Is there ability to set up a filter that is editable on a reference field?

[Su522]

It is my understanding that the ability to set up a filter that is editable on a reference field is not currently available.
Is this correct?

Specifically, we're looking for a way to filter a "Contact" reference field on a table by the same "Account" on the record.
So only the Contact for that Account initially show up when clicking on the "Lookup using list" button (see screenshot)
But then, clicking the "All" breadcrumb would remove that filter and show all Contacts

Is there a workaround?
Such as a customization that we could do to allow this?

Help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

[Benjamin A]

Hi @Su522,

To achieve this, I recommend setting the dependent field value on Contact to "account" (or whatever it's technical name is). While I'm not familiar with this specific product, assuming it's CSM, I'll provide an example for reference.

In the Incident table =, the Caller field has a dependent field, "company". If you add the Company field to an incident and select a company before choosing a caller, you'll notice that only callers associated with the selected company are available.

The same behavior should apply to Contacts and Accounts if you configure the dependent field accordingly.

I hope this is helpful!

[Su522]

@Benjamin A 

Thank you, but I've tried that. Setting the dependent field value on Contact to "account" does only pull up those Contacts for that Account which is intially what is wanted. The problem is clicking the "All" in the breadcrumb of that pop up list will not allow you to get to All Contacts, which is what is wanted... 

[Benjamin A]

@Su522 

Sounds like you would rather "suggest" options than force. Unfortunately dependent fields and reference qualifiers are both going to force users. In this case without over-engineering the fields, it sounds like you either will have to change your process to either be OK with leaving account blank or having to pick from a longer contact list by removing the dependent field. 

Personally I would remove the dependent field and use this as a learning opportunity to teach your users about using filters to filter by account if wanted/needed. 

Someone else may have an answer that better suites your needs, but I would strongly suggest not over-engineering and using this as a learning opportunity.

Best,

Ben

[Sandeep Rajput]

@Su522 According to this post https://www.servicenow.com/community/developer-forum/is-it-possible-to-make-a-filter-default-in-a-re... creating editable default filter in the reference lookup list is not supported by the platform yet.