Collaborative documentation using CWM

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 7 minutes to read
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    Summary of Collaborative documentation using CWM

    ServiceNow's Collaborative Work Management (CWM) Docs enables teams to manage various types of work documentation such as meeting notes, project requirements, and technical specifications using rich text documents with real-time collaboration. Docs are created within Spaces, organized into folders, and support multiple pages per document, facilitating structured and accessible information management.

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    Key Features

    • Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can edit documents simultaneously, with live presence indicators and colored cursors showing editors’ locations.
    • Auto-save and rich text editing: Docs automatically save content and support headings, lists, alignment, block-level editing, and slash commands for quick formatting and inserting elements like tables and dynamic data references.
    • Dynamic data linking: Reference any ServiceNow application record directly in Docs, keeping information up-to-date automatically and enabling quick access to detailed record views and hover popovers.
    • Inline comments and notifications: Users can add comments on specific text with visual highlights, mention colleagues with @, receive email notifications for mentions and replies, and manage comment visibility for a clean reading experience.
    • Templates and content management: Create and apply document templates, duplicate entire Docs with all pages, organize pages and subpages flexibly, and export documents as PDFs for offline use or sharing outside CWM.
    • Table and image support: Includes advanced table features like resizing columns, coloring cells, multi-cell selection, and copying/pasting cell content as tables; insert images via upload or URL and save images directly from Docs.
    • Now Assist integration: Use generative AI within Docs to draft, summarize, elaborate, or refine content with custom prompts; generate tasks from document context and add them to Boards, enhancing productivity without leaving the document.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Centralize and organize documentation seamlessly within your CWM workspace, improving team collaboration and knowledge sharing.
    • Maintain accuracy and consistency by linking live data from ServiceNow records, reducing manual updates and errors.
    • Enhance communication and feedback loops with inline comments and real-time notifications, ensuring timely stakeholder engagement.
    • Accelerate content creation and task management using Now Assist’s AI-powered drafting and task generation capabilities.
    • Facilitate structured project documentation with unlimited pages, templates, and export options for broad accessibility.

    Manage all kinds of documentation for work such as meeting notes, project requirements, or technical specifications using rich text Docs with real-time collaboration.

    Docs can be created within a Space, and organized into folders. Within a Space, you can create multiple Docs and within each Doc, you can create unlimited pages to help you effectively organize your information.

    Key features of Docs

    • Auto-save content.
    • Live user presence: See who is viewing or editing the document in real time.
    • Inline comments: Leave comments on text in a document. Supported text types include plain text, hyperlinks, dynamic data, and text inside table cells.
    • Comment notifications: Get notified via email when someone @-mentions you in a comment or when a reply is added to a comment you created in a document.
    • Templates: Create and apply document templates.
    • Rich text formatting: Headings, lists, alignment, and other paragraph styles.
    • Block-level editing: Move text blocks to change placement.
    • Cross-references: Add references to other ServiceNow AI Platform tables to connect work across teams.
    • Slash command (/) for more options:
      • Insert tables quickly
      • Mention a record. See Dynamic data linking.
      • Insert a list.
      • Choose formatting options.
    • Copy and paste within Docs: Transfer text, images, lists, and tables between Docs pages. Comments on text are retained when you copy or cut and paste within the same document but aren't carried over when pasting into a different document.
    • Table features:
      • Resize column width
      • Add color to single or multiple cells
      • Select multiple cells using mouse or Shift + arrow keys
      • Delete content from multiple cells using Backspace or Delete keys.
      • Copy and paste cell content:
        • Copy from one cell and paste into multiple cells.
        • Copy from multiple cells and paste into another set of cells.
        • Copy multiple cells and paste as a new table in an empty block.

    Images in Docs

    Insert images into your Docs by uploading a file from your device or adding a web URL. Note that inserting Google Images links might not work.

    Save images from your CWM documents directly to your device, making it easier to share or use them outside of the Docs environment. Click an image to access the download icon (), then click the icon to save it to your device. Alternatively, right-click the image and use your browser's built-in save option.

    Options to align and download an image in a Doc page.

    Inline comments

    Add comments to specific text in documents to collaborate with other users, provide feedback, or track discussions without modifying the document content.

