Use the Notification form to create or modify the content of an email digest for a notification. You can also disable the email digest for a notification so that it isn’t available in the notification preferences of your users.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

About this task

When you create or update a notification, use the What Digest will contain tab of the Notification form to configure the email digest for the notification. After you define the digest content, the digest option for the notification is available in the notification settings of your users.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > System Notification > Email > Notifications.
    Action Description
    To create a notification Select New to open the Notification form.
    To modify a notification Select the notification to be changed.
  2. In the Notification form, select the Allow Digest check box to display the What Digest will contain tab and define the digest content.
  3. Complete the fields in the What Digest will contain tab.
    The image shows the default view of the tab. The advanced view contains additional fields (see table).
    Specifying the email digest content for the notification
    Field Description
    Digest Template If you want to reuse existing content, such as headers or footers, select an email template to add content to the email digest.
    Digest Subject

    Enter the subject line for the email digest. The subject can include variables from the Select variables column.

    If empty, the system uses the Subject value from the Email template. If you enter a value in this field, it overrides the template value.
    Digest HTML

    Enter the recurring content for the email digest. The digest content can include variables from the Select variables column.

    Variables map to column names available from the notification table, its parent tables, and reference tables. Use variables to include values from a record in the table such as an incident short description or comments and work notes.

    To prevent adding extra <p> and <div> elements to your email digest, see the blog post Extra line spacing with paragraph tags in email client by a ServiceNow employee in the ServiceNow Community.
    Digest Separator (HTML)

    Use the line to separate each item summarized in the digest.
    Digest From

    Enter the email address to be used in the From field of the email digest. For example, helpdesk@yourcompany.com. The email address must be in a valid format, otherwise a notification message appears near the field.

    Changing this address requires an advanced email setup such as enabling email forwarding.
    Digest Reply To

    Enter the email address that you want people to use when replying to the email digest. For example, helpdesk@yourcompany.com. The email must be in a valid format, otherwise a notification message appears near the field.

    Changing this address requires an advanced email setup such as enabling email forwarding.
    Digest Text

    Enter the recurring content of the email digest to send in plain text. This field appears when you set the content type to HTML and plain text or Plain text only.
    Digest Separator (text)

    [Optional] Use the dash character as a line to separate each item summarized in the digest. This field appears when you set the content type to HTML and plain text or Plain text only.
  4. When you finish creating the notification, select Submit.
    The email Digest option is displayed in the notification settings of your users.
    Note: The email recipients identified in the Who will receive tab will receive the digest after they enable the digest in their notification preferences. If the user isn’t a designated recipient for the notification, a digest isn’t generated even though the user may have the digest enabled for a notification. In this case, the user receives the actual notifications when they’re generated.
  5. (Optional) To disable the email digest for a notification, unselect the Allow Digest check box and select Update when you finish your changes to the notification.
    When you disable the digest content, the digest option is also no longer available for the notification and isn’t listed in the notification preferences for your users. If a user previously enabled the digest option for the notification, the system stops collecting those notifications for a digest and doesn’t generate the digest.
    Note: If you turned off the digest and want to make the digest available again, select the Allow Digest check box. The system retains the previously saved digest content and displays it in the What Digest will contain tab.