How to handle customized widgets after patch

[archie5]

Hi,

1. We have a few OOB widgets that were customized and I also see some patches applied on it in the version history. Do the patches apply to the OOB version that's why we still see it in version history? Or do they apply on the customized version? How does this work? 

2. Should we revert to base system widget? By doing this do we get the latest patch?

3. What's the best way to customize and also have the fixes of the patches? 

[Ankur Bawiskar · Accepted solution]

@archie5 

Responses inline

1. We have a few OOB widgets that were customized and I also see some patches applied on it in the version history. Do the patches apply to the OOB version that's why we still see it in version history? Or do they apply on the customized version? How does this work? -> Patches are applied only to the Out-of-the-Box (OOB) version of widgets. If a widget has been customized, the customized version does not receive patches automatically. The version history shows patches applied to the OOB widget, but these changes do not affect your customized widget unless you manually incorporate them into your custom version

2. Should we revert to base system widget? By doing this do we get the latest patch?

Reverting to the base system widget will restore the OOB version, including all patches and updates applied to it. However, this will overwrite any customizations you have made. If you need both the latest patches and your customizations, reverting is not ideal unless you plan to reapply your changes after reverting

3. What's the best way to customize and also have the fixes of the patches? - Best practices you can follow are below

• Clone the OOB Widget: Before customizing, clone the OOB widget. This ensures that your customizations are isolated from updates to the original widget.
• Monitor Updates: Keep track of updates and patches applied to the OOB widget by reviewing its version history.
• Manually Merge Fixes: When a patch is applied to the OOB widget, review and manually incorporate relevant fixes into your cloned/customized widget.
• Testing: Regularly test your custom widget against its OOB counterpart to ensure compatibility and functionality after updates.

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[Ankur Bawiskar · Accepted solution]

@archie5 

Responses inline

1. We have a few OOB widgets that were customized and I also see some patches applied on it in the version history. Do the patches apply to the OOB version that's why we still see it in version history? Or do they apply on the customized version? How does this work? -> Patches are applied only to the Out-of-the-Box (OOB) version of widgets. If a widget has been customized, the customized version does not receive patches automatically. The version history shows patches applied to the OOB widget, but these changes do not affect your customized widget unless you manually incorporate them into your custom version

2. Should we revert to base system widget? By doing this do we get the latest patch?

Reverting to the base system widget will restore the OOB version, including all patches and updates applied to it. However, this will overwrite any customizations you have made. If you need both the latest patches and your customizations, reverting is not ideal unless you plan to reapply your changes after reverting

3. What's the best way to customize and also have the fixes of the patches? - Best practices you can follow are below

• Clone the OOB Widget: Before customizing, clone the OOB widget. This ensures that your customizations are isolated from updates to the original widget.
• Monitor Updates: Keep track of updates and patches applied to the OOB widget by reviewing its version history.
• Manually Merge Fixes: When a patch is applied to the OOB widget, review and manually incorporate relevant fixes into your cloned/customized widget.
• Testing: Regularly test your custom widget against its OOB counterpart to ensure compatibility and functionality after updates.

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[archie5]

Hi @Ankur Bawiskar If you see this article, it says - When a fix is forwarded, the custom widgets stay unaffected. Only out of the box widgets receive the fix provided by the upgrade fix or patch. I am talking OOB widgets. Sorry just confirming - If there is a OOB widget with original version A, and we customize the same in version B. A patch comes in, it will be applied to version A only? It won't go on top of version B? We are using version B without the patch fixes it means? 

[Robert H]

Hello @archie5 ,

It's a really simple and universal rule in ServiceNow:

Anything that is OOTB and not customized will be updated to the latest version when doing a patch or release upgrade.

Everything that was customized or created by the customer will not be updated.

So yes, your custom/cloned widget will not receive the latest patch unless you manually merge the latest code into it, as explained in the instructions I provided with my previous answer.

Regards,

Robert

[archie5]

Hi @Robert H you just said - your custom/cloned widget will not receive the latest patch. I am talking about customized (modification on OOB) widget (not custom/cloned). The reason I am asking is after few patch updates, the customized widget broke 😞