How to enable inline search by location number for a Catalog Task field on SOW

[Damayanti Sarod]

Hi everyone! We are trying to make a location selection field on our Catalog Task (sc_task) form searchable by location number directly on the form inside Service Operations Workspace (SOW).

Currently, using a Lookup Select Box gives us the Number | Name format, but SOW renders it as a plain dropdown with no search bar. Changing it to a Reference field forces a big popup window to open instead of keeping the search inline on the form.

How can we get an inline search dropdown on a Catalog Task form in SOW that allows searching by location number?

[radha050903]

Hi @Damayanti Sarod ,

You can try using a Reference field with autocomplete attributes instead of a Lookup Select Box.

A Lookup Select Box renders as a standard dropdown in Service Operations Workspace (SOW), and inline searching is not available through normal variable configuration.

Step 1: Configure the Reference field

If Location is a field on the sc_task table, navigate to System Definition > Dictionary. Open the Location field and verify that the field type is Reference and the reference table is cmn_location.

Add these attributes:

ref_auto_completer=AJAXTableCompleter,ref_ac_columns=number;name,ref_ac_columns_search=true

Replace number with the actual column name if your instance uses a custom Location Number field.

If Location is a catalog variable rather than a field on sc_task, configure the autocomplete attributes on the Reference variable instead.

Step 2: Test in SOW

Open the Catalog Task form in Service Operations Workspace. Click directly inside the Location reference field and type a Location Number instead of using the lookup icon.

Important: SOW reference controls do not necessarily support all autocomplete attributes available in the classic UI. Therefore, the configuration above should be tested in your instance and is not guaranteed to enable searching by Location Number in SOW.

Step 3: Alternative solution

If SOW still searches only by Location Name or opens the reference lookup popup, you may need a custom autocomplete component for the workspace form. The component can query cmn_location by Location Number or Name, display matching records inline, and save the selected location sys_id.

Recommendation: First test the Reference field autocomplete attributes. If the SOW renderer does not support the required behavior, use a custom workspace autocomplete solution rather than a Lookup Select Box.

Hope this helps!