Email Notifications for ServiceNow
ServiceNow notifications are triggered by events and send emails, SMS, or other alerts to users.
Notification Components
| Component |
Table |
Purpose |
| Notification |
sysevent_email_action |
Main notification record |
| Email Template |
sysevent_email_template |
Reusable email layouts |
| Event |
sysevent |
Triggers notifications |
| Event Registration |
sysevent_register |
Defines custom events |
| Email Script |
sys_script_email |
Dynamic content scripts |
Creating Notifications
Basic Notification Structure
Notification: Incident Assigned
├── When to send
│ ├── Table: incident
│ ├── When: Record inserted or updated
│ └── Conditions: assigned_to changes AND is not empty
├── Who will receive
│ ├── Users: ${assigned_to}
│ └── Groups: (optional)
├── What it will contain
│ ├── Subject: Incident ${number} assigned to you
│ ├── Message: HTML body with ${field} references
│ └── Email Template: (optional)
└── Advanced
├── Weight: 0 (priority)
└── Send to event creator: false
Notification Conditions
// Simple field conditions
assigned_to CHANGES
priority = 1
state = 6 // Resolved
// Script condition (ES5 only!)
// Returns true to send, false to skip
(function() {
// Only notify for VIP callers
var caller = current.caller_id.getRefRecord();
return caller.vip == true;
})()
// Advanced condition with multiple checks
(function() {
// Don't notify on bulk updates
if (current.sys_mod_count > 100) return false;
// Only for production CIs
var ci = current.cmdb_ci.getRefRecord();
return ci.used_for == 'Production';
})()
Email Templates
Template Variables
<!-- Field references -->
${number}
<!-- Direct field value -->
${caller_id.name}
<!-- Dot-walked reference -->
${opened_at.display_value}
<!-- Display value -->
<!-- Special variables -->
${URI}
<!-- Link to record -->
${URI_REF}
<!-- Reference link -->
${mail_script:script_name}
<!-- Include email script -->
<!-- Conditional content -->
${mailto:assigned_to}
<!-- Mailto link -->
Template Example
<html>
<body style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<h2>Incident ${number} - ${short_description}</h2>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5">
<tr>
<td><strong>Priority:</strong></td>
<td>${priority}</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Caller:</strong></td>
<td>${caller_id.name}</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Assigned to:</strong></td>
<td>${assigned_to.name}</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Description:</strong></td>
<td>${description}</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<a href="${URI}">View Incident</a>
</p>
${mail_script:incident_history}
</body>
</html>
Email Scripts
Basic Email Script
// Email Script: incident_history
// Table: incident
// Script (ES5 only!):
;(function runMailScript(current, template, email, email_action, event) {
// Build activity history
var html = "<h3>Recent Activity</h3><ul>"
var history = new GlideRecord("sys_journal_field")
history.addQuery("element_id", current.sys_id)
history.addQuery("name", "incident")
history.orderByDesc("sys_created_on")
history.setLimit(5)
history.query()
while (history.next()) {
html += "<li><strong>" + history.sys_created_on.getDisplayValue() + "</strong>: "
html += history.value.substring(0, 200) + "</li>"
}
html += "</ul>"
template.print(html)
})(current, template, email, email_action, event)
Email Script with Attachments
// Add attachments from the record to the email
;(function runMailScript(current, template, email, email_action, event) {
var gr = new GlideRecord("sys_attachment")
gr.addQuery("table_sys_id", current.sys_id)
gr.addQuery("table_name", "incident")
gr.query()
while (gr.next()) {
email.addAttachment(gr)
}
})(current, template, email, email_action, event)
Dynamic Recipients
// Email Script to add CC recipients dynamically
;(function runMailScript(current, template, email, email_action, event) {
// Add all group members as CC
var group = current.assignment_group
if (!group.nil()) {
var members = new GlideRecord("sys_user_grmember")
members.addQuery("group", group)
members.query()
while (members.next()) {
var user = members.user.getRefRecord()
if (user.email) {
email.addAddress("cc", user.email, user.name)
}
}
}
})(current, template, email, email_action, event)
Custom Events
Registering a Custom Event
// Event Registration
// Name: x_myapp.incident.escalated
// Table: incident
// Description: Fired when incident is escalated to management
// Fired by: Business Rule
// In Business Rule (ES5 only!)
