Indoor Mapping after a clone: what breaks and how to fix it

[Ritesh Menaria]

If you've recently cloned your production instance and opened Map Studio only to see the "Welcome to Map Studio" splash — or a blank map in the WSD Portal — you're in the right place. This is a known, fixable issue. Here's what's happening and exactly how to recover.

1.   The full picture

ServiceNow Indoor Mapping stores its rendering assets — map fonts, tile sets, layer definitions, and outdoor styles — as file attachments against four core Indoor Mapping tables. These records live in the sys_attachment table and power everything you see when a map renders.

When you request a clone through All → System Clone → Request Clone, the clone_instance record has a field called Exclude Attachment Data (filter_attachment_data). If this is set to true — either deliberately to reduce clone size or as an inherited default — the attachment records for those four tables are left in production and never written to the target instance.

The map data itself (campuses, buildings, floors, spaces) transfers fine because it lives in regular ServiceNow tables. But without the rendering assets, the mapping engine has nothing to draw with, and both Map Studio and the WSD Portal reservation map view come up blank.

⚠  Why card and schedule views still work

Those views read space data from WSD tables, not from the map rendering layer. A blank map view alongside working card and schedule views is a strong signal that missing attachments — and not a configuration problem — is the root cause.

2.   The four tables that don't transfer

When Exclude Attachment Data is true, the following four attachment tables are skipped:

Table name	Purpose	What breaks without it
sn_map_core_font	Map text fonts	No labels or text render on the map
sn_map_core_outdoor_style	Outdoor / base map styling	Blank base layer; no background tiles
sn_map_core_layer	Layer definitions (floors, zones)	Layers cannot render; View Editor broken
sn_map_core_tile	Tile sets for map rendering	Map tiles missing; entirely blank view

3.   Confirm it's the attachment issue

Verify the symptoms match before starting the fix:

Symptom	Where you see it	Indicates
"Welcome to Map Studio" splash on open	Indoor Mapping → Map Studio	Missing attachment records
Blank map view; spaces found but not displayed	WSD Portal → Map View	Missing attachment records
Card / schedule views show correct space count	WSD Portal → Space Search	Space data transferred OK
Duplicate Place Types in View Editor	Map Studio → View Editor	Partial clone or re-import issue
Map loads in PROD but not in DEV / TEST	Post-clone environment	Missing attachment records

4.   The fix: export from PROD, import to target

Manually export the missing attachment records as XML from production and import them into the target instance. You need admin access and your application scope set to Indoor Mapping.

Step 1 — Set your application scope

In the production instance, open the application picker (top right) and switch to Indoor Mapping.

Step 2 — Verify attachment records exist

Navigate to the URL below in your production instance (replace <instance> with your instance name) and confirm records exist for all four tables:

https://<instance>.service-now.com/sys_attachment_list.do
  ?sysparm_query=table_nameINZZ_YY
  sn_map_core_outdoor_style,sn_map_core_font,
  sn_map_core_layer,sn_map_core_tile
  &sysparm_view=

Step 3 — Export each table as XML

Navigate to each table in production. Right-click the list → Export → XML. Repeat for all four:

• sn_map_core_font
• sn_map_core_outdoor_style
• sn_map_core_layer
• sn_map_core_tile

Step 4 — Import XMLs into the target instance

Switch to your development or test instance (Indoor Mapping scope still active). Go to System Update Sets → Retrieved Update Sets → Import Update Set from XML, or use sys_import_set.do. Import each XML file in turn.

Step 5 — Verify and reload

After all four imports complete, clear your browser cache and open Indoor Mapping → Map Studio. The splash screen should be gone and your map should render. Check the WSD Portal reservation view as well.

✓  Still seeing the splash screen?

Also check the sn_wsd_indoor_map_place_properties_mapping table on the target instance. If records are missing there too, import them from production using the same XML export method. Plugin updates can sometimes wipe this table.

5.   Prevent it from happening again

The cleanest long-term fix is to set Exclude Attachment Data to false on the clone_instance record when submitting a new clone through All → System Clone → Request Clone.

ℹ  Performance trade-off

Including attachments increases the clone's data volume and can extend clone time. If your organization has intentionally excluded attachments for speed, the manual XML export-and-import approach is the correct workaround to run after each clone cycle.

Pre-clone checklist for Indoor Mapping

• Confirm Exclude Attachment Data is set to false on the clone request record.
• If attachment exclusion is required, export all four attachment tables as XML before requesting the clone.
• After the clone completes, verify Map Studio loads correctly before handing off the instance.
• If WSD Plugin updates are applied post-clone, re-check sn_wsd_indoor_map_place_properties_mapping for missing records.

6.   Other clone-adjacent issues

Duplicate Place Types in View Editor

If Map Studio renders but View Editor shows duplicate Place Types for almost every entry, this is typically caused by a partial clone or a previous import creating duplicate records. The safest fix is to raise a Now Support (HI) ticket — the ServiceNow team can assist with deduplication without risking map integrity.

Duplicate spaces after first Indoor Mapping setup

If you configure Indoor Mapping on an instance where WSD space records already exist, Map Studio creates new records for each space when you run "Get Buildings" — even when names match exactly. Ensure space names in WSD exactly match Map Studio names before import. The automated peering logic matches by name, so a one-character mismatch creates a duplicate.

Floor not rendering (but spaces are found)

When only one floor of a multi-floor building renders and others display a blank outline, confirm that each floor is present in the floor table and that you've run the Indoor Map / WSD Synchronizations sync after floor changes. Also check the View Editor for each floor to confirm layer visibility is configured correctly.

7.   Quick reference

Resource	Where to find it
Official KB article	KB1279384 — Indoor Mapping Issues After Clone (Now Support)
Clone Tips & Tricks	KB1214621 — General clone guidance including attachment handling
Indoor Mapping docs	servicenow.com/docs → Employee Service Management → Indoor Mapping
WSD Community forum	community.servicenow.com → Products → Workplace Service Delivery → WSD Forum