This issue where some incident records show “No Activity” in the activity formatter typically happens due to one of the following reasons:
1. Missing Journal Entries
The activity formatter relies on the Journal Fields (comments, work_notes, etc.) and Audit History to show updates. If a record has:
No comments
No work notes
No field updates that are auditable
... then the activity section will be blank.
2. Customized or Broken Activity Formatter
If the activity formatter was customized (e.g. via a GlideElement, macro, or UI Macro), it may fail to render correctly in some cases.
Check for:
UI Macros like activity.xml
Changes in the Form Layout or custom formatter scripts
3. Form Sections Not Loading
If the activity formatter is placed in a collapsed or hidden section, or if there's a client script/UI policy hiding it based on conditions, it may appear empty.
4. Journal Fields Not Configured on the Table
Verify that the comments, work_notes, additional_comments, etc., are properly set as Journal Input/Output on the incident table.
Go to:
System Definition > Dictionary
Table: incident
Column: comments or work_notes
Ensure Type is set to Journal or Journal Input
5. Audit Settings Turned Off
If auditing is turned off for the incident table or key fields, some updates may not be logged.
Check under:
System Definition > Tables
Table: incident
Ensure “Audit” and “Audit changes” are enabled
Also check field-level dictionary entries to confirm auditing is on.
How to Fix:
Add journal input (like a comment) manually to one of the affected records and reload the form. If the activity then shows, the issue is missing data.
Verify dictionary settings for comments and work_notes.
Compare a working and non-working record using background scripts or XML export to identify missing audit/journal entries.
Clear cache using /cache.do and recheck if it’s a rendering glitch.
If a custom activity formatter is being used, try replacing it temporarily with the out-of-box one.
