How to Disable a Parent Table UI Action for a Child Table Without Updating High-Risk Files

[vishnuvardhanch]

In this article, I'll explain how to deactivate a UI Action inherited from a parent table for a specific child table in ServiceNow — without modifying high-risk system files that could affect future upgrades.

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Problem

Sometimes, we have requirements to disable a UI Action on a child table while keeping it active on the parent table.

A common approach is to add a condition like:

current.sys_class_name != 'child_table_name'

However, this often requires updating high-risk system files. Modifying these files will skip any updates that the system receives in the future, which is not advisable.

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Solution: Use the "Override" Field

Instead of updating system files, we can use the Override functionality of UI Actions.

The idea is simple:

• Create a new UI Action on the child table.

• Use the same Action Name as the parent UI Action you want to disable.

• Leave all the button visibility options unchecked.

This effectively overrides the inherited UI Action for the child table, making it invisible.

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Example: Disabling the "Assign to me" UI Action on a Child Table

Let's say you want to disable the Assign to me UI Action for the child table sn_customerservice_sample_case_type.

Here’s how you do it:

1.Create a new UI Action on the child table (sn_customerservice_sample_case_type).

2.In the form:

• Set Table to your child table.

• In the Override field, select the UI Action from the parent table (e.g., "Assign to me").

• Use the same Action name as the original UI Action.

3.Do not check any button visibility options such as:

• Form context menu

• Form button

• Form link

• Workspace form button

• Workspace form menu

4.Save the form.

Because the override has no visible UI elements selected, the UI Action won't appear on the child table.