> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://servicenow-lf.gitbook.io/the-workflow-data-fabric-loom/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://servicenow-lf.gitbook.io/the-workflow-data-fabric-loom/hungry-for-more/lab-exercise-external-content-connector.md). # Lab Exercise: External Content Connector [Take me back to main page](/the-workflow-data-fabric-loom/readme.md) **Note:** This is a controlled lab and is only accessible in ServiceNow internal demo instances. Please bear with us as we translate this into a widely available lab exercise. This lab will walk you through the configuration and usage of External Content Connectors as a source of unstructured document data to supplement automations needed in Finance case creation. ## Lab Sections and Objectives

Step	Who	Description
1	Facilitator	Context Setting: Review the data flow diagram showing how ServiceNow uses External Content Connectors to index and search documents from SharePoint.

**Platform Preparation**

Step	Who	Description
2	Student	Preparation Steps: Configure admin user email and assign ais_high_security_admin role. Log out and log back in.

**External Content Connector Configuration**

Step	Who	Description
3	Student	Connection and Crawl Config: Create SharePoint connection with authentication credentials. Configure and execute full document crawl with user permissions.

**Testing and Validation**

Step	Who	Description
4	Student	Usage of External Content Connector: Test Now Assist queries in Employee Center. Verify document search returns relevant SharePoint content.

Step	Who	Description
5	Facilitator	Conclusion: Walk through how External Content Connectors enable ServiceNow to leverage unstructured document data for AI-powered workflows.

## Data flow The data flow below shows how ServiceNow will get information from indexed documents from a document repository such as SharePoint to provide additional context and information to assist with Flows and Automations. {% @mermaid/diagram content="graph LR subgraph "User Interaction Layer" Employee((Employee/
Finance Manager)) EC\[Employee Center or
Workspace with Now Assist] end ``` subgraph "External Systems" SharePoint[SharePoint
Executive Memos] end subgraph "ServiceNow AI Platform" subgraph "Data Integration Layer" ExtContent[External Content
Connector] end subgraph "ServiceNow Native Tables" FinCase[(Finance Case
Table)] end end %% Data Flow Connections SharePoint -->|Executive Guidance| ExtContent %% User Interaction Connections Employee -->|Ask Questions
View/Update Cases| EC EC -->|Search & Query| FinCase EC -->|Natural Language| ExtContent %% Styling classDef external fill:#2196F3,stroke:#1565C0,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff classDef user fill:#F5F5F5,stroke:#616161,stroke-width:3px,color:#1a1a1a classDef platform fill:#4CAF50,stroke:#2E7D32,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff classDef wdf fill:#9C27B0,stroke:#6A1B9A,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff class SharePoint external class ExtContent wdf class FinCase platform class Employee,EC user" %} ``` > **Color Legend:** 🟢 Platform | 🟣 Workflow Data Fabric | 🔵 External Systems | ⚪ User Interaction > [📊 View High-Resolution Diagram](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leojacinto/WorkflowDataFabric-TypeA/main/.gitbook/assets/dataflow_external_content_connector.png) ## Steps ### Preparation steps Configure admin user email and assign ais\_high\_security\_admin role for elevated access to External Content Connector configuration. 1. Navigate to **All** > **a.)** type **Users and Groups** > **b.)** click on **Users and Groups > Users**.

2. Search for **a.)** **System Administrator** then hit **Return/Enter ↵** > **b.)** click on **admin**.

3. Set the **a.)** **Email** to ****, **b.)** click **Save**. Then **c.)** click **Roles** then **d.)** click **Edit**.

4. Search for **a.)** **ais\_high\_security\_admin** > **b.)** click on **ais\_high\_security\_admin** > **c.)** click on **>** to move the role to the right panel > then **d.)** click **Save**.

5. Right-click on the top panel and click **Save**.

6. **IMPORTANT**. Log out and log back in. Click on **a.)** your user **System Administrator** > then **b.)** click on **Log out**.

### Connection and Crawl Config Create SharePoint connection with authentication credentials. Configure and execute full document crawl with user permissions to index documents for AI-powered search. 1. For this step, change the scope to Global by navigating to the **a.)** **globe icon** and clicking **b.)** **Global** application scope.

