A Comprehensive Guide to Disabling Tags in ServiceNow

[Amit Gujarathi]

A Comprehensive Guide to Disabling Tags in ServiceNow

Tags serve as handy text labels that can be linked to various items such as records and pages. These tags facilitate the organization and grouping of these elements, enhancing navigability and user experience. However, there are instances where businesses or users may prefer to disable this feature for a more streamlined interface or specific organizational policies. This article delves into the steps required to disable tags in ServiceNow, ensuring a tailored experience for users and administrators.

Understanding the Role of Tags in ServiceNow

Before diving into the process of disabling tags, it's important to understand their function. Tags in ServiceNow are essentially text-based labels attached to different items, including records and pages. They play a pivotal role in categorizing and organizing these items, making it easier for users to locate and group related elements. Despite their utility, some ServiceNow customers might find the need to disable tags to align with their organizational requirements or interface preferences.

Step-by-Step Guide to Disabling Tags in ServiceNow

1. Accessing the sys_dictionary Record The first step involves navigating to the sys_dictionary record corresponding to your table. It's crucial to ensure that the "Type" value of this record is set to "Collection." This step is foundational as it involves modifying the properties of the table where tags need to be disabled.

2. Switching to Advanced View Upon accessing the sys_dictionary record, switch to the "Advanced" view. This action provides access to more detailed settings and attributes, allowing for precise modifications.

3. Modifying the Collection Attribute The next step is to append the string ",no_labels=true" to the attribute of the collection. This modification is a technical step that essentially instructs the system to stop recognizing labels, or tags, for the items in the specified collection.

4. Creating a New sys_properties Record The final step is to create a new record in the sys_properties table. This record should contain the following values:

   • Name: glide.ui.show_form_tags_bar
   • Type: true | false
   • Value: false Setting this property to false effectively disables the tag bar at the top of each form across all tables, providing a universal change to the tag display settings.

Conclusion

Disabling tags in ServiceNow is a straightforward process that can significantly alter the way users interact with the platform. While tags offer organizational benefits, their removal might be necessary for certain business environments or to achieve a cleaner interface. 

[aheadofkevin]

I appreciate your article and am curious of other ways of organizing, outside of the "text-based labels".

Your ideas do not need to be the ultimate answer to my question. I was looking into your article to determine how organizations are utilizing tags in an incorrect approach and what alternatives you might suggest.

Thank you for your insight!

Kevin Eldridge

[Vineet2]

Thanks for sharing...Im following your content from a year