Client Script Patterns for ServiceNow

Client Scripts run in the user's browser and control form behavior. Unlike server-side scripts, client scripts can use modern JavaScript (ES6+) in modern browsers.

Client Script Types

Type	When it Runs	Use Case
onLoad	Form loads	Set defaults, hide/show fields, initial setup
onChange	Field value changes	React to user input, cascading updates
onSubmit	Form submitted	Validation before save
onCellEdit	List cell edited	Validate inline edits

The g_form API

Getting and Setting Values

// Get field value
var priority = g_form.getValue("priority")
var callerName = g_form.getDisplayValue("caller_id") // Reference display value

// Set field value
g_form.setValue("priority", "1")
g_form.setValue("assigned_to", userSysId, "John Smith") // Reference with display

// Clear a field
g_form.clearValue("assignment_group")

Field Visibility and State

// Show/Hide fields
g_form.setVisible("u_internal_notes", false)
g_form.setDisplay("u_internal_notes", false) // Removes from DOM

// Make field mandatory
g_form.setMandatory("short_description", true)

// Make field read-only
g_form.setReadOnly("caller_id", true)

// Disable field (grayed out but visible)
g_form.setDisabled("state", true)

Messages and Validation

// Field-level messages
g_form.showFieldMsg("email", "Invalid email format", "error")
g_form.hideFieldMsg("email")

// Form-level messages
g_form.addInfoMessage("Record saved successfully")
g_form.addErrorMessage("Please fix the errors below")
g_form.clearMessages()

// Flash a field to draw attention
g_form.flash("priority", "#ff0000", 0) // Red flash

Sections and Labels

// Collapse/Expand sections
g_form.setSectionDisplay("notes", false) // Collapse
g_form.setSectionDisplay("notes", true) // Expand

// Change field label
g_form.setLabelOf("short_description", "Issue Summary")

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: onLoad - Set Defaults

function onLoad() {
  // Only on new records
  if (g_form.isNewRecord()) {
    // Set default priority
    g_form.setValue("priority", "3")

    // Set caller to current user
    g_form.setValue("caller_id", g_user.userID)

    // Hide internal fields from end users
    if (!g_user.hasRole("itil")) {
      g_form.setVisible("assignment_group", false)
      g_form.setVisible("assigned_to", false)
    }
  }
}

Pattern 2: onChange - Cascading Updates

function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  // Don't run during form load
  if (isLoading) return

  // When category changes, clear subcategory
  if (newValue != oldValue) {
    g_form.setValue("subcategory", "")
    g_form.clearValue("u_item")
  }

  // Auto-set priority based on category
  if (newValue == "security") {
    g_form.setValue("priority", "1")
    g_form.setReadOnly("priority", true)
  } else {
    g_form.setReadOnly("priority", false)
  }
}

Pattern 3: onChange with GlideAjax

function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  if (isLoading || newValue == "") return

  // Get data from server
  var ga = new GlideAjax("MyScriptInclude")
  ga.addParam("sysparm_name", "getUserDetails")
  ga.addParam("sysparm_user_id", newValue)
  ga.getXMLAnswer(function (response) {
    var data = JSON.parse(response)

    // Update form with server data
    g_form.setValue("location", data.location)
    g_form.setValue("department", data.department)
    g_form.setValue("u_vip", data.vip)

    if (data.vip == "true") {
      g_form.setValue("priority", "1")
      g_form.flash("priority", "#ffff00", 2)
    }
  })
}

Pattern 4: onSubmit - Validation

function onSubmit() {
  // Validate email format
  var email = g_form.getValue("u_email")
  if (email && !isValidEmail(email)) {
    g_form.showFieldMsg("u_email", "Please enter a valid email", "error")
    return false // Prevent submit
  }

  // Require close notes when resolving
  var state = g_form.getValue("state")
  var closeNotes = g_form.getValue("close_notes")
  if (state == "6" && !closeNotes) {
    g_form.showFieldMsg("close_notes", "Close notes required", "error")
    g_form.setMandatory("close_notes", true)
    return false
  }

  // Confirm before high-priority submission
  var priority = g_form.getValue("priority")
  if (priority == "1") {
    return confirm("This will create a Priority 1 incident. Continue?")
  }

  return true // Allow submit
}

function isValidEmail(email) {
  var regex = /^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/
  return regex.test(email)
}

Pattern 5: Conditional Mandatory Fields

function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  if (isLoading) return

  // Category "Hardware" requires asset tag
  var isHardware = newValue == "hardware"
  g_form.setMandatory("u_asset_tag", isHardware)
  g_form.setDisplay("u_asset_tag", isHardware)

  // Category "Software" requires application name
  var isSoftware = newValue == "software"
  g_form.setMandatory("u_application", isSoftware)
  g_form.setDisplay("u_application", isSoftware)
}

GlideAjax Pattern (Server Communication)

Client Script

function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  if (isLoading || !newValue) return

  var ga = new GlideAjax("IncidentUtils")
  ga.addParam("sysparm_name", "getRelatedIncidents")
  ga.addParam("sysparm_ci", newValue)
  ga.getXMLAnswer(handleResponse)
}

function handleResponse(response) {
  var result = JSON.parse(response)

  if (result.count > 0) {
    g_form.addWarningMessage("There are " + result.count + " related open incidents for this CI")
  }
}

Server Script Include

var IncidentUtils = Class.create()
IncidentUtils.prototype = Object.extendsObject(AbstractAjaxProcessor, {
  getRelatedIncidents: function () {
    var ci = this.getParameter("sysparm_ci")
    var result = { count: 0, incidents: [] }

    var gr = new GlideRecord("incident")
    gr.addQuery("cmdb_ci", ci)
    gr.addQuery("active", true)
    gr.query()

    result.count = gr.getRowCount()
    while (gr.next()) {
      result.incidents.push({
        number: gr.getValue("number"),
        short_description: gr.getValue("short_description"),
      })
    }

    return JSON.stringify(result)
  },

  type: "IncidentUtils",
})

g_user Object

// Current user information
var userName = g_user.userName // User name
var userID = g_user.userID // sys_id
var firstName = g_user.firstName // First name
var lastName = g_user.lastName // Last name
var fullName = g_user.getFullName() // Full name

// Role checks
if (g_user.hasRole("admin")) {
}
if (g_user.hasRole("itil")) {
}
if (g_user.hasRoleExactly("incident_manager")) {
} // Exact match, no admin override

// Multiple roles
if (g_user.hasRoleFromList("itil,incident_manager")) {
}

Performance Best Practices

1. Minimize Server Calls

// ❌ BAD - Multiple GlideAjax calls
onChange: getUserLocation()
onChange: getUserDepartment()
onChange: getUserManager()

// ✅ GOOD - Single call returning all data
onChange: getUserDetails() // Returns location, department, manager

2. Use isLoading Parameter

function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  // ❌ BAD - Runs during form load
  callServer(newValue)

  // ✅ GOOD - Skip during load
  if (isLoading) return
  callServer(newValue)
}

3. Debounce Rapid Changes

var timeout
function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
  if (isLoading) return

  clearTimeout(timeout)
  timeout = setTimeout(function () {
    performExpensiveOperation(newValue)
  }, 300) // Wait 300ms for typing to stop
}

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Solution
Forgetting isLoading check	Script runs unnecessarily on load	Always check if (isLoading) return;
Blocking onSubmit	UI freezes on slow validation	Use async validation with callback
No error handling in GlideAjax	Silent failures	Add error callbacks
Testing only in one browser	Cross-browser issues	Test Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Direct DOM manipulation	Breaks with UI updates	Use g_form API