;(function executeRule(current, previous) {
// Check if escalation occurred
if (current.escalation > previous.escalation) {
// Fire custom event
gs.eventQueue(
"x_myapp.incident.escalated",
current,
current.escalation.getDisplayValue(), // parm1
current.assigned_to.name, // parm2
)
}
})(current, previous)
Notification on Custom Event
Notification: Escalation Alert
├── When to send
│ ├── Send when: Event is fired
│ └── Event name: x_myapp.incident.escalated
├── Who will receive
│ └── Users/Groups: Escalation Managers
└── What it will contain
├── Subject: Escalation: ${number} - ${event.parm1}
└── Message: Incident escalated. Assigned to: ${event.parm2}
Recipient Types
Who Will Receive
| Type |
Description |
Example |
| Users |
Specific users |
${assigned_to}, ${caller_id} |
| Groups |
User groups |
Service Desk, CAB |
| Group Managers |
Group manager field |
${assignment_group.manager} |
| Event Parm 1/2 |
From event parameters |
${event.parm1} |
| Additional Recipients |
Email addresses |
External emails |
Recipient Script
// Recipient Script (ES5 only!)
// Returns comma-separated list of emails or sys_ids
;(function getRecipients(current, event) {
var recipients = []
// Add the caller
if (!current.caller_id.nil()) {
recipients.push(current.caller_id.email.toString())
}
// Add VIP's manager
var caller = current.caller_id.getRefRecord()
if (caller.vip == true && !caller.manager.nil()) {
recipients.push(caller.manager.email.toString())
}
return recipients.join(",")
})(current, event)
Notification Weight
Priority system for multiple matching notifications:
| Weight |
Use Case |
| 0 |
Default priority |
| 1-99 |
Higher priority (lower weight = higher priority) |
| -1 to -99 |
Lower priority |
| 100+ |
Rarely used |
// Only highest weight notification sends if "Exclude subscribers" checked
// Weight 0 notification beats Weight 10 notification
Digest Notifications
Configuring Digest
Notification: Daily Incident Summary
├── Digest: Checked
├── Digest Interval: Daily
├── Digest Time: 08:00
└── Content: Summary of all incidents
Digest Email Script
// Summarize digest records
;(function runMailScript(current, template, email, email_action, event) {
var count = 0
var html = '<table border="1" cellpadding="5">'
html += "<tr><th>Number</th><th>Description</th><th>Priority</th></tr>"
// 'current' is a GlideRecord with all digest records
while (current.next()) {
count++
html += "<tr>"
html += "<td>" + current.number + "</td>"
html += "<td>" + current.short_description + "</td>"
html += "<td>" + current.priority.getDisplayValue() + "</td>"
html += "</tr>"
}
html += "</table>"
html += "<p>Total: " + count + " incidents</p>"
template.print(html)
})(current, template, email, email_action, event)
Outbound Email Configuration
Email Properties
// System Properties for email
glide.email.smtp.active // Enable/disable outbound email
glide.email.smtp.host // SMTP server
glide.email.smtp.port // SMTP port (usually 25 or 587)
glide.email.default.sender // Default from address
glide.email.test.user // Test recipient (all emails go here)
Testing Notifications
// Background Script to test notification (ES5 only!)
var gr = new GlideRecord("incident")
gr.get("sys_id_here")
// Fire event to trigger notification
gs.eventQueue("incident.assigned", gr, gr.assigned_to.getDisplayValue(), gs.getUserDisplayName())
gs.info("Event queued for incident: " + gr.number)
Best Practices
- Use Templates - Reuse layouts across notifications
- Test Thoroughly - Use test user property during development
- Consider Digests - For high-volume notifications
- Weight Carefully - Prevent duplicate emails
- ES5 Only - All scripts must be ES5 compliant
- Limit Recipients - Don't spam large groups
- Include Context - Provide enough info to act without login
- Mobile-Friendly - Keep HTML simple for mobile clients
Common Issues
| Issue |
Cause |
Solution |
| Email not sent |
Event not fired |
Check business rule fires event |
| Wrong recipients |
Script error |
Debug recipient script |
| Missing content |
Template variable wrong |
Check field names |
| Duplicate emails |
Multiple notifications |
Check weights and conditions |
| Delayed emails |
Email job schedule |
Check sysauto_script |
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