Combined Service Catalog release notes for upgrades from Vancouver to Xanadu

How to use this page

To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Service Catalog release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Vancouver to Xanadu.

Tip:

If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

Important information for upgrading Service Catalog to Xanadu

Before you upgrade to Xanadu, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

New features

Between your current release family and Xanadu, new features were introduced for Service Catalog.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	Create topics or taxonomy in Catalog Builder to enable discovery of catalog items on Employee Center Configure topics and taxonomy for catalog items or record producers in Catalog Builder to make them discoverable on Employee Center. While creating or editing catalog items in Catalog Builder, browse the topics to add in the Location step. Drag or copy attachments Drag or copy one or more files in the Add attachments window to attach the files to catalog items, order guides, or request items in standard ticket pages. The window opens after you select the add attachments icon () while working with or ordering catalog items in ServiceNow® Service Portal, Employee Center, or customized portals. Easily navigate to ServiceNow AI Platform from Catalog Builder Navigate to the ServiceNow AI Platform from Catalog Builder to update any advanced feature for catalog items in Catalog Builder. If you want to add an advanced feature, such as client scripts, to the catalog item, but you're working in Catalog Builder, use the Edit in advanced view button to navigate to the ServiceNow AI Platform, where you can add such information. Discard draft catalog items in Catalog Builder Discard a catalog item in the Draft state if you don’t need it anymore directly from the Catalog Builder. Use the Discard draft button on the catalog list page or the Catalog Builder wizard. When you discard a draft of a published catalog item, only the draft item is discarded while the published item remains intact such that the data of the catalog item is reverted to the state that it was in before you started editing it. Improved auto-populate Experience an improved auto-populate feature. Now you can select questions from the associated variable sets as dependent questions on the Auto-populate tab. Only the reference and requested for type variables appear in the list. This improved feature supports only single-row variable sets. Archive the variable data on requested items Use the default archive and archive destroy rules to archive and destroy the variable data respectively on requested items after a specific duration. The duration of the rules is set to two years by default. The archive rule archives the variable data of standard catalog items, record producers, and catalog task tables. Because the data is archived, the performance of Service Catalog remains efficient. The archive destroy rule destroys the archived data. You must activate both the archive and destroy rules because they’re inactive by default, and their duration can be changed as required.
Washington DC	Save catalog item forms as drafts Enable catalog item requesters to save the drafts of the catalog item forms on the portals, such as the ServiceNow® Employee Center and ServiceNow® Service Portal, and on the Now® Mobile app. Requesters can save the drafts when they come across situations, such as lengthy forms and requesters that don't have enough information to submit the record but don't want to discard the forms. They can save the draft and start editing from wherever they left off. Requesters can access the saved drafts from the My Request widget in a new Drafts tab. Set values for questions in catalog items Set values in Catalog UI Policy Actions for questions in a catalog item without the need to script. The value that you set for the question is displayed when the specified condition is met. You can set the values using Catalog UI Policy Actions in the ServiceNow AI Platform and using dynamic behavior in Catalog Builder. For example, on a catalog item to order a company phone, you might want to automatically set the color to black if the storage size selected is 1 TB because that's the only option available. You can now configure this behavior without the need to write any scripts. Note: After upgrading from any previous release to Washington DC release, the Clear the variable value check box will not be displayed. If you’ve already selected the Clear the variable value check box in any previous release, then in the Washington DC release, this option is automatically set as Clear value in the Value action drop-down list. For the attachment and masked variables, you will still view the Clear the variable value option to clear the value in the Washington DC release. Set field message for questions in catalog items Set field messages for the questions in a catalog item without the need to script. Field messages appear below the question as helpful text when a specified condition is met. You can set the field messages using the Catalog UI Policy Actions in the ServiceNow AI Platform and using the dynamic behavior in Catalog Builder. For example, you can set a warning message to be displayed on the type of laptop question to read `Advanced laptop would need department head approval` when the type that you chose is Advanced.
Xanadu	Added inline render type support of catalog item in Virtual Agent Fill a catalog item form inline in the Virtual Agent powered by Natural Language Understanding (NLU). For example, while requesting a catalog item that’s marked inline render type, the requester can fill the item and its options within the Virtual Agent conversation.

Changes

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some changes were made to existing Service Catalog features.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	Improvements to auditing in Catalog Builder Track who made changes to catalog items or record producers and their related entities in Catalog Builder. Performance improvements to Catalog Builder Experience improved performance of Catalog Builder specifically when dealing with catalog items containing a large number of questions.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Removed

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Service Catalog features or functionality were removed.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Deprecations

Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Service Catalog features or functionality were deprecated.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Activation information

Review information on how to activate Service Catalog.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	Service Catalog is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.
Washington DC	Service Catalog is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.
Xanadu	Service Catalog is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.

Additional requirements

If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Service Catalog we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Browser requirements

If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Service Catalog we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Accessibility information

Review details on accessibility information for Service Catalog, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	Dark theme Enable a dark theme or mode in Next Experience for Service Catalog on the Now Mobile app. This option is commonly used to alleviate eye strain and improve readability.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Localization information

If there are specific localization considerations for Service Catalog we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	No updates for this release.
Washington DC	No updates for this release.
Xanadu	No updates for this release.

Highlight information

If there are specific highlight considerations for Service Catalog we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Vancouver	Make catalog items and record producers discoverable in ServiceNow® Employee Center by configuring topics and taxonomy for them in Catalog Builder. Save the time that you spend on adding attachments to catalog items by dragging or copying one or more files to attach them to the catalog items on ServiceNow® Service Portal, ServiceNow® Employee Center, and your customized portals. Navigate to the ServiceNow AI Platform from Catalog Builder to update any advanced feature for catalog items. Use the Edit in advanced view button to quickly navigate to the ServiceNow AI Platform, where you can add an advanced feature, such as client script, to the catalog item. Discard the catalog items that are in the Draft state directly in the Catalog Builder by using the Discard draft button displayed for the catalog item. Use the ServiceNow® Next Experience dark theme for Service Catalog on the Now Mobile app. Experience an improved auto-populate feature. You can select the questions from the associated variable sets as dependent questions on the Auto-populate tab. See Service Catalog for more information.
Washington DC	Let your catalog item requesters save drafts of catalog item forms so that requesters can edit the drafts later. Set values for questions in a catalog item without the need to script in the ServiceNow AI Platform® and Catalog Builder. Set field messages for the questions in a catalog item without the need to script in the ServiceNow AI Platform and Catalog Builder. Experience the support for single check box in Virtual Agent for catalog conversations. See Service Catalog for more information.
Xanadu	Fill a catalog item form inline in the Virtual Agent conversation. Let users experience the support of Zero Trust Access (ZTA) security model for Service Catalog. Experience the faster loading of popular catalog items in the Popular Items widgets. See Service Catalog for more information.