Catalog Item Reference Variable Default Display Field Being Overridden

[jmiskey]

I am trying to create a Catalog Item with has a Reference variable that uses the Safe Epic (sn_safe_epic) table as its source.  By default, the Safe Epic table has the Number field as the Display Field.  However, when I set up my Variable, it shows the Short Description field in the drop down for the Reference field on the Service Portal (and what it shows after it is selected) instead of the Number field.  We want it to show the Number field.

We looked to see if we could find where the Display Field is being overridden.  We checked the Dictionary Overrides related list on both the Number and Short Description fields in the Safe Epic table, but there is nothing there.  We also looked for Business Rules, but found nothing there either.

We do have the records in this table being linked up to Azure DevOps, and wonder if some setting was changed somewhere when that was configured.  But I have no idea where else to look for it.

Does anyone have any idea of where this Display Value Default may be overridden?

I either:

1. Need to figure out where this Display Value overriding is happening and see if I can adjust it;

- or -

2. Figure out how to set it to Number for just this Catalog Item Reference variable.

Thanks

[Brad Bowman]

You cannot change the Display value only for a reference field or variable.  First let's confirm the display field for the Safe Epic table.  When you view a record that is on this table, what field/value is displayed in the gray header bar?  This is the field that is set as the Display field.  Ideally this is controlled via the Display column on the table definition, but if the table is extended from another, the Display field is determined by the root table.

[jmiskey]

That is very interesting.  The Safe Epic table found in the SAFe Application from ServiceNow.

If I click on the "Number" field under that table, it brings up the Number field in the Task table (so it must be inheriting it from Task), and it shows that the Number field is the Display Field.

It looks like the "SAFe epic" table extends table "Epic":

And the "Epic" table extends table "Feature", which extends table "Planned task", which extends table "Task".

In every one of those tables, it shows that the "Number" field is the Display field.

However, if I do what you say, and open a record in the SAFe epic table, it seems to suggest that the Short Description field is the Display field:

How can this be?  Where is this being set?  Everything I see seems to contradict that.

We do not want to display the Short Description field in our drop-down box because it is not unique (unlike the Number field).  I know how to show multiple columns in the drop-down using Variable Attributes, but we would also like the shown selections to display the Number and not the Short Description.  Is this possible?

[Brad Bowman · Accepted solution]

Curious since you mentioned checking overrides, but let's go back to that.  If you right-click on the Short Description field label, and Configure Dictionary, does it take you to the Task table?  This looks a bit odd since both words are capitalized in the label, which is not a ServiceNow standard, nor shown on any other appearance of the Task table short_description field.  I don't have and can't seem to get this application in my PDI, so I'm kind of flying blind.  Whichever table this field originates on, if it's not sn_safe_epic directly, are there any override records with the Override display value checked, and if so are any of these tables in the sn_safe_epic lineage? If the field is not inherited for whatever reason, the Dictionary Entry is the place to look for the Display value. 

[jmiskey]

OK, I think that found it!  I right-clicked on the Short Description field from a SAFe Epic record and went to Configure Dictionary, and it did take me to the Task table.  I then went to the Dictionary Overrides tab, brought up the listing for sn_safe_epic, and this is what I found:

So there is the override, specific to this one table!

I will need to check with the rest of the business here, and make sure it is not an issue to remove that.

Thank you for helping me to locate this!