Process Flow formatter

Process flow formatter:

The Process flow formatter gives a visual overview of the steps in a process. It's usually displayed at the top of forms related to that process.

In the Flow Formatter [sys_process_flow] table, each record represents a stage with its unique conditions. When these conditions are fulfilled, the formatter highlights the current stage and adds a check mark next to all previous stages.

This visual representation helps users easily understand where they are in a process and which stages have been completed.

Before we begin:

Role required: admin 

Role plugin: Process Flow Formatter

To verify the plugin installed or not, follow the below steps.

1. Navigate to All => System Applications => All Available Applications => All.

2. Find the plugin using the filter criteria and search bar. Search with "Process Flow Formatter" Refer the below screenshots for more  information.
   We can search for the plugin by its name or ID. If you cannot find a plugin, you might have to request it from ServiceNow personnel.

3. If the plugin is already installed then it will show under the Installed section as show in in the below screenshot. Otherwise, we have to install it. To install the plugin, select Install, and then in the Activate Plugin dialog box, select Activate.

Create a process flow formatter:

1. Navigate to All > System UI > Process Flow.

2. Click New.

3. Complete the form, as appropriate.

Field Description

Table : Select a table for this process flow formatter.

Name : Enter a name to identify the formatter.

Label : Enter the name to be displayed in the form configuration slushbucket.

Order : Enter a number to indicate where in the process flow the formatter will be displayed. Formatters are arranged with the lowest number on the left and the highest number on the right.

Active : Select the check box to ensure that the formatter stage is active. When the check box is cleared, the formatter stage does not appear in the flow display.

Condition : Use the condition builder to set the conditions under which the formatter is highlighted as current. Any field available in the condition builder, such as SLA or Impact, can be used to trigger a process flow stage.

Description : Describe the process flow formatter. This description does not appear on the actual formatter.

4. Repeat as necessary for each stage.

5. Once we created the process flow formatter, go to the table where you want to display the formatter, then go to form design. Now you will be able to see the 'Process Flow' formatter under formatter section. Add it to the form and save the changes. 

Example: Create a process flow formatter for Incident Table:

Here, we are going to create a process flow formatter for the incident table. Let's break down the detailed steps to understand the process.

To set up Process flow formatter for incident table, we are going to use the 'State' field, which has choices like New, In Progress, On Hold, Resolved, Closed, Canceled. Create a record for each choice with its order, so the formatter shows in the same order in Table.

Steps:

1. Navigate to All > System UI > Process Flow.

2. Click New.

3. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form. 

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : New

   • Label : New

   • Order : 100

   • Active : True  (select the active checkbox)

   • Condition : State is New (select the condition as state is New)

4. Click Submit.

5. Click New. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form then click on Submit.

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : In Progress

   • Label : In Progress

   • Order : 200

   • Active : True  (select the active checkbox)

   • Condition : State is In Progress

6. Click New. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form then click on Submit.

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : On Hold

   • Label : On Hold

   • Order : 300

   • Active : True  

   • Condition : State is On Hold

7. Click New. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form then click on Submit.

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : Resolved

   • Label : Resolved

   • Order : 400

   • Active : True  

   • Condition : State is Resolved

8. Click New. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form then click on Submit.

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : Closed

   • Label : Closed

   • Order : 500

   • Active : True  

   • Condition : State is Closed

9. Click New. It will open the Flow formatter form to create new record. Provide the details as below in the form then click on Submit.

   • Table : Incident [incident]

   • Name : Canceled

   • Label : Canceled

   • Order : 600

   • Active : True  

   • Condition : State is Canceled

10. Now, go to Incident table list view => Click New => Right click on form banner => Go to Configure => click Form design.

11. In form design, navigate to the left side, under the "Formatters" section, we'll now find the 'Process Flow' formatter available for use. 

12. Now, add new section in form in form design, make it as 1 column, and add 'Process Flow' formatter to this new section.

13. Now, move this new section to top in the form design.  Click Save.

14. Now, go to Incident table list view => Click New. 

15. Now we will be able to see the 'Process flow' formatter on form.

Refer the below screenshots for detailed step by step information for better understanding.