catalog Item

[MukeshS63378623]

I have created a Catalog Item in ServiceNow with a Multi-Row Variable Set (MRVS). By default, it provides Add and Remove All buttons.

I would like to add a custom button called “Bulk Add” next to the Remove All button. The purpose of this button is to allow users to add multiple rows at once (for example, via a popup, predefined data, or import).

Could anyone guide me on how to achieve this? Specifically:

• Is it possible to customize the MRVS UI to add a custom button?
• Should this be done using a Catalog Client Script, UI Policy, or by modifying the widget (Service Portal)?
• Are there any best practices or supported approaches for this requirement?

Any documentation or examples would be greatly appreciated.

[pr8172510]

Hi Mukesh,

Good question  this is a common requirement when working with MRVS, but there are some important platform limitations to be aware of.

---

1. OOB limitation (important)
Multi-Row Variable Set (MRVS):

• Does not support adding custom buttons (like “Bulk Add”) out of the box
• The Add / Remove All buttons are part of the widget (UI), not configurable via UI Policy or Client Script

So:

 You cannot add a button using only Catalog Client Script or UI Policy

---

2. Recommended approach → Service Portal Widget customization (best option)

If you're using Service Portal, this is the proper way.

MRVS is rendered using a widget (typically:

• sc-multi-row-variable-set)

 What you can do:

• Clone the widget
• Add a “Bulk Add” button in the HTML
• Handle logic in the client controller

Example idea:

c.bulkAdd = function() {
var data = [
{product_name: 'Laptop', price: '1000'},
{product_name: 'Mouse', price: '50'}
];

data.forEach(function(item) {
c.data.rows.push(item);
});
};

Then bind this to your custom button.

---

3. Alternative → Use Catalog Client Script (limited workaround)

You can simulate bulk add by:

• Creating a separate variable (like a checkbox or select)
• On change → populate MRVS via g_form.setValue()

But:

• Not user-friendly
• Hard to manage structured row data

---

4. Another option → Use modal (GlideModal / spModal)

In widget customization:

• Add “Bulk Add” button
• Open modal (spModal)
• Let user input multiple rows
• Push data into MRVS

This gives best UX (closest to your requirement).

---

5. Best practices

Use widget customization (supported for Portal)
Keep MRVS structure consistent
Validate data before inserting rows

 Avoid DOM manipulation hacks (not upgrade-safe)

---

6. If using Native UI (not Portal)

This becomes much harder:

• MRVS uses Glide UI (not easily customizable)
• No supported way to inject custom button

 In that case, consider:

• Separate UI Action + custom dialog
• Or redesign using related list instead of MRVS

[bonjarney]

Before cloning anything — two questions first:

How many rows? MRVS has a 50-row hard cap. If you need more, widget customization won't help.

Where does the bulk data come from?

Same rows every time (templates)? → Try a Catalog Client Script onLoad that programmatically adds rows. No widget clone needed, upgrade-safe.
User provides data from a file? → MRVS isn't built for import. You need a different approach (Scripted REST + staging table, or attachment-based processing).
If you do need the custom button and you're under 50 rows: the widget clone approach works, but use the widget's own addRow() function internally — don't push raw objects into rowData. Raw objects are missing internal metadata the server-side processor expects, and they bypass mandatory field validation. That will create submissions with silently corrupted data.