ATF - Custom Step Configuration1 - Get Display value of a Field

sushmapinapati · ‎10-26-2021

ATF - Custom Step Configuration - Get Display value of a Field

Hi,

As part of my ATF test development, I ran into cases where I need the display value of certain fields in the record generated. I have created an Custom step - server independent that retrieves the display of a field and passes to output variable.

Here is the information on creating this step configuration:

Step Environment: Server Independent

Category: Server

Input Variables:

Input String: Column Name = u_tablename, Type = String
Input String: Column Name = u_sysid, Type = String
Input String: Column Name = u_fieldname, Type = String

Output Variables:

Output String: Column Name = u_displayvalue, Type = String

Description Script:

function generateDescription(step) {
// the global variable 'step' represents the current glide record
var description = gs.getMessage("Retrieves the display value of field : '{0}'",
step.inputs.u_fieldname);
return description;
}
generateDescription(step);

Step execution script:

(function executeStep(inputs, outputs, stepResult, timeout) {
var tableName = inputs.u_tablename;
var sysId = inputs.u_sysid;
var fieldName = inputs.u_fieldname;
var rowCount;
var displayName;

var MESSAGE_KEY_NO_DISPLAY_VALUE = "Failure: Display name cannot be retrieved, either the Tablename/FieldName are not correct or Field does not have any value";
var MESSAGE_KEY_SUCCESS = "Success: Display value of the field " + fieldName +" is passed to the output variable";

function logic() {

var gr = new GlideRecord(tableName);
gr.addQuery('sys_id', sysId);
gr.query();
rowCount = gr.getRowCount();
while(gr.next()){
displayName = gr.getDisplayValue(fieldName);
}
}

function passStep() {
outputs.u_displayvalue = displayName;
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_KEY_SUCCESS);
stepResult.setSuccess();

}

function failStep() {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_KEY_NO_DISPLAY_VALUE);
stepResult.setFailed();

}

logic();
if (rowCount >= 1 && displayName !== null) {
passStep();
}
else {
failStep();
}
}(inputs, outputs, stepResult, timeout));

Community Alums · ‎06-16-2023

Thanks a lot, sushmapinamati. This works like a charm.

I am unknown · ‎05-09-2025

if var fieldName = inputs.u_fieldname;

//My Query -if fieldName is Apple123 and Inputs.U_fieldname is only Apple

then what operator should we use to validate

felixmiske · ‎07-22-2025

Hi @sushmapinapati - thank you for your work. It really helped me out.

I took your work, adapted it a bit since it did fail for me - and wrapped up the resulting Test Step as an Update Set: TestStep_AssertFieldDisplayValue_FM.

The configuration in detail:

Name: Assert Field Display Value
Step environment: Server - REST (Server - Independent did not work for me, unsure why)

Category: REST

Batch order constraint: Start a batch execution

Class type: Script

Template reminder: Assert that the field’s display value matches the expected string, e.g. “Assert the Application Menu title is ‘Fuhrpark’”.

HTML description:
```html

Assert Field Display Value

This test step verifies that the display value of a specified field on a record matches the expected string.

The test will fail if the table, field, or record cannot be found, or if the actual display value does not match your expectation.

<ul>

<li>Table Name: Use the Table picker to select the table (e.g., <code>incident</code>).</li>

<li>Record Sys ID: Paste or query the record's sys_id to target a specific row.</li>

<li>Field Name: Enter the technical field name (e.g., <code>short_description</code>, <code>title</code>).</li>

<li>Expected Display Value: Enter the exact string you expect (including translation if relevant).</li>

</ul>

Pro tip: This step is useful for validating multi-language values and reference/choice field labels.

```

Description generation script:
```js

function generateDescription(step) {

return gs.getMessage(

"Assert display value of field '{0}' on table '{1}' (sys_id: {2}) is '{3}'",

[

step.inputs.u_field_name,

step.inputs.u_table_name,

step.inputs.u_record_sys_id,

step.inputs.u_expected_display_value

]

);

}

generateDescription(step);

```

Step execution script:
```js

(function executeStep(inputs, outputs, stepResult, timeout) {
var tableName = inputs.u_table_name && inputs.u_table_name.trim();
var recordSysId = inputs.u_record_sys_id && inputs.u_record_sys_id.trim();
var fieldName = inputs.u_field_name && inputs.u_field_name.trim();
var expectedDisplayValue = inputs.u_expected_display_value;

var MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_TABLE = "Failure: Table '" + tableName + "' does not exist or is not accessible.";
var MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_FIELD = "Failure: Field '" + fieldName + "' does not exist on table '" + tableName + "'.";
var MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_RECORD = "Failure: Record not found for sys_id '" + recordSysId + "' in table '" + tableName + "'.";
var MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_DISPLAY = "Failure: Display value cannot be retrieved; table/field may be invalid or field is empty.";
var MESSAGE_FAIL_MISMATCH = "Failure: Display value mismatch. Expected: '" + expectedDisplayValue + "'";
var MESSAGE_SUCCESS = "Success: Display value matches expected value: '" + expectedDisplayValue + "'";

// --- Robust comparison function ---
function robustCompare(a, b) {
function prep(str) {
if (!str) return '';
// Normalize Unicode (NFKC), trim, and collapse whitespace
return str.normalize("NFKC").replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
// For case-insensitive comparison, use:
// return str.normalize("NFKC").replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim().toLowerCase();
}
return prep(a) === prep(b);
}

try {
// Input validation
if (!tableName || !recordSysId || !fieldName || expectedDisplayValue === undefined) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage("Failure: One or more required inputs are missing.");
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

var td = GlideTableDescriptor.get(tableName);
if (!td.isValid()) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_TABLE);
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

var gr = new GlideRecord(tableName);
if (!gr.isValidField(fieldName)) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_FIELD);
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

if (!gr.get(recordSysId)) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_RECORD);
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

var displayValue = gr.getDisplayValue(fieldName);
outputs.u_display_value = displayValue; // Optional, for chaining in other steps

if (displayValue === null || displayValue === "") {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_FAIL_NO_DISPLAY);
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

if (!robustCompare(displayValue, expectedDisplayValue)) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage(
MESSAGE_FAIL_MISMATCH + ". Actual: '" + displayValue + "'"
);
stepResult.setFailed();
return;
}

stepResult.setOutputMessage(MESSAGE_SUCCESS);
stepResult.setSuccess();

} catch (e) {
stepResult.setOutputMessage("Unexpected error: " + e.message);
stepResult.setFailed();
}
})(inputs, outputs, stepResult, timeout);

```

Input Variables:
NameLabelTypeOrder

u_table_name	Table Name	Table Name	100
u_record_sys_id	Record Sys ID	String	200
u_field_name	Field Name	String	300
u_expected_display_value	Expected Display Value	String	400

Output Variable (optional for debugging/logging):

u_display_value

Display Value

String