Send Email action
Summarize
Summary of Send Email action
The Send Email action in ServiceNow enables users to send emails to specified recipients directly from a flow. It is a core action available in Workflow Studio, designed to automate email communications linked to specific records in your instance.
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This action is accessible to users with the flowdesigner or admin roles, allowing them to configure email details within flows to streamline notifications and communication processes.
Key Features
- Target Record Association: Emails can be linked to a specific record (Document ID and Table), ensuring replies update the corresponding record automatically.
- Recipient Configuration: You can specify main recipients (To), carbon copy (CC), and blind carbon copy (BCC) using email addresses or data pills representing users or groups. When sending to groups, use group email addresses or enable the "Include members" option to email group members.
- Email Content: Customize the Subject and Body with text or dynamic data pills. The body supports inline HTML styles but does not support email template variables—these must be replaced with data pill references.
- Outputs: The action outputs the created email record, which can be used in subsequent flow actions.
- Recipient Limit: The total number of recipients is subject to the system property glide.email.smtp.maxrecipients, which limits the maximum number of recipients per email.
Practical Considerations
- Ensure users triggering the flow have appropriate ACL permissions to send emails.
- To test email sending, review the email record in the Email [sysemail] table and verify the Headers field for successful generation.
- Email content can partially reuse existing email templates but requires manual substitution of variables with data pills.
Example Use Case
An example provided describes sending an email automatically when an incident is created that meets specific criteria (e.g., Assigned to field is populated and category is inquiry/help). The email is directed to the assigned user with dynamic subject and body content referencing the incident number, illustrating how this action can automate communication linked to record events.
Send an email to specified users or groups as an action in a flow.
Roles and availability
Available as a Workflow Studio ServiceNow core action. Users with the flow_designer or admin role can add an action to a flow and define configuration details.
Inputs
Provide a value for each input that your flow needs. To add dynamic values, you can also drag and drop pills from the Data panel or select them from the pill picker.
- Target Record
- Data type: Document ID
Record that the email is associated to. When a user sends a reply to your email, the target record is updated with the reply email content.
- Table
- Data type: Table Name
Table containing the target record.
- To
- Data type: String
The main recipients of the email. Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also drag data pills that contain email addresses into the field, such as a User or Group record. For example, if you want to send an email to the group assigned to the incident, drag the [Assignment group] data pill from the data panel.
To send email to a group, you must provide a Group email address. To send email to group members, the group must have the Include members option enabled.
Note:The number of email recipients must be equal to or less than the maximum number set by the glide.email.smtp.max_recipients system property. See Minimize SMTP Recipient Quantity for information about setting this value. - CC
- Data type: String
Additional recipients copied on this email. Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also drag data pills that contain email addresses into the field.
- BCC
- Data type: String
Additional recipients of this email, who are visible only to the sender (blind copied). Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also drag data pills that contain email addresses into the field.
- Subject
- Data type: String
Subject of the email. You can enter text or drag data pills into the field.
- Body
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The content of the message body. You can enter text or drag data pills into the field. The editor formatting options add inline styles. There is no style sheet associated with an email body. You can add your own inline style sheet to this HTML input.Note:You can partially reuse content from the Email Template [sysevent_email_template] table with some manual editing. The Send Email action can't process Email template variables, which are strings that start with the dollar sign character and include content in curly braces. You must replace email variables with references to data pills. For example, replace the string ${number} with a data pill reference to an incident record number.
Outputs
These outputs appear in the Data panel. You can use them as inputs elsewhere in your action or flow.
- Data type: Record
Email record created.
Configuring instance Email
For information about configuring your instance to send and receive email messages, see Configure email administration.
Testing the email action
To verify that the email was generated when testing the action, review the email record in the Email [sys_email] table. The Headers field indicates whether the email was successfully
generated. For example: ACL restrictions apply to the Send Email action. If you configured your flow to run as the user who initiates the session, ensure that the user can access email. To test access controls for a Send Email action,
impersonate a typical email sender and manually trigger the flow.