Workflow editor title bar

Release version: Zurich

Updated July 31, 2025

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Summary of Workflow editor title bar

The Workflow editor title bar in ServiceNow provides essential information about the workflow and access to controls that manage workflow creation, testing, and configuration. When you open a workflow on the canvas, the title bar displays the workflow's title and its current status, such as "Checked out by " or "Published."

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Key Features

Workflow Properties: Opens the properties form to define or update workflow attributes.
Start: Runs the workflow directly from the editor. This is available only for workflows on the Global table accessible across application scopes. To test workflows on other tables, insert a record meeting the workflow condition.
Validate: Runs validation checks before publishing to identify potential errors that could prevent successful publication or cause workflow failure.
Help: Opens documentation to assist in workflow creation.

Workflow Menu Options

Accessed via the menu icon on the title bar, the workflow menu offers these key options:

New Workflow: Create a new workflow from scratch.
Open Existing: Open and edit other existing workflows.
Copy: Duplicate the current workflow with a new name for further editing or variation.
Publish: Make your personal (checked out) workflow version publicly available, overwriting the current published version. Only available for checked-out workflows.
Checkout: Create a personal editable version of a published workflow, enabling you to make changes without affecting the published version immediately.
Delete: Remove a workflow if it has no associated contexts (active instances).
Set Inactive: Disable the workflow to prevent its use without deleting it.
Expand/Collapse Transitions: Adjust the visual layout of transitions on the canvas for clarity by expanding or collapsing overlapping connections.
Start Workflow: Initiate a test run of the current workflow to validate behavior in real-time.
Validate Workflow: Conduct validation tests before publication to catch issues early.
Show Contexts: View all active instances (contexts) of the workflow for troubleshooting and diagnostics.
Properties: Shortcut to open the workflow properties form.
Edit Inputs: Manage input variables that the workflow accepts, especially when used as a subflow.
Edit Stages: Configure workflow stages to organize and manage workflow execution phases.

Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

This comprehensive title bar and menu setup enables customers to efficiently manage workflows by providing quick access to editing, testing, validating, and publishing functions. The ability to check out workflows ensures safe editing without disrupting live versions, while validation features help prevent errors before deployment. Visual transition controls improve workflow readability, and context viewing aids in troubleshooting live workflow executions.

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.

Controls on the right side of the title bar manage the workflow.

Workflow Properties : Opens the current workflow's properties form.
Start : 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 : 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 : 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.

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.