Plugin frequently asked questions for ServiceNow instances - Support and Troubleshooting

Plugin frequently asked questions for ServiceNow instances Issue .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Plugins are software components that add functionality to installed applications on ServiceNow instances. This article answers frequently asked questions about plugins, including activation, subscriptions, troubleshooting, and related tables.

Release .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } All supported releases

Resolution .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Table of Contents 1. What's the difference between a plugin and an application? 2. Why is the plugin upgrade button grayed out, or why do I get a message that says no upgrade is available? 3. What plugins, subscriptions, and applications are included in our company's license? 4. How do I try, buy, and install apps from the ServiceNow store? 5. Do I have to pay for a plugin? 6. How do I activate plugins? 7. How do I activate plugins for my On-Premise Instance(s)? 8. Why are plugin requests automatically scheduled 2 days out when requested? 9. Are Store Applications the same as Plugins? 10. What plugins are available for my ServiceNow instance and its current Platform version? 11. Where can I locate new plugins within my current Platform version along with existing plugins that have been deprecated and/or renamed? 12. Why is acknowledgment required, for certain plugins, prior to activation? 13. Is a subscription required for all requested plugins? 14. How do I purchase a subscription to a plugin? 15. What are the useful tables related to plugin activation? 16. How do I verify that a plugin was successfully installed? 17. How to determine if a plugin was successfully activated and when it was activated? 18. How do I know who activated a plugin? 19. What do I do if my plugin activation failed? 20. Why can I see a plugin in a sub-production instance but not in production? 21. How do I repair a plugin? 1. What's the difference between a plugin and an application? An application is a standalone piece of code — such as an accounting program — that implements a collection of features. A plugin is not standalone; it provides feature enhancements to installed applications.

2. Why is the plugin upgrade button grayed out, or why do I get a message that says no upgrade is available? You cannot activate plugins on production instances directly. Instead, request plugin activation through NOW Support . For more information, see Requesting Plugin Activation . You can activate some plugins on non-production instances without going through Now Support. For more information, see Activate a Plugin .

To activate a plugin on a production instance, you must purchase a subscription. To purchase a subscription, contact your ServiceNow account manager. Every company using ServiceNow has an account manager.

Some plugins depend on other plugins being activated:

In some cases, a plugin cannot work unless one or more other plugins are installed. When you request activation for a plugin in this category, the system notifies you of the dependencies before completing the activation. If you confirm, the system automatically activates all required plugins. In some cases, the plugin works but certain features that do not apply to your system are not installed. When you request activation for a plugin in this category, the system notifies you of the dependencies before completing the activation. If you confirm, the system activates the requested plugin but does not include features that depend on other plugins. 3. What plugins, subscriptions, and applications are included in our company's license? ServiceNow Customer Support does not have access to your company's licensing information. To find out what plugins, subscriptions, and applications are included in your license, contact your ServiceNow account manager.

4. How do I try, buy, and install apps from the ServiceNow store? For information about trying, buying, and installing applications from the ServiceNow store, watch the video linked in this article.

5. Do I have to pay for a plugin? ServiceNow licensing agreements vary. To find out whether your company needs to pay for a plugin, contact your ServiceNow account manager.

6. How do I activate plugins? For more information on activating plugins, see Plugin Activation Overview - KB0695388 .

7. How do I activate plugins for my On-Premise Instance(s)? For on-premises (self-hosted) instances, a meeting or phone call is required to obtain the maintenance login credentials needed for this type of activation.

Paste a copy of the top portion of the stats.do page of the instance into the case.

If the instance is not accessible from the internet, provide the following information so that the login credentials can be generated:

Build date Build tag Instance ID Instance name Also, provide a date and time when you are available for a meeting or phone call.

8. Why are plugin requests automatically scheduled 2 days out when requested? The system defaults the schedule to two days out. After the plugin is verified for activation, you can reschedule the planned start date to an earlier date and time.

If you want the plugin activated at a different date or time, use the Reschedule button to select an available window after the plugin is verified for activation.

If you cannot reschedule the change, ServiceNow Technical Support can reschedule it as long as the plugin is already approved for activation.

9. Are Store Applications the same as Plugins? Applications purchased or obtained from the ServiceNow store are not plugins activated through a plugin activation request. If you are trying to install an application that requires a plugin, submit a plugin activation request for the dependency plugin.

See also:

ServiceNow Store How to install store applications (video) 10. What plugins are available for my ServiceNow instance and its current Platform version? See the List of Plugins for your release.

11. Where can I locate new plugins within my current Platform version along with existing plugins that have been deprecated and/or renamed? See Changes to Plugins for your release.

12. Why is acknowledgment required, for certain plugins, prior to activation? Some plugins that introduce new features, states, or functions that are not active by default in previous releases may require acknowledgment before activation. This informs you of any potential impact the plugin may have.

13. Is a subscription required for all requested plugins? Plugins activated on a production instance require contract validation. The Plugin Approval Managers verify whether the company contract includes the right subscription to activate the requested plugin. If the Plugin Approval Managers cannot verify the subscription, they notify you and contact your account team for more information.

Plugins activated in a non-production instance do not generally require a subscription. This can vary for limited access or deprecated plugins.

14. How do I purchase a subscription to a plugin? To purchase a subscription, contact your ServiceNow account manager. In some cases, the account manager arranges to have the plugin activated on your organization's production and non-production instances, generally within a few days. In other cases, you can activate the plugin within the instance.

15. What are the useful tables related to plugin activation? The following tables provide information about plugins:

sys_plugins v_plugin sys_plugin_log syslog_transaction sys_package sys_progress_worker 16. How do I verify that a plugin was successfully installed? Go to the sys_progress_worker table. Enter the name of the plugin in the Name column. Check the Message column to confirm the plugin is activated. If there is an error, check the Error message column. Check the State column to see the current status of the plugin. 17. How to determine if a plugin was successfully activated and when it was activated? See KB0678767 — How to check if a plugin has been successfully activated in an instance and when it was activated.

To determine when a plugin was installed, you need the plugin ID or plugin name. The following sources provide this information:

xmlstats.do — shows all installed plugins. For example: com.snc.vulnerability sys_plugin_log — Plugin Activation Logs table sys_plugins — includes the install_date field sys_package — use the created field sys_upgrade_history — use the upgrade finished field sys_progress_worker — Progress Workers table 18. How do I know who activated a plugin? There are two ways to find out who activated a plugin.

Method 1 Go to the sys_progress_worker table. Filter by the name of the plugin in the Name column. Check the Created By field to see who activated the plugin. Method 2 Go to the sys_plugins table and enter the name of the plugin in the Name column. Note the ID, which is unique to every plugin. Check the Install date column to see when the plugin was installed. Go to the syslog_transaction table and filter by the following criteria: URL : the plugin ID Created : a time range before and after the install date Type : (optional) filter to exclude non-form activations such as REST Check the Created by column in the results to see who installed the plugin. 19. What do I do if my plugin activation failed? Open a case with ServiceNow Technical Support to have this investigated further.

20. Why can I see a plugin in a sub-production instance but not in production? You cannot activate plugins on production instances directly. Instead, request plugin activation through Now Support . See Requesting Plugin Activation earlier in this article. You can activate some plugins on non-production instances without going through the Now Support catalog.

For additional explanations, see question 2 earlier in this article.

21. How do I repair a plugin? To repair a plugin, go to Application Manager and open the installed plugin. Under Quick Actions, select Repair.

Related Links .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } How to request, activate, and purchase plugins

How to Check If/When a Plugin was Successfully Activated