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Lookup fields vs Reference fields

G Balaji
Kilo Guru

‎10-28-2018 10:50 PM

Hi,

 

What does a lookup field type represent? what is the difference between lookup and reference fields?

Thanks.

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erik_brostrom
Mega Guru

‎10-28-2018 10:56 PM

I'm assuming you're talking about a Lookup select box; they give you the ability to create a choice list using data form a table just like a reference field, but you can specify what value is stored upon selection, etc.

I'm not going to re-iterate what the docs sites say, so here you go for more info:

https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/london-it-service-management/page/product/service-catalog-management/reference/r_VariableTypes.html

 

SaiRaviKiran Ak
Tera Guru

‎10-28-2018 11:10 PM

Hi,

Reference Field

A reference field stores a reference to a field on another table. For example, the Caller field on the Incident table is a reference to the User [sys_user] table. ... Each reference field stores a sys_id for each referenced record in the database, but the sys_id is not shown

A reference field can refer only to records from one other table. To add a field that can refer to records on any table, use the Document ID element type.

Lookup

On forms, the reference lookup icon (UI16/UI15 reference lookup icon) appears by editable reference fields. Clicking the reference lookup icon displays a list of records on the referenced table.

A lookup select box variable is more powerful than a reference variable.

Specify the following when creating a lookup select box variable:

  • Lookup from table: the table from which values are queried.
  • Lookup value field: the field on the lookup table whose value is used as the variable's value (typically sys_id).
  • Lookup label field(s): a comma-separated list of fields on the lookup table whose values are used to display the selections in the select box. For example,manufacturer,name for the Software [cmdb_ci_spkg] table would display selections as:
    • Microsoft | Excel
    • Adobe | Photoshop Elements
  • Lookup price field: the field whose value is used to modify the price of the item being ordered.
  • Lookup recurring price field: the field whose value is used to modify the recurring price of the item being ordered.

 

Thanks,

Ravi