How to Export Data from ServiceNow: A Detailed Beginner's Guide

BillMartin · 2 hours ago

Have you ever found yourself staring at a massive list of records in ServiceNow and wondered how to get that information into a spreadsheet? Whether you need to share a report with a colleague or move data into another system for analysis, knowing how to pull data out of your instance is a fundamental skill. From quick manual exports to automated system transfers, there are several ways to handle this task depending on your specific needs.

Practice in a Development Environment First

Before you start clicking export on thousands of records, you should understand the value of working in a development environment. Think of this as your personal laboratory. It's a mirror of your system where you can experiment, click the wrong buttons, or run heavy queries without any risk of slowing down the live production environment that your company relies on.

Working in a "dev" instance means you won't be liable if something breaks. It's the best place to perfect your filters and test automated export sets. If you don't have a personal developer instance yet, it's a great idea to set one up so you can follow along with these steps safely.

Method 1: Manual Exports from Record Lists

The most common way to grab data is through the list view. This method is perfect for one-time tasks or quick data pulls.

Accessing Your Data

To start, you need to navigate to the table you want to export. A quick shortcut is to go to the application navigator on the left and type incident.list. This command takes you directly to the incident table within the IT Service Management (ITSM) module.

Exporting Filtered Record Sets

You don't always need every single record. In fact, exporting too much data can be slow and messy. You can use the built-in filter menu to narrow your results. For example, if you only want all active incidents, set your filter and run it. You might see your list drop from hundreds of records down to a manageable forty or fifty.

Once you have the right records on your screen, follow these steps:

Right-click the column header or click the context menu (the three lines next to a column name).
Select Export.
Choose your desired file type, such as Excel, CSV, or XML.

You can get even more specific by right-clicking a cell. If you see an incident marked "In Progress" and you want all records like it, right-click that cell and select Show Matching. This trims your list down further, ensuring only necessary data ends up in your file.

Exporting a Single Record

Sometimes you only need the details of one specific ticket. Instead of exporting the whole list, click into the record to open the form view. From there, you can use the same context menu process to export just that single record. This is a very straightforward way to get a clean document of an individual task or incident.

Method 2: Automated Exports with Export Sets

If you need to move data on a regular basis, manual clicking isn't efficient. This is where Export Sets come into play. This feature allows you to push data from your ServiceNow cloud instance directly to a folder on your local network.

Necessary Roles and Tools

To use this method, you need the export_set_admin role. Because ServiceNow lives in the cloud, it can't "see" your internal office folders on its own. You'll need a MID Server. This piece of software sits behind your firewall and acts as a bridge between the cloud and your local network.

If you're looking for deep technical details on these requirements, you can find more information by searching "exports" in the ServiceNow documentation.

Step 1: Create an Export Target

The first thing you need is a destination. In the application navigator, type Export and find Export Targets. When you create a new target, you'll define:

The MID Server that will handle the file move.
The File Path where the document will be saved.

Be careful with your file path. You might need to talk to your internal network team to make sure the MID Server has the right permissions to write files to that specific folder.

Step 2: Create an Export Definition

Next, you need to tell the system exactly what data to grab. The Export Definition defines the source. You'll select a table, like the incident table, and choose which fields you want to include.

Step 3: Set Up the Export Set

Finally, you combine these pieces into an Export Set. This record associates your source (the definition) with your destination (the target). Give it a descriptive name so you remember what it's for later. When the set runs, ServiceNow gathers the data, sends it to the MID Server, and drops a file in your network folder automatically.

Method 3: Exporting Data via URL

This is a more technical approach that is very useful for developers or for integrating with other software. You can actually trigger an export just by building a specific URL.

Security and Authentication

Even though this happens via a URL, it isn't "open" to the public. You should use a service account for this. This is a dedicated user record with a username and password that has specific roles and Access Control Lists (ACLs) assigned to it. This ensures the account can only see the fields it is supposed to access.

Constructing the URL Pattern

Building the URL involves taking your instance address and adding parameters to it. The basic structure looks like this:

https://[your_instance].service-now.com/incident_list.do?CSV&sysparm_query=active=true

Here's a breakdown of how to build it:

The Root: Your instance name.
The Table: The name of the table followed by "_list.do".
The Format: Adding "CSV", "XML", or "XLSX" to tell the system what file to build.
The Query: Use search parameters to filter the data. The question mark (?) starts the query, and the ampersand (&) separates different instructions.

Programmatic Exports with C#

For those with a software engineering background, you can use these URLs in code. Using C#, you can utilize the system.net and system.io libraries to automate the download. By writing a script with a DownloadFile method, you can point your code to the ServiceNow URL and save the response to a local drive like your C: drive.

If you use this method, always remember to include a try-catch block in your code to handle errors. It's also vital to close your data streams once the transfer is finished; this prevents "memory leaks" where your computer or the server keeps resources tied up unnecessarily.

Choosing the Right Method

Method	Best For	Skill Level
Manual Export	One-time reports and quick tasks	Beginner
Export Sets	Recurring data transfers to local folders	Intermediate
URL Export	Scripting and third-party integrations	Advanced

Conclusion

Exporting data from ServiceNow doesn't have to be a headache. Whether you're using a simple right-click in a list or setting up a complex automated export set with a MID Server, you now have the tools to move your data where it needs to go. Remember to always test your filters in a development environment first to ensure you're getting exactly what you need without impacting system performance.

Which of these methods do you think you'll use most in your daily work? Practice a few manual exports today to get comfortable with the interface!