected path of the executing workflow. As the workflow progresses, stages on paths that the workflow did not take are removed from the display.
Main flow
The main flow renderer displays icons for stages defined in the main workflow only. Use this renderer when you do not want to expose the details of the subflows. For example, a single main workflow may run several subflows. If users do not need to see the subflow steps, using the main flow renderer leads to the best user experience.
Linear
Linear rendering displays all stage icons from the main workflow and all subflows within a single workflow field. It displays icons in a linear sequence regardless of the paths the workflow follows as it executes. This renderer uses stages defined in both the main workflow and any subflows that the main flow launches. The icons appear in the user-specified order. Skipped stages do not appear. Use this renderer when the workflow stages must display in a consistent order and the actual details of how the workflow runs are less important.
Linear main flow
Linear sub-flow
The progress bar renderer displays a single progress bar instead of a sequence of stage icons. This renderer is useful when you want to display the general progress of the workflow as a percent. Each stage in the workflow is displayed as an equal percentage of the progress bar. Stage names do not appear in the progress bar.
Legacy
The legacy renderer displays stages in the same way as releases prior to Dublin did. This renderer sometimes produces unexpected behavior. When an instance is upgraded from a release prior to Dublin, all existing workflows are set to use the legacy renderer. Whenever possible, use a different stage renderer instead. If your workflow needs to maintain pre-Dublin behavior, then it is appropriate to use the legacy option. With the legacy renderer, you can create and reference a custom workflow field icon set by setting the icons attribute to a new script include.
Selecting a stage renderer
- Navigate to Workflow > Workflow Editor.
- Open and check out a workflow.
- In the title bar, click the menu icon
and select Properties.
- In the Workflow Properties dialog box, click the Stages tab.
- From the Stage rendering list, select a stage renderer.
- Click Update.
Tips:
- If you are using two workflows to update two unique workflow fields on a single record, both workflows must use a non-legacy renderer. You can select a different stage renderer for each workflow, but do not select Legacy for either one. If you want to use the Linear renderer, make sure you select Linear in the properties for the parent workflow and all subflows.
- In the Workflow-driven, Main flow, and Progress bar renderers, the Stage order field on the Stages tab has two options:
- Computed uses the actual workflow path in order
- User-specified uses the order specified in the Order column on the Workflow Stages record
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- If you are using the Progress bar stage renderer, you can simplify stage names to represent a percentage of the workflow. For example, if a process has four main steps, name the workflow stages as 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. Enter the numerical value of each stage, such as 25, in the Value and Order fields.
- If you are using the Linear renderer, the parent flow and all subflows must contain the same stages. Use a workflow stage set to ensure the parent flow and all subflows have the same stages.
Additional information:
- Joy Chatterji wondered if anyone was having trouble with workflow stage rendering not working after upgrading to Fuji. Mansoor Omar provided a link to a known error article and Mike Kaufman provided a link to the Fuji Patch 8 release notes.
- rfedoruk asked a question about unexpected behavior for rendering RITM stages and then answered his own question!
- There is an issue with workflow stages when the stages icon is used with a workflow containing a subflow. For more information, see Workflow stages show unexpected behavior when subflows are used.
- For useful information about workflow stage sets, read the excellent blog post by ServiceNow Knowledge Champion Chris Thompson titled Setting the stage with stage sets.
- For general information, see Rendering workflow stages in the production documentation.
