Workflow drawing canvas keyboard commands

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Workflow drawing canvas keyboard commands

    This guide provides keyboard commands for navigating and operating the Workflow Editor canvas in ServiceNow, specifically for the Yokohama release. Using these commands enhances accessibility and efficiency in managing workflows without relying on a mouse.

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    Navigation and Selection

    • Open Workflow Actions menu: Press Tab until the context menu is highlighted, then Enter. Use arrow keys to select commands like Validate or Publish.
    • Set workflow properties: Navigate using Tab to the properties icon and press Enter to open Workflow Properties.
    • Move between activity boxes: Use Tab or arrow keys (up, down, left, right) to navigate activity boxes, generally in a row-by-row sequence.
    • Select and edit an activity: Navigate to an activity box and press Enter to enter Edit mode. Use Tab to access elements like Activity Properties, Title, Condition Properties, and context menus.

    Editing and Modifying Activities

    • Access elements within activities: Elements such as Activity Properties and conditional options are accessible only when the workflow is checked out. Published workflows allow access to properties and titles only.
    • Add conditions: Within an activity box, select Condition Properties to specify conditions.
    • Create connections: Use the Node conditional context menu to link or delete connections between activities.
    • Add activities: Use Node conditional port options to add core or custom activities to the workflow.
    • Move activity boxes: Select the activity, then use arrow keys to move it. Hold Shift for pixel-by-pixel movement.

    Workflow Management

    • Validate workflow: Navigate to the validate icon and press Enter, or select Validate from the Workflow Actions menu.
    • Run workflow: Navigate to the run icon and press Enter. Note that if the workflow is tied to a database table, running manually is disabled; it runs automatically on table conditions.
    • Publish workflow: Open the context menu, select Publish, and press Enter.
    • Close canvas: Navigate to the close icon on the workflow tab and press Enter.
    • Jump to top: After tabbing through the entire workflow, press Enter on the “Jump to Top” prompt to quickly return to the top of the canvas.

    Practical Benefits

    These keyboard commands enable ServiceNow users to efficiently manage workflows through keyboard-only interaction, improving accessibility and streamlining workflow editing, validation, running, and publishing processes.

    Use keyboard commands to navigate and operate the Workflow Editor canvas.


    Workflow Editor Drawing Canvas - Tab Sequences / Elements
    Task or Action Keyboard Commands
    Select Workflow Actions menu command (for example, Validate Workflow or Publish Workflow)
    1. Press Tab until the context menu () is highlighted.
    2. Press Enter to open the context menu.
    3. Use the down arrow key to move to the command, then press Enter to select it.
    Set general workflow properties
    1. Press Tab until Information icon is highlighted.
    2. Press Enter to open Workflow Properties.
    Navigate from activity box to activity box. Simply press Tab or use the arrow keys (right, left, up and down) to navigate from activity to activity within the workflow.
    Note:
    Depending on the complexity and number of activity boxes in the workflow, the sequence of navigation is not always predictable. Depending on how you are navigating within the workflow, the navigation sequence is generally (but not always) row-by-row, and focus is usually placed on the nearest activity box.
    Modify a selected activity.
    1. Navigate to the activity box, then press Enter to select it and place it in Edit mode. When you select an activity box, it appears as highlighted.
    2. Once in Edit mode, use Tab to move around within the activity box to change or access elements such as:
      • Activity Properties ()
      • Title
      • Node context menu
      • Delete Node ()
      • Condition Properties ()
      • Node conditional context menu ()
      • Node conditional port options ()
      Note:
      All elements in a selected activity are only accessible when working with a checked out workflow. When working with a published workflow, you can only access its activity properties and title,
    3. Press Enter to select an element, or press Esc to escape an element without making changes.
    Add a condition to an activity.
    1. Within an activity box, select Condition Properties icon to access Condition Properties.
    2. In Condition Properties, specify the conditions for the activity.
    Create a connection from a condition on one activity to the next activity that follows
    1. Within an activity box, select Node conditional context menu ().
    2. Select Link to... to create a connection to the next activity box that follows, or select Delete to delete an existing connection.
    Add a core or custom activity
    1. Within an activity box, select Node conditional port options ().
    2. Select Add Core Activity to access Workflow Activity Definitions to add a new core activity, or select Add Custom Activity to add a custom activity to the workflow.
    Move an activity box
    1. Press Tab to navigate to the activity box, enter press Enter to select it.
    2. Use the arrow keys to move the activity box. To move the activity box one pixel at a time, press Shift while using the arrow keys.
    Validate a workflow
    1. Press Tab until Validate icon is highlighted.
    2. Press Enter to validate the workflow.

    You can also select Validate from the Workflow Actions menu.
    Run a workflow
    1. Press Tab until Run icon is highlighted.
    2. Press Enter to run the workflow.
    Note:
    If the workflow is tied to a database table, this function is disabled. The workflow runs when the proper table conditions are activated (for example, insertion of a new record into the table).
    Close workflow drawing canvas
    1. Press Tab until Close icon (on the right side of the tab that contains the name of the workflow) appears.
    2. Press Enter to close the canvas.
    Publish a workflow
    1. Press Tab until the context menu () is highlighted.
    2. Press Enter to open the context menu.
    3. Use the down arrow key to move to the Publish command, then press Enter to select it.
    Jump to Top After tabbing through the entire workflow, The Jump to top button appears at the bottom of the listing. Press Enter to jump to the top of the Workflow drawing canvas.