ServiceNow Basics Questions & Answers
What is ServiceNow?
ServiceNow is a cloud-based digital platform that used by organizations to automate, manage, and improve businesses processes, especially in IT Service Management (ITSM).
What is User and its types?
A User in servicenow is anyone who can log into the platform or who can access servicenow platform.
1 Admin – Admin is a developer who is responsible for development.
2 End User – A user who only uses application without any role assigned. He can raise the ticket/issue/request.
3 ITIL user – fulfil the requst of end user.
4 Maint user – Maint user is like a super admin.
This user has access to acivate paid plugins.
What is Elevated Role?
- Elevate role is a role in which users will not get access after logging in. If the user needs that access, then the user needs to get that access manually.
Why use Elevated Roles?
- To improve security and to follow best practice.
- To limit the amount of time someone has all admin privileges.
What are the types of Table in ServiceNow?
There are mainly four types of table in ServiceNow.
- sys_ table: This type of table is created by default. Only admin can access this table. This shown sys_user_role.
- Out of the Box Table : Name table is the table who starts with names like Incident, Practice. This tables are the existing tables. Sometimes they called out of the box tables.
- Custom Tables : The table we created by us called as customised table. After creating this it shown in “u_” table. It also called as user defined table.
- v_ table : this is the virtual table. allows you to display and interact with data from external systems as if it were a native table, without actually storing it in the ServiceNow database
What is Dictionary overriding?
Dictionary Override will come into a picture when we have a parent-child relationship between tables. By default, all fields and their attributes are inherited from parent table to child tables. Suppose you want to make a difference in one of the child tables for inherited fields then we will go for Dictionary override.
[Dictionary Override to allow a field in a child table to have a different behavior than the same field in a parent table].
We can override following properties: –
- Override Reference Qualifiers
- Override Dependant
- Override Default Value
- Override Read Only
- Override Calculations
- Override Mandatory
- Override Attributes
- Override Display Values
What is Application Menu
- Application menu is the menu that organize and display modules.
- It is a group of related modules. Which means Incident is an application menu which has modules like,
All -> Create new -> Open -> Assigned to me
- They are located in left side of the interface which has in alphabetical order.
- Access based on roles,
Which mean what you see depends upon what role you have.
What is Update set?
Update set is a component which is used to capture configurational changes and can be moved from one instance to another instance. We have update_sync property at table level. If it’s true, then the system will consider this table as a “configuration table”. So, whatever we are creating or updating records in that table will get captured into update sets.
What is Client script?
Client script is a script that runs on client side (that is in users’ browser). Using Client script, we can change the look and feel of the form. Client Script is used to perform validations on forms.
There are four types of Client script: –
- Onload – onLoad client script runs when the form is loaded.
- onChange– onChangeclient script runs when the specific field value changes. OnChange client script will also run onLoad.
There are some parameters in onChange Script: control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading, isTemplate
- onSubmit– onSubmit client script runs when the form is submitted.
- onCellEdit-In a list view when we edit a particular cell value that time onCellEdit client script
There are some parameters in onCellEdit Script: sysIDs, table, oldValues, newValue, callback
How onChange client script run on onload client script?
Normally when we are loading a form or new incident first the html structure will get loaded without values it means we don’t have any values on the form it is empty after that we will get the values from the database, and it will populate on the form. So, in this scenario values are getting change from empty values to database values. So, in this way, changing client script will run.
How to stop running the onchange Client script onload?
function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading, isTemplate)
{
if (isLoading || newValue === ”)
{
return false; //when isLoading is false, the onChange script will not run on form load.
}
}
So, if isLoading is false that time onChange Client script will not load onLoad
.
Difference between UI policy and Client script?
UI policy
- UI policy is used in client side.
- Based on Condition we can make field mandatory, read only or visible.
- UI policy executes after Client Script
Client script
- Client script executes before UI Policy
- Client script can’t access the field which is not present on form
What is List Layout?
A List Layout is the default configuration of columns and their order that users see when they open a list view for a specific table (like Incident, Change Request, etc.) in ServiceNow.
It’s essentially a global setting controlled by admins that defines:
- Which fields (columns) appear in a list view
- The order of those columns
Difference between list layout and Personalized list?
Feature | List Layout | Personalized List |
Affects | All users | Individual user |
Requires admin role | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
Used for | Setting default list columns and order | User-specific adjustments |
Changes saved | In the system list configuration | In user preferences |
What is Business Rule?
A Business rule is a server-side component that runs on the server side. It runs when a record is Displayed, Inserted, Updated, Deleted, or Quired.
