The ServiceNow® Core Now Platform provides features and functionalities to applications and other parts of the Now Platform. The Core Now Platform was enhanced and updated in the Xanadu release.

Core Now Platform highlights for the Xanadu release

  • Use ECMAScript 2021 (ES12) features in any server-side script.
  • The TinyMCE upgrade from V4 to V6.8.2 includes enhanced formatting options and editing, as well as extended functions to enable users to format their content to better suit their needs.
  • Capture multiple attributes and their values in a single column instead of adding new columns to a table.
  • Experience the new Automatic Jobs Scheduling feature with rollback and configuration retrieval abilities for events processing.

See Administer the Now Platform for more information.

Important: Log Export Service is available in the ServiceNow Store. For details, see the "Activation information" section of these release notes.

New in the Xanadu release

Dynamic schema for storing attributes
Create and store structured groups of attributes and their values in a dynamic attribute store field.
Use ECMAScript 2021 (ES12) features in any server-side script
Use the latest JavaScript features supported with ECMAScript 2021 (ES12) mode in individual scripts in applications that use ES5 Standards mode or Compatibility mode. From a script’s record, select Turn on ECMAScript 2021 (ES12) mode.
Automated jobs scheduling and manual scaling of jobs
Starting with the Xanadu release, you can opt for automated job scheduling using queue registration. Select a queue in the new event form. As an admin, you can also manually define the number of jobs running at a queue level by scaling it either up or down as required in the Queue Details form.
Migrate existing sys event applications to Message Processing Framework
Migrate your existing sys event queues to Message Processing Framework. You can also roll back a queue back to its previous configurations.
Geo point functions
Convert longitude and latitude columns to a geo point field. Convert a geo point field or any valid numeric values or columns into longitude and latitude columns or values.
System Events and Scheduled Jobs enhancements
Try the new Active Jobs tile in the System Events dashboard that states the number of jobs associated for a queue in processing framework. You can also review the details of the completed jobs by using the new Stuck Jobs and Permanent Error Jobs tiles on the Scheduled Jobs dashboard.

Changed in this release

TinyMCE upgrade
The HTML editor field now uses upgraded version of TinyMCE. TinyMCE has been upgraded from v4 to v6.8.2. This upgrade provides enhanced table functions as well as enhanced formatting and editing features like accordion, addition of custom styles through dictionary attributes, enable/disable text menubar, enhanced power paste. These enhancements enable users to format content to better suit their needs. Add the supported plugins to the system property glide.ui.html.editor.enabled_plugins​ and add the supported toolbar options to the system property glide.ui.html.editor.toolbar to configure the editor according to your needs. The upgrade includes changes in plugin names, toolbar names and new system properties to support configurations for the new version.
Business calendar enhancements
Business calendar enhancements include the ability to create business calendar spans and their names (accessible across both global and scoped applications), add a new calendar field called Calendar type, and differentiate more easily between similar calendar names.
Send REST Request - Inbound test step supports mutual authentication
Use mutual authentication with the Send REST Request - Inbound test step by selecting an X.509 certificate.
Apply ACLs to GraphQL API paths
Specify which level of a GraphQL API to apply ACLs to with the Path ACL Depth field.
REST and SOAP API analytics dashboards migrated to Platform Analytics experience
The REST and SOAP API analytics dashboards have been migrated from Core UI to the Platform Analytics experience. Access the dashboards from All > System Web Services > Analytics Usage Overview. After upgrading, the Core UI dashboards are still available from All > System Web Services.
Control access for HTTP headers in CORS requests
Configure whether to allow credentials in requests with the Access-Control-Allow-Credentials field and which HTTP headers to allow in requests with the Access-Control-Allow-Headers field.
Deactivate CORS rules
Turn a CORS rule [sys_cors_rule] on or off with the Active field.
Rhino update for the JavaScript engine on the platform
Rhino was updated to improve the performance of the JavaScript engine on the platform.

Deprecations

  • The System Performance Dashboard is deprecated as of the Xanadu release. Impact Instance Observer offers a powerful solution for enhancing system performance. Contact your account manager to discover more.
  • Starting with the Xanadu release, Application Insights is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer available in the ServiceNow Store but will continue to be supported. Instead, Impact Instance Observer offers a powerful solution for enhancing system performance. Contact your account manager to discover more. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

Activation information

Now Platform is a Now Platform feature that is active by default.

Accessibility information

TinyMCE Upgrade

Tiny MCE is an open-source rich text editor used in the HTML editor field. The upgrade of TinyMCE from v.4 to v.6.8.3 provides the following accessibility improvements:

  • Keyboard:
    • The color picker slider is now accessible using both keyboards and screen readers.
    • There is also now a check mark to indicate the color selected by the user.
    • The close dialog buttons in the modal dialogs are now accessible.
    • The keyboard focus indicator is now clearly visible in the font color selection menu items.
  • Screen reader:
    • The selected value of drop-down menus like Font and Font-size is now announced by the screen reader.
  • Low vision:
    • The script editor and the HTML editor tool bar is now dark theme compatible.
Admin Center and Adoption Blueprints accessibility enhancements
Accessibility issues have been fixed for the following personas as part of Xanadu in Admin Center and Adoption Blueprints:
  • persona_low_vision
  • persona_no_vision
  • persona_color
  • persona_auditory
  • persona_speech
  • persona_cognitive
  • persona_physical