Copy Attachment action
Summarize
Summary of Copy Attachment action
The Copy Attachment action in ServiceNow allows you to duplicate an attachment from the Attachments [sysattachment] table and associate it with a different target record. This action is available in Workflow Studio as a core ServiceNow action and can be used by users with theflowdesigneroradminroles.
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Key Features
- Inputs: Requires specifying a source attachment record and a target record where the attachment will be copied. The source attachment can be selected manually or retrieved dynamically using the Look Up Attachment action.
- Dynamic Data Handling: Supports drag-and-drop of data pills for dynamic input values, enabling flexible flow designs.
- Integration with Look Up Actions: Commonly used with the Look Up Attachment action to find attachments by file name and the Look Up Record action to resolve Sys ID values into usable record data pills.
- No Outputs: This action does not produce outputs but performs the attachment copy operation directly.
Practical Example for ServiceNow Customers
A typical use case is copying attachments from an incident record to an associated problem record. The process involves:
- Using Look Up Attachment to identify the attachment on the incident.
- Converting the attachment Sys ID into a usable record data pill via Look Up Record.
- Using Look Up Record to find the target problem record.
- Executing the Copy Attachment action with the resolved source attachment and target problem record.
For multiple attachments, incorporate a For Each loop in the flow to process each attachment individually.
Why It Matters
This action streamlines workflows by automating the transfer of attachments between records, reducing manual steps and ensuring relevant documentation is consistently available where needed. It enhances data integrity and operational efficiency, especially in incident and problem management scenarios.
Copies an attachment from the Attachments [sys_attachment] table to a target record.
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.
- Source Attachment Record [Attachment]
- Data type: Record
Attachment record containing the attachment you want to copy. You can either manually select a record from the Attachment [sys_attachment] table or look up the attachment record. You can use the Look Up Attachment action to provide one or more Sys ID values of attachments with a given file name in a specific source record. If you use the Look Up Attachment action, you must also use a Look Up Record action to convert the Sys ID value returned by the Look Up Attachment action into a usable record data pill. See the example section for an illustration of converting the Sys ID output of the Look Up Attachment action into a record data pill.
- Target Record
- Data type: Record
Record where you want to add a copy of the attachment. You can use the Look Up Record action to find an appropriate target record.
- Table
- Data type: Table Name
Table containing the target record. This system sets this input value for you if you select a data pill for the target record.
Outputs
This action has no outputs.
Copy attachments from incident records to a problem records
This example copies attachments from the trigger incident record into an associated problem record. This example assumes that there is only one source attachment to copy. If you need to copy multiple attachments, add a For Each flow logic. The flow first uses the Look Up Attachment action to find the attachment within the trigger incident. The Sys ID value of produced by this action is used as an input in the Look Up Record action in step 3. The flow next looks up a problem record associated with the incident record.
In this example, the Source Attachment Record input gets its value from the Look Up Record action for the Attachment [sys_attachment] table, because you can't use the string output of the Look Up Attachment action directly. The Target Record input gets its value from the Look Up Record action for the Problem [problem] table. The Table input inherits its value from the Target Record data pill.
The execution details for flow step 3 show that the Look Up Record action has found a specific attachment record. This record is used as the input for flow step 4 Copy Attachment.
The execution details for flow step 4 show that both input values use the output data pills of Look Up Record actions. The Source Attachment Record input uses the data pill from flow step 3, and its runtime value is a specific Attachment record. The Target Record input uses the data pill from flow step 2, and its runtime value is a specific problem record.