General guidelines

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 16, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of General guidelines

    This guidance focuses on best practices for managing update sets within ServiceNow, specifically targeting the Setup Hub experience for the Australia release version as of March 16, 2026. It emphasizes careful handling of instance-specific configurations and provides instructions for addressing errors encountered during update set uploads and previews.

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    Instance Specific Configurations

    Certain configurations are excluded from update sets and require manual re-configuration directly on the production instance. These include:

    • Single Sign-On (SSO)
    • LDAP directory integration
    • Notification templates and settings

    Validation Checks for Upload Errors

    If an error occurs immediately after uploading an update set XML file, verify the following:

    • The XML file was downloaded from the non-production instance.
    • The file has not been altered, renamed, or corrupted after download.

    If the issue persists, repackage and download the update set XML again from the non-production instance before retrying the upload.

    Resolving Preview Errors

    Preview errors indicate conflicts or unresolved dependencies in the update set. These must be resolved on the Update Set Preview page before committing the update set. For each error, use the Available Actions dropdown with these options:

    • Compare with local: Opens a side-by-side comparison of the incoming update set version against the current production version. Use this before accepting or skipping changes to make informed decisions.
    • Accept remote update: Overwrites the existing production record with the incoming update set version. Use this when the incoming change is correct and intended. Note that this action cannot be undone through the update set process.
    • Skip remote update: Discards the incoming change and retains the current production record. Use when the local version is correct or the incoming change is not applicable.
    • Show local record: Displays the current production version of the record.
    • Show local update: Displays updates made to the current production version of the record.

    It is recommended to use Compare with local before deciding to accept or skip any conflicting changes to ensure the correct state is maintained on the production instance.

    Practice the following general guidelines for an enhanced Setup Hub experience.

    Instance specific configurations

    The following configurations are excluded from the update set and must be re-configured directly on the production instance:
    • Single Sign-On (SSO)
    • LDAP directory integration
    • Notification templates and settings

    Validation checks

    If you encounter an error immediately after uploading the update set XML file, perform the following validation checks:
    • Confirm that you are uploading the XML file downloaded from the non-production instance.
    • Verify that the file has not been modified, renamed, or corrupted after download.
    • If the issue persists, repackage the batch update set in the non-production instance, download the XML file again, and retry the upload.

    Preview errors

    Preview errors indicate conflicts or unresolved dependencies in the update set. Resolve each error on the Update Set Preview page before you can commit the update set. For each preview problem record, there is an Available Actions dropdown. The following resolution options are available:
    Available Actions Description When to use
    Compare with local Opens a side-by-side comparison view of the incoming update set version against the version currently on the production instance. Use this action prior to selecting Accept or Skip in order to review the specific differences between the two versions and make an informed resolution decision.
    Accept remote update Overwrites the existing record on the production instance with the version contained in the update set. Select this option when the incoming configuration from the update set is the correct and intended state of the record, and the local version on production should be replaced.
    Note:
    It is recommended to use the Compare with local action before selecting Accept remote update or Skip remote update for any conflict. Accepting a remote update will overwrite the existing production record and cannot be undone through the update set process.
    Skip remote update Discards the conflicting change from the update set and retains the existing record on the production instance. Select this option when the local version on the production instance is the correct state, or when the incoming change is not applicable to the target environment.
    Show local record Shows the local version of the update set version available on the production instance. Select this option to view the local version of the current update set version on the production instance.
    Show local update Shows the local update of the update set version available on the production instance. Select this option to view the update made to the current update set version on the production instance.