    Visual indication
    Commented text displays with a yellow highlight and underline. Selecting the text darkens the highlight and opens a comment popover showing the comment thread. The popover closes when you click outside of it.
    Add a comment
    Select text and select the Add comments icon from the inline toolbar. You can include hyperlinks by typing or pasting URLs directly into your comment. These links are automatically converted to a clickable format when you post the comment.
    Mention users
    Type @ followed by a name to mention someone in your comment. Select the user from the lookup that appears. Only users can be mentioned in a comment. Mentions are highlighted in the posted comment, and the mentioned users are notified by email.
    Edit your comments
    If you're the owner of the comment, you can modify your comment text. Edited comments display an Edited indicator to show they have been updated.
    Comments on dynamic data
    Add comments to dynamic data elements, such as references, links, and blocks of text that contain dynamic data. Click once to open the comment popover and click again to navigate to the referenced content.
    Comment restrictions
    Overlapping comments on the same text are not supported—reply to existing threads instead. Comments cannot be added to non-text elements such as images and table cells.
    Show or hide highlights
    Turn comment highlights on or off using the Hide comment highlights option in the three-dot menu. Switch between a marked-up view and a clean reading view.
    Export or duplication behavior
    Comments and highlights are excluded when you export a document to PDF or duplicate it.
    Read-only access
    You can add and manage comments on a document if you have read-only access to the document.
    Email notifications
    Users are notified via email about the following comment activity on a document they are associated with.
    • When a reply is added to your comment by another user.
    • When a user is @-mentioned in a comment. Each mentioned user receives a separate notification. If you edit a comment to add @mention, only the newly mentioned user is notified.
    The notification includes up to 140 characters of the comment text and include the document name, workspace name, and the document path in the workspace hierarchy. Each notification includes a View button, selecting which takes you to the respective comment in the document.

    Dynamic data linking in Docs

    Keep record information in your documentation always current and reduce manual effort with the Dynamic data linking feature in Docs. You can now reference any ServiceNow application record and Docs will automatically reflect the latest updates from those records.

    For example, if you add a reference to an Incident record, the reference shows the latest field information of the incident in Docs without requiring manual edits. Selecting the incident reference opens up the incident form so that you can view the full details of the incident and make any necessary changes.

    A hover popover displays the details of the mentioned record, providing quick access to additional information without leaving the current context. Dynamic data without a comment opens on the first click. Keyboard navigation is supported.

    Dynamic linking an incident record in CWM Docs.

    Dynamic linking also enables adding references to a particular field of a record, such as Assigned to of an Incident record.

    Dynamic linking the Assigned to field of an incident record in CWM Docs.

    You can add references from any ServiceNow table you have access to, with no setup or configuration needed.

    This feature reduces the need to switch between multiple ServiceNow applications within your instance. It maintains a single, reliable source of truth for collaborative work, keeping teams aligned and informed.

    Real-time collaboration within CWM Docs

    With the feature of real-time collaboration, edit a Doc page concurrently with multiple other editors. Colored cursors denote the current location of each editor on the page. You can choose to show or hide these live presence indicators based on your preference while working on or reviewing the content of the page.
    Doc real-time collaboration.
    Note:
    Application performance may degrade with a large number of concurrent editors.

    Draft content using Now Assist for CWM

    Generate content with Now Assist for CWM directly in your Docs using custom prompts. In addition, summarize existing sections, elaborate where needed, and refine drafts to help improve your productivity.

    You can interact with Now Assist directly in your Doc to create content, add context, or improve existing sections. This helps you draft faster, refine ideas, and keep your work relevant without leaving the page.

    Work with the content of the whole page
    Some examples are:
    • For Marketing teams: Create a compelling product launch announcement highlighting the key benefits and emotional appeal for our target audience.
    • For Legal teams: Write a plain-language summary of the privacy policy in this doc, that customers can easily understand.
    • For product teams: Analyze the customer feedback comments in this Doc, group into top 5 themes, and suggest top 3 enhancements for highest impact.

    Now Assist uses the context from your Doc page to generate a response.

    Refine, elaborate, or improve the existing content within the page
    Some examples are:
    • If you have a list of stakeholders, you can ask Elaborate on the scope of these roles.
    • Rewrite this in a casual tone.

    Now Assist inline prompt for selected content on the page.

    Take assistance on a empty page
    Some examples are:
    1. Generate 5 icebreaker questions for a virtual team-building session.
    2. Write a 3-paragraph blog post explaining why [industry trend] is changing how businesses operate.
    3. Generate an outline for the Instagram campaign tasks for a Hackathon initiative.

      Creating first draft for a page using Now Assist.

    Answer questions in the context of this Doc
    Whether the content in the Doc is added manually or generated using Now Assist, you can ask questions to find anything in the page's context.

    For example, if you have a project charter document, you can try asking What is the total budget of this project and which part is the most expensive?

    Ask questions in the context of the document. Here, user asks questions on project budget, in the context of a Project Charter document.

    Generate tasks from Docs and add them to Board using Now Assist for CWM

    Use the generative AI capabilities of Now Assist to create tasks from the context of your Docs. From the Doc header, select Create Tasks and Now Assist generates task recommendations for you and walks you through to add them to the required Board in CWM workspace.

    Automatic task generation from CWM Docs using Now Assist for CWM.