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Since Infor Process Designer is an open-ended visual design tool, different users can achieve the same end goal but in many different ways. While the flow might technically “work”, this level of design freedom usually leads to processes that are not as efficient as they could potentially be.

Here are some tips to keep in mind as you design your next flow:

1. Use a MsgBuilder node instead of writing to file for each record

    
   
   By using a MsgBuilder node, we can append all found records to a String in memory. We can then call the string when we need to write the records. This is much faster than individually writing each line, each time through the FileAccess node.

2. Merge Assign Nodes
   
   This is a common mistake in many processes. There is no reason two Assign nodes would have to line up one after another in a flow. You can simply use one Assign node for all your variables/javascript. More nodes in your flow results in slower speeds so you should always try to use as few nodes as possible.
3. Remove Unnecessary Assign Nodes
   
   When a value is returned from a query or processing node, it is automatically assigned an internal variable name.

   In the screenshot above, we see the values pulled from my SQL query have already been automatically assigned a variable. Therefore, there would be no point in having an Assign node to set SQL ADDRESS to my custom variable <!ADDRESS>. It would be better to simply call <!SQLQuery1080_ADDRESS> when needed as the variable has already been created for me.

4. Remote File Access
   When the Infor Lawson business applications and ProcessFlow are on the same server, file access is blazing fast since all the files are local. However, when IPA is on a separate server, the process slows down since the flow must now access the file across the network and not locally.

   To mitigate this issue, make sure file access is done as efficiently as possible. Perhaps reach out to those in charge of network IT to see about reducing network lag.

5. Upload the Process with Logging Off
   Process logging can negatively affect performance. Unless you are troubleshooting a problem, processes should be uploaded with Log Level: No debug
   
   

1. Performance degradation? Forms slow to load?
   Try following these steps:
   • Click the Settings Gear Icon on the top right of your ServiceNow screen, next to your name. Then, navigate to the Forms tab.
   
   
   • Changing the Related list loading from “With the Form” to “After Form Loads” for a slight improvement in performance. Changing to “On-Demand” can result in significant performance gains as this would change it so that records get loaded only upon click.

2. Change the form view to a cleaner tabbed format versus the normal lengthy vertical layout.
   From the same Forms tab in System Settings (refer to tip #1), we can turn on Tabbed forms to change to this view.
   

   BEFORE:
   
   AFTER:
   
   

3. Using asterisks (*) and double asterisks (**) for Reference fields.
   In ServiceNow, searching for a record in a reference field will automatically use a “STARTSWITH” query.

   This can cause some difficulties when trying to search for records.
   

   The solution is to use an asterisk before typing in the search term. This will change the query to a “CONTAINS” search which makes searching for records a lot easier.
   

   Also, you can also use double asterisks (**) to quickly return the first (up to) 15 records in the table.
   

4. ServiceNow Keyboard Shortcuts.
   
5. Quickly add attachments by simply dragging file to “Work notes” area.

   Attaching files by clicking the paperclip icon and then browsing for the file is a slow process. You can
   simply drag and drop the file you want to attach into the Work notes box.

   

For those who spend a large part of their day behind a screen, keyboard shortcuts are great and the time saved by using these shortcuts definitely accrues over time. You are losing precious seconds of productivity every time you lift your hand off the keyboard to use the mouse instead. Effectively using keyboard shortcuts can cut that wasted time down.

Most of us are already familiar with the most common keyboard shorts such as cut/copy/paste/undo/redo (ctrl+x/c/v/z/y).

At one point or another, we all have probably seen some type of chart online that shows all the possible keyboard shortcuts. This list is a bit daunting to take in at once and difficult to commit to memory unless you actually sit down and make it a point to memorize all the shortcuts. Even then, I find that it quickly fades from memory if not put to regular use.

Therefore I wanted to create this short list of keyboard shortcuts that I actually use in my daily work:

1. Windows key + Arrow direction key – Snaps app window to left/right side/corner of screen
   

   Examples:
   Windows key + Left arrow direction key – left side
   

   
   Windows key + Right arrow direction key – right side
   

   
   Windows key + Left arrow direction key then Windows key + Up arrow direction key – left upper corner
   

   Windows key + Left arrow direction key then Windows key + Down arrow direction key – left lower corner
   

   Windows key + Up arrow direction key – Maximize window
   Windows key + Down arrow direction key – Minimize window

   The most common use case for me is when I want to compare two similar files. For example, sometimes I pull up an erroring work unit log on the left side and a normal, functioning log on the right to compare the two and see where the path diverges. There are also times that I will compare an old backup file to a new modified one to visualize the changes.
   

2. Windows key + E – Opens File Explorer
3. Windows key + M – Minimizes all windows (useful for quickly accessing desktop shortcuts)
   Windows key + Shift + M – Restores all minimized windows
   Windows key + Comma – Temporarily peek at the desktop
4. Windows key + S – Opens Windows search.
   Simply start typing the program/file name after pressing Windows key + S. Useful for opening programs/files quickly.
5. Ctrl + Shift + V – Paste as plain text. I use this at least a couple of times a day. This is especially useful when composing emails with copied snippets from other sources.Ctrl + V:
   

   
   Ctrl + Shift + V:
   

In ServiceNow there are a ton of buttons when you first start using it and it can be overwhelming and easy to ignore them at first.

When a ticket finally makes it to you, it might be in a hierarchy of other ticket types (requests, changes, tasks, incidents).  For my example it’s under the “Request Item” field.

The Request Item in our case is another ticket type in the hierarchy and usually has more detailed of what the task is to complete this ticket.  A useful button that you may overlook is the “I’ button which is essentially an Info button with tons of helpful information.

This button shows a plethora of information that may be relevant in resolving the ticket or task and essentially allows you to view more specifics about the ticket without just searching for it elsewhere in ServiceNow.

All these Info buttons could be useful, some give detailed user information while others give location info.  It saves a bunch of time. Hope this was helpful!

We normally write stored procedures for nearly any transaction that has more than one component to it. For example, creating an invoice record that has many lines would require you to insert a record into a header table, and multiple records into a detail table. But what happens if you insert the header and one of the detail records fails to get inserted properly. In these cases, you’re usually greeted by a SQL Exception and error out. However, depending on how you write your stored procedure, you might now have one header record and some of the detail records in the database. In some cases this might be okay, but in most cases it is not and the preference would be to avoid inserting any of the records if even one of them fails. Luckily MySQL provides a really great solution for this problem.

BEGIN

    .. Declare statements ..

    DECLARE EXIT HANDLER FOR SQLEXCEPTION 
    BEGIN

          ROLLBACK;
    END;

    START TRANSACTION;

        .. INSERT  ..
        .. UPDATE  ..
        .. SELECT  ..

    COMMIT;
END