Configure photo search

Release version:
Vancouver
Yokohama
Xanadu
Washington DC
UpdatedAug 3, 2023
4 minutes to read

Vancouver
Mobile Configuration and Navigation

The Vancouver release is no longer supported. As such, the product documentation and release notes are provided for informational purposes only, and will not be updated.

Configure photo search for your mobile applications by enabling photo search in system properties, creating a Firebase account, and connecting your account to your ServiceNow instance.

Create a Firebase account

Create a Google Firebase project and enable the Google Vision API.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

Photo search requires a Google Cloud / Firebase account to analyze images and return search results. If you already have a Google account, you can use your existing account. If not you can create an account at https://firebase.google.com/.

Note: Configuration for your Firebase account includes upgrading your account to the Blaze plan. This plan is a billable service that you must configure with Google.

Procedure

Navigate to Firebase website, and sign in with a new or existing Google account.
Click Create Project.
Give your project a name and continue through the guided steps. The Firebase project page appears once you have completed the project setup.
From the project setup page, add an iOS or Android app to your project by selecting the iOS or Android button.
In the App setup page, fill in the form to add an app to your Firebase project.
1. Enter a bundle ID and App nickname for your app. There are no specific requirements for the bundle ID and app nickname fields.
2. You do not need to download the configuration file, add an Firebase SDK, add an initialization code, or run your app to verify installation. You can click Next or Skip this step to bypass these steps.
After completing setup you can see the configuration page for your project, with your new application listed.
Click the Spark Plan button.
Select the Blaze plan.

Note: The Blaze plan is a billable plan. For details on pricing see Firebase pricing.
When prompted, create a billing account and enter in your payment details.
Navigate to the Google Cloud Platform website.
Log in to the website using the same Google account used in the previous steps.
In the header, select the project you created in previous steps.
Use the APIs & Services menu option to locate and enable the Google Vision API.
Return to the Firebase website, and open your project settings page.
In another browser tab or window, log in to your ServiceNow instance.
Navigate to System Mobile > Mobile Branding > Mobile App Configs, and select the record for the mobile app where you want to configure photo search.
In the Vision iOS App ID field, enter the App ID for your iOS app listed on your Firebase project settings page.
In the Vision Android App ID field, enter the App ID for your Android app listed on your Firebase project settings page.
In the Vision API Key field, enter the Web API Key listed on your Firebase project settings page.
Click Update.

Connect your instance to your Firebase project

Enter your project ID and Google Vision API key into your instance to begin using photo search.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

Procedure

Navigate to All > System Mobile > Mobile Branding > Mobile App Configs.
Select the record for the app for which you want to enable photo search.
In the Vision iOS App ID field, enter the iOS App ID from your Firebase project.
In the Vision Android App ID field, enter the Android App ID from your Firebase project.
In the Vision API Key field, enter the Google Vision API key from your Firebase project.
Click Update.
Your app is configured to use the Google Vision API for photo search. Repeat the steps if for your other mobile apps if you want to include the photo search option in those apps. Before using the photo search, you must still enable the system property as detailed in the next steps.

Create the image search system property

Create and enable a system property to control access to image search on your instance.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

Procedure

In the filter navigator, type sys_properties.list to display the list of system properties for your instance.
Click New.

Fill in the system property form as needed.

Table 1. System property form
Field	Value
Name	glide.sg.image_recognition.search.enable
Type	true \| false
Value	true

Click Submit.
Your instance is configured to use photo search. You can disable photo search on your instance at any time by deleting the property record or by setting the Value field to false.
Note: Enabling this system property grants access to image search for all users.

What to do next

Enable global search in your screen launcher to begin using photo search on your mobile applications. For details on enabling search on your screen launchers see Enable global search in your screen launcher.

Enable photo search on your launcher screen

Enable photo search on your launcher screen record in Mobile App Builder to present the photo search option for your users.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

Procedure

Navigate to All > System Mobile > Mobile App Builder.
The Mobile App Builder opens in a new browser tab and displays the application scope selection screen.
Search for the application scope you are working in and then select the name of the application scope.
The Mobile App Builder categories home screen displays.
Select Screens from the menu, and then select the launcher screen that you want to update.
Scroll down to the Search configuration area and select the search configuration record that is associated with the launcher screen to open it.
In the Search Config record, scroll down to the Settings area and select the Enable photo search option.

Note: If the glide.sg.image_recognition.search.enable has not been added to your ServiceNow instance, or the value is set to false, the Enable photo search option is not available in Mobile App Builder.
Select Save.

Vancouver Mobile Configuration and Navigation

Filters

Versions

Products