View workflow activity descriptions

---
title: View workflow activity descriptions
description: Tooltips are available for workflow activities to help you understand how to use each activity.Each activity can specify a number of elements that control the behavior of the activity or are controlled by the activity.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/workflow-activities/t\_ViewActivityDescriptions.html
release: australia
product: Workflow Activities
classification: workflow-activities
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Workflow activities, Classic Workflow, ServiceNow AI Platform Additional Capabilities, Extend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities]
---

# View workflow activity descriptions

Tooltips are available for workflow activities to help you understand how to use each activity.

## Before you begin

Role required: admin

## About this task

## Procedure

1.  To view an activity description in the [Workflow Editor](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/legacy-workflow/workflow-editor.md), point to the icon for the activity in the palette.

    \[Omitted image "ActivityTooltips.png"\] Alt text: Viewing activity tooltips in the palette

2.  To modify activity descriptions, navigate to **Workflow** > **Administration** > **Activity Definitions** and edit the **Description** field.

    **Note:** To view more information about an activity, double-click the activity on the canvas and then click the help icon in the title bar of the Activity Properties window.


## Elements in workflow activity definitions

Each activity can specify a number of elements that control the behavior of the activity or are controlled by the activity.

Not all activities specify all possible elements. See [Workflow activities](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/workflow-activities/c_WorkflowActivities.md) for links to the activities provided by default. Each activity description includes a detailed explanation of the specific elements offered by that activity.

<table id="table_e53_zfy_3r"><thead><tr><th>

Element

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Results

</td><td>

The possible **activity.results** value. The activity result usually determines which condition the activity transitions through.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Scratchpad entries

</td><td>

Scratchpad variables the activity depends on to run, or variables the activity writes to the scratchpad.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Input variables

</td><td>

Values that control the behavior of the activity. Fields to set these values appear on the Activity Properties form when a new activity is added to a workflow. See [Activity variables](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/legacy-workflow/c_UsingVariablesInAWorkflow.md) for more information.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Conditions

</td><td>

Determines which transition the activity follows after completing. See [Manage workflow activity conditions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/workflow-activities/t_ManageActivityConditions.md) for more information.

</td></tr><tr><td>

States

</td><td>

Determines how the workflow handles the record being executed.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>