Difference in Activity Stream behavior between Classic UI and Workspace

[SNOW_22]

Hi Everyone,

We are facing an inconsistency in Activity Stream behavior between Classic UI and Workspace for the Case table.

• When a case is initially created, certain fields (example: state/number-type field) are empty/null.

• In the Classic UI activity stream, this empty value is not displayed, which is the expected behavior.

• However, in Workspace, the activity stream shows an entry like:

  “Field value changed from empty to <value>”
  or explicitly shows “empty” during the initial creation.

This results in extra/noisy activity entries in Workspace that are not visible in Classic UI. Below I'm providing the screenshots for your reference.

Any guidance, documentation, or best practices would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[vaishali231]

Hey @SNOW_22 

This behavior is expected and comes from how Activity Stream data is handled differently in Classic UI and Workspace.

In Classic UI, the activity stream is mainly driven by legacy audit logic. During record creation, fields that are initially empty or null are treated as part of the initial state, so changes like empty to value are not shown. This helps keep the activity stream clean and avoids noise during insert.

In Workspace, the activity stream is powered by the Now Experience framework and uses a more detailed audit payload. Workspace treats record creation as a sequence of field updates, so when a field goes from null to a value at insert time, it is logged and displayed as a change such as “from empty to value”. This results in additional activity entries that are not visible in Classic UI.

So in short, Classic UI suppresses insert-time empty changes, while Workspace intentionally shows them for better transparency. This is by design and not a defect.

At the moment, there is no out-of-the-box configuration to make Workspace activity behave exactly like Classic UI. The recommended approach is to reduce noise by excluding non-critical fields from the activity stream or aligning expectations with users that Workspace shows a more detailed audit trail.

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Regards
Vaishali Singh

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@vaishali231 

Could you share screenshots of your instance to confirm if this is OOTB behavior?

[vaishali231]

hey @SNOW_22 

Hope you are doing well.

Did my previous reply answer your question?

If it was helpful, please mark it as correct ✓ and close the thread 🔒. This will help other readers find the solution more easily.

Regards,
Vaishali Singh

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@SNOW_22 

it's same for me in both classic and workspace (CSM/FSM Configurable Workspace)

Seems something customized in your instance

Workspace

Classic

💡 If my response helped, please mark it as correct ✅ and close the thread 🔒— this helps future readers find the solution faster! 🙏