2. Elevate your role. Click on **a.)** your user System Administrator > then **b.)** click on **Elevate role**.

3. Select **a.)** **ais\_high\_security\_admin** then **b.)** click on **Update**.

4. Navigate to All > **a.)** type **External Content Connectors** > **b.)** click on **External Content Admin Home**.

5. This will lead you the XCC home screen. Click on **Create** to create a new connection.

6. You will be asked to select a source. Depending on your instance image, you may have multiple options. For this exercise, you only need **SharePoint**. **a.)** Select it and **b.)** click **Next**.

7. Input the following details in the next screen. As some of the credentials here are sensitive, you will need to access them through additional logins via the corresponding links. **a.)** **Connector Name: SharePoint Online \** **b.)** **Application (client) ID: 26ec3997-e7da-4a95-91dd-d19f8c66b849** **c.)** **Directory (tenant) ID: 53136633-b712-40ba-8c0b-0747745c05be** **d.)** **JKS Certificate:** [obtain here](https://servicenow.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/iaapj/IQC6aY0kjVdSQYrYR8JkpYi3AUVOyZAxfP3GsT6W96xpWII?e=Ee7nZt) and upload, **ServiceNow internal login required** **e.)** **JKS certificate password:** [obtain here](https://servicenow.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/iaapj/IQA9-mRIzGQYSaI0ab6a--VYAQv5ZKgUGg0RVyiTdEDezq4?e=1gXVAa) **ServiceNow internal login required** **f.)** **JKS certificate thumbprint:** [obtain here](https://servicenow.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/iaapj/IQA9-mRIzGQYSaI0ab6a--VYAQv5ZKgUGg0RVyiTdEDezq4?e=1gXVAa), **ServiceNow internal login required** **g.)** Once everything is configured, you can click **Validate Connection**.

8. If everything is correctly configured, you will get a message indicating **a.)** the connection is **Successfully created.** After this, click **b.)** **Next**.

9. The next screen shows the settings for the crawl, accept the default and click **Next**.

10. Since you are elevated as **ais\_high\_security\_admin**, you will be able to set this up. If you skipped adding the **ais\_high\_security\_admin** role and elevating to it, you will not be able to set this step up; i.e. even accepting defaults is not possible if you do not have elevated roles in this step. You can do a mapping **a.)** Test as an optional step. Otherwise, if you have the correct roles and have elevated your access, you can simply **b.)** click **Next**.

11. In the next screen, **a.)** click **Full document crawl**, **b.)** tick **Crawl user permissions**, then finally **c.)** click **Next**. If for whatever reason you miss the setting in crawling permissions, don't worry, it is possible to run it separately.

12. Click **Proceed**.

13. Accept default settings and click **Save**.

14. It will take \~1 minute for the **User Mapping** and **Document** crawls to complete.

15. Remove your role elevation, it is no longer needed at this point. Click on **a.)** your user **System Administrator** > then **b.)** click on **Elevate role**.

16. Deselect **a.)** **ais\_high\_security\_admin** then **b.)** click on **Update**.

17. Navigate to All > **a.)** type **Employee Center** > **b.)** click on **Employee Center**.

### Usage of External Content Connector Test Now Assist queries in Employee Center to verify that indexed SharePoint documents are searchable and provide relevant context for finance-related inquiries. 1. This will lead to the **Employee Center** home page. Note the **Ask Now Assist for help or search**. This is where you will type the query.

2. In that dialog, type: **Marketing team cost centre in France seems to have gone over-budget. Can you look for any documents that can assist in checking if there are management directives which might have triggered this?** Then hit **Return/Enter ↵**.

3. You will get a **a.)** detailed response based on the SharePoint documents that were crawled earlier, which is also aligned with the over-budget entries. Click on the **b.)** number **1** then **c.)** take note of the PDF file **Strategic Memo - European Product Launch.pdf**. No need to click this file as this will require SharePoint login which is not provided for this activity. **Note:** as Now Assist, like any LLM-based service is probabilistic, you might get a different response or format to what you see in the screenshot below but the key ideas remain the same.

21. For reference, a screenshot of the PDF that was used as source on why cost center **MKTG-FR-PR** went over-budget is shown below.

## Conclusion Congratulations! You have completed configuration of the **External Content Connector** integration that allows ServiceNow to read indexed unstructured documents to supplement unstructured data for both interactive and AI Agent-based workflows. ## Next step Keeping with the unstructured data theme, you can explore an exercise that focuses on how ServiceNow gets unstructured data from documents and feed them into ServiceNow forms or records. [Take me back to main page](/the-workflow-data-fabric-loom/readme.md)