ServiceNow Reports Export to PDF for Smarter Report Scheduling

The ServiceNow reports are the visualization of your data that you can share with users on dashboards and service portals, export to PDF using ServiceNow Reports Export to PDF, and send via email.

The ServiceNow system includes a range of predefined reports that provide data on application and features like incident management and service catalogue requests. You can also create your reports. Add reports on homepages and dashboards to share information across your organization.

It also schedules a report which is a convenient way to automate the distribution of reports. It can schedule a report to automate its distribution. Scheduled reports can be sent as PDF, CSV, or XLS format.

ServiceNow Reports Export to PDF

One of the most useful features is the ability to export ServiceNow reports into a PDF format. This allows stakeholders to view and share reports offline or store them in a local or server location. Users can export a single report, a list of records, or even entire dashboards as PDF documents.

ServiceNow also offers web kit plugins that allow ServiceNow reports export to PDF directly from dashboards or homepages. However, limitations exist, particularly with dashboards using interactive filters, custom UI pages, or reports using third-party widgets.
These limitations can hinder large-scale reporting needs, especially when multiple reports must be combined into a single PDF. As a result, organizations often require custom or third-party solutions to meet their specific reporting workflows.

Challenges in Exporting ServiceNow Reports:

Despite the available export options, there are some notable challenges:

• The GUI does not provide an option to select multiple ServiceNow reports for PDF export in a predefined sequence.
• UI Page Widgets and custom report libraries are not supported for PDF export via native options.
• The Dashboard Export Web Kit fails when dashboards use interactive filters.
• iText implementation in ServiceNow can be problematic for styling, layout, and media alignment, which often leads developers to look for alternative third-party solutions.

Solution Provided :

Custom ServiceNow Report Automation Solution

To overcome these issues, a custom solution was developed that enables:

• Graphical User Interface (GUI) for users to select one or multiple ServiceNow reports.
• Ability to name the PDF document and choose whether to download it or save it to a server location.
• Generate a single PDF document from multiple reports in a defined order.
• Support for UI Pages, dashboard widgets, and custom reports beyond native dashboards.
• Handles styling, alignment, and media insertion more effectively than iText.

Schedule Reports in ServiceNow with Automation

The solution also supports schedule reports in ServiceNow by allowing admin users to:

• Define sections and assign reports to each.
• Create user-based subscriptions to these sections.
• Schedule reports to run periodically and send them in PDF format via email.
• Each user automatically receives their assigned reports with fresh data at the scheduled time, without manual effort.

Benefits of ServiceNow Report Scheduling and Automation

With this solution in place:

• ServiceNow report scheduling is now fully automated.
• Reports are sent out regularly, tailored by user and report section.
• The client saves significant manual work and ensures that stakeholders get the right data at the right time.

Result

The client now schedules report publishing based on specific sections and targeted subscriber users. The system automatically generates PDFs with the latest data and delivers them to the appropriate stakeholders at the scheduled time. This eliminates the need for any manual effort, ensuring timely and consistent reporting across the organization. The automated process also improves accuracy and reduces dependency on administrative tasks.