Playbooks in Service Portal

[Trena Fritsche]

Not sure the best forum, so I'll start with ITSM.
I'm building a playbook for use in the Service Portal that is working with 2 issues that I can't seem to resolve.  I am hoping that someone has a solution to this.

1. The content item appears in the Service Portal, but clicking on it does not start the Playbook, instead it shows the record generator and has a link to the playbook: (The instance is Xanadu) Clicking on the link does start the playbook, but it looks terrible and is an extra click that shouldn't be required.

However, when I configure the same thing in my PDI, which is Yokohama, clicking on the content item starts the playbook.

I don't know if this is a known issue before Yokohama or if it is something within the customer's instance.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

The second issue that I have is based on the path that the playbook goes, there are 2 paths that need to display a pop out or page of HTML type text that can have links or as I configured it to show a Knowledge Article, but this Playbook Activity will only show the Article Definition, and not the User view of the Knowledge Article, I think because it is a page (kb_view.do).  Is there a way to pop up a user view of a Knowledge Article?  

These 2 issues seem to be very problematic and it would be great to get it resolved.  I appreciate any assistance in advanced!

[danmjunqueira · Accepted solution]

You're absolutely right to bring this to the ITSM community. You're touching on two very relevant and often misunderstood challenges when integrating Playbooks into Service Portal (especially across different versions like Xanadu vs. Yokohama). Let’s break down both issues:

Issue 1: Playbook doesn't start directly in Service Portal (Xanadu vs Yokohama behavior)
Observed behavior
In Xanadu, clicking a content item in the Service Portal opens the Record Producer UI with a link to the Playbook — requiring an extra step.

In Yokohama, clicking the same item directly launches the Playbook — as expected.

Root Cause
This behavior changed slightly between releases, and Xanadu uses a more strict implementation for launching Playbooks in the portal. In most cases, it’s due to:

Record Producer vs. Playbook Trigger setup

Form context missing required parameters

Lack of UI override for Portal in your configuration

Recommendations to fix
Make sure you're launching from a Glide Page or Portal Page with playbook-trigger.do?sysparm_trigger=<id> in your redirect logic. If not, you'll get a fallback experience like Record Producer.

Use a widget or redirect logic to simulate the direct launch. Create a Catalog Client Script or Portal redirect widget that does:

window.location.href = '/playbook_trigger.do?sysparm_trigger=' + triggerSysId;

Check Playbook Trigger Type:

If using Record Generator, confirm it’s correctly linked with the Playbook configuration.

Use Trigger Rule or Playbook Conditions that directly kick off the playbook.

Portal-Specific UI Polishing:
If the Playbook UI looks bad when launched from the link, consider using a custom Glide Page layout or update the sp_playbook widget settings to match the portal's theme.

Issue 2: Displaying a Knowledge Article in a Playbook Step (user view)

Observed behavior
You want to display a Knowledge Article (with full user view) in a Playbook activity step.

It currently only shows the definition/metadata, not the actual kb_view.do or rich display.

Why this happens
The Playbook Activity Renderer doesn’t load full pages like kb_view.do in-line.

It only shows record field information, not a rendered user-facing page.

The iframe sandboxing or context in Playbook execution doesn't allow for rendering full Knowledge pages.

Workarounds & Better UX Approaches
Option 1: Embed HTML with link

Add a Custom HTML template step and include a link to the article, like:

<p>Click <a href="/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0012345" target="_blank">here</a> to read the Knowledge Article.</p>

The link opens in a new tab but keeps the Playbook context clean.

Option 2: Use Glide Page/Component Renderer

Build a Playbook Custom Step Renderer that renders the knowledge article inside an iframe or using the sp_kb_article widget.

Add this renderer to the Playbook configuration and assign it to the relevant step.

Option 3: Custom Modal or Pop-out via GlideModal (advanced)

You could trigger a GlideModal window or a Client Script on the Playbook step to open a modal with a Knowledge Article.

[Trena Fritsche]

Thanks so much for your response!
I haven't implemented any of the options yet, but your solution(s) are definitely ones that I will attempt to incorporate.  I definitely understand the options for the Knowledge Article, however, I may need additional assistance from a Playbook perspective to implement, but will check to see if I can figure it out first.

[Trena Fritsche]

So, I created a new activity called Custom Iframe by copying the Iframe Activity since it sounded like what I wanted to do...display a page kb_view.do.  This seems to work, however, I am not sure how to get a button to display "Mark Complete" or some function to dismiss the knowledge article and continue in the playbook.

Because I have the Activity waiting for user Action, it is holding until some action occurs.  Any directions to add an already existing Action to this Activity so that the user has control on when they are done reading the KB article?  This seems like it should be simple, but I am struggling with getting an action to show up with this Custom Activity.  Appreciate the assistance.  

[Trena Fritsche]

Actually, disregard this.  I was able to get the Playbook Experience Action Assignment Map record used for the Iframe Activity definition that I copied to use in my scoped app playbook and copied it and changed the Activity Definition from Iframe to Custom Iframe and the button appears on the activity!