Workflow editor title bar

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Workflow Editor Title Bar

    The Workflow Editor title bar in ServiceNow provides essential information and controls when working with workflows on the canvas. It displays the workflow’s title and status, such asChecked out by orPublished, helping users quickly understand the current state of the workflow they are editing or viewing.

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    Key Features

    • Workflow Properties: Opens the properties form to configure the current workflow’s attributes.
    • Start: Runs the workflow directly from the editor. This option is available only for workflows on the Global table accessible across all application scopes. For workflows on other tables, testing requires inserting a record that meets the workflow’s conditions.
    • Validate: Performs validation checks before publishing to identify issues that could prevent successful publication or cause failures during execution.
    • Help: Opens documentation to assist with workflow creation and troubleshooting.
    • Workflow Menu: Accessed via a menu icon in the title bar, it provides additional workflow management options such as creating new workflows, opening existing ones, copying, publishing, checking out, deleting, and setting workflows inactive.

    Workflow Menu Options

    The menu offers a range of practical controls:

    • New Workflow: Create a new workflow from scratch.
    • Open Existing: Open and work on an existing workflow.
    • Copy: Duplicate the current workflow and rename the copy.
    • Publish: Make your personal checked-out version public, replacing the current published version.
    • Checkout: Create a personal editable version from a published workflow.
    • Delete: Remove a workflow unless it has active contexts associated with it.
    • Set Inactive: Disable the workflow to prevent its use.
    • Expand/Collapse Transitions: Adjust how transitions are visually arranged on the canvas for clarity.
    • Start Workflow: Start a test run of the current workflow.
    • Validate Workflow: Run pre-publication validation to detect potential workflow issues.
    • Show Contexts: View all contexts related to the workflow, useful for troubleshooting.
    • Properties: Open the workflow’s attribute form.
    • Edit Inputs: Modify the list of variables that the workflow can accept when used as a subflow.
    • Edit Stages: Manage workflow stages, applicable for tables with a Workflow type column.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    This title bar and its controls simplify workflow management by providing quick access to key actions such as running, validating, and configuring workflows. Customers can efficiently test workflows, manage versions, and troubleshoot issues directly from the canvas, enhancing productivity and reducing errors before publishing workflows into production.

    When a workflow is opened in the canvas, the title bar displays the workflow title and the workflow status in italics. Possible states are Checked out by <name> and Published.

    Figure 1. Workflow editor title bar
    Controls on the right side of the title bar manage the workflow.
    • Workflow Properties Workflow properties icon: Opens the current workflow's properties form.
    • Start Run the workflow icon: Runs the workflow. This control is only available for workflows running on the Global table that are accessible from all application scopes. To test workflows that are on other tables, insert a record into that table that meets the condition of the workflow.
    • Validate Validate the workflow icon: Tests the workflow prior to publication. Validation detects potential problems that can prevent the workflow from publishing or cause the workflow to fail. For more information, see Workflow Validation.
    • Help Help icon: Opens documentation to help you create the workflow.

    Workflow menu

    Click the menu icon in the title bar for additional options to configure the workflow.

    Figure 2. Accessing the workflow menu
    These menu options are available:
    Table 1. Workflow menu options
    Option Description
    New Workflow Creates a new workflow.
    Open Existing Opens another existing workflow.
    Copy Creates a duplicate of the workflow. Give the copy a different name.
    Publish Makes the personal workflow version public, overwriting the current published workflow version. This option is only available for checked out workflows.
    Checkout Creates a personal version of the workflow for you, which you can edit. This option is only available for published workflows.
    Delete Deletes the workflow. You cannot delete workflows that have contexts associated with them.
    Set Inactive Inactivates the workflow so that it cannot be used.
    Expand Transitions Redraws the transitions so that they do not overlap when they leave the activity condition.
    Start Workflow Starts a test run of the current workflow.
    Validate Workflow Runs validation tests on your workflow prior to publication. Use this validation to detect potential problems that can prevent the workflow from publishing or cause the workflow to fail. For more information, see Work on workflows.
    Collapse Transitions Redraws the transitions so they overlap when they leave the activity condition.
    Show Contexts Displays all the contexts for the current workflow. You can use this option to troubleshoot a workflow.
    Properties Opens the Workflow Properties form, which defines the workflow's attributes.
    Edit Inputs Opens the Workflow Inputs list of variables that the workflow can accept when used as a subflow. For more information, see Pass a variable from a workflow to a subflow.
    Edit Stages Opens the Workflow Stages list. For more information, see Workflow stages. For tables with a column of Type = Workflow.