There are four types:
- Before: It runs before a database operation; it allows modifications before the record is saved. We cannot use the current Update method. For example, if you apply for leave, it will first go to the database and see if you have any leave left.
- After: It Execute after a database operation, it is suitable for actions that depend on the saved records. For example, if you submit a leave application for one day and then your leave is still available in the database, one of them is submitted as a leave application.
- Async: Asynchronous business rules will run after the after-business rule. Asynchronous business rules will run asynchronously; it will not hold system to execute asynchronous script. It cannot access the previous object. For example, if you have made the payment, even if you receive a message late after your money has been transferred, it is okay to do so.
- Display business rules will run when the values from the database are displayed on the Form.
What is Query Business Rule?
Query Business Rule is a type of server-side script that executes before a database query retrieves records from a table.
What is the callback function?
Callback function is a JavaScript function passed as an argument to another function, enabling asynchronous operations within client scripts.
What is the return value of the reference field?
Return value of getReference() is the full GlideRecord object representing the referenced record that the reference field points to.
What is GlideRecord()?
GlideRecord is a ServiceNow server-side API used to fetch the record from a table.
GlideRecord lets you read, insert, update, and delete records from a table.
What is Glide Record Secure?
GlideRecordSecure is an extended functionality of GlideRecord that automatically enforces ACLs, where GlideRecord requires additional methods to call to validate access.
Is let used in ServiceNow?
No, ServiceNow is based on an older JavaScript engine. That is ES5. ‘let’ and ‘const’ are the newest JavaScript versions
Whats is Import Set and Transform Map?
Whenever you want to load data from any external sources into ServiceNow, then Import Set and Transform Map come into the picture
The Import set is a powerful tool used to import Temporary data from external applications and then map that data into the ServiceNow table for Temporary Purpose.
Transform map is responsible for determining the relationship between the fields of import set table and service-now table. During transformation, data is copied from the Import Set table to the destination table using a transform map.
What is Coalesce Value?
Coalesce is a property of field mapping, which will decide parameters for inserting a new record or updating the existing record in the target table. The coalesce is set on the field or multiple fields which will be considered a unique key in the target table. If a match is found, the existing record will be updated. If a match is not found, then a new record is inserted into the target table.
What are the types of Transform Map script?
In Load Data Transfer seven types of scripting is present they are as follows:
onStart: Executes at the beginning of the transformation process.
onBefore: Executes before each record is inserted or updated.
onAfter: Executes after each record is inserted or updated.
onComplete: Executes at the end of the transformation process.
onForeignInsert: Executes when a related record is inserted.
onReject: Executes when a record is rejected during the transformation.
onChoiceCreate: Executes when a choice value needs to be created during the transformation.
Retroactive Start
- Retroactive start will come into the picture. When there is change in SLA.
- The new SLA will start according to date time field which we have selected in retroactive start condition.
- We can not create a SLA for the custom table.
- We can create the SLA only for the table which are extended from task table.
There is one table which is task_sla, where all the calculations will come like SLA breach. By using this task_sla table we can create the report like how many SLAs got breach etc.
Retroactive pause
Retroactive pause is used to consider the pause SLA time in new SLA.
Record Producer
- Record producer is a catalog item, which is used to create records into task-based table.
- We write server side script in record producer
- Syntax:
Current.variable_name=producer.variable_name;
- Catalog variables are global variables we can use in client script and server script.
UI Action
- UI action will run on server side & client side according to client checkbox.
- If checkbox is true it will run on client side otherwise it will run on server side.
- To run UI action on client side as well as server side, we use gsft submit functionality.
- Syntax:- gsftsubmit(null,g_form.getFormElement(),’action_name’);
- It is used to change the context from client side to server side.
Ex: – Resolve button on incident form, when you click on the button it will show the popup that is client side after clicking on the submit or save popup, it will save the data on incident form by using server-side code.
ACL – Access Control List
- ACL is a security mechanism in Service Now.
- To access ACL we need Security elevated role.
- We have ACLs on Table, Table fields, UI pages, Records, End points, Flow, Flow Actions, Reports, Process Flow.
- For record level ACL we have 2 types of table level ACL and field level ACL .
- If we have table level ACL , then it should start with table.none .
- If we have field level ACL , then it should start with table.*.
Allow If – If you have 100 ACLs and if 1 ACL is meeting all the conditions, you can access the record.
Deny Unless – If you have 100 Deny unless ACLs and one Deny Unless ACL does not meet all the conditions, then the access will be denied.
Deny Unless needs to satisfy all the conditions (the role, condition, and script requirements) of ACL.