Reference Qualifier Not Working in Scoped App for Filtering Division Field Based on Logged-in User

[swethavelu]

Hi Community,

I’m working in a custom scoped application and need help with a reference qualifier issue.

Requirement:

I have a Training Budget table with a reference field called division, which points to a division table which is extended from Department table. The Division table contains fields like:

• name
• dept_head (reference to sys_user, representing the Division Manager)

When a user opens the Training Budget form, I want the Division field to show only those divisions where the logged-in user is the Division Manager (dept_head).
However, if the user has the admin role, they should see all divisions.

What I Tried:

I used the following onLoad client script:

function onLoad() {

if (!g_user.hasRole('admin')) {

g_form.addInfoMessage("User is NOT an admin. Applying reference qualifier.");

var userId = g_user.userID;

g_form.setReferenceQual('division', 'dept_head=' + userId);

} else {

g_form.addInfoMessage("User IS an admin. No filter applied.");

g_form.setReferenceQual('division', '');

}

}

But this is not working — the user still sees all division records when clicking the lens icon. Also, I noticed that g_form.setReferenceQual() throws an error in the console:
TypeError: g_form.setReferenceQual is not a function.

Additional Info:

• The app is in a custom scope.
• The division field is a reference to a scoped table.
• I tried setting the Reference Qualifier to Advanced in the dictionary, but it resets to Simple after saving.

Question:

What is the correct way to apply a dynamic reference qualifier in a scoped app so that:

• Non-admin users only see divisions where they are the dept_head
• Admins see all divisions

Any working solution or workaround would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[swethavelu]

Correcting my previous reply: I'm seeing all division records in the 'Division' field of the Training Budget form.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@swethavelu 

it should work.

Any extra query BR applied on sys_user other than OOTB one?

💡 If my response helped, please mark it as correct ✅ and close the thread 🔒— this helps future readers find the solution faster! 🙏

[sangrulkaradvai · Accepted solution]

ServiceNow best practice for dynamic filtering is to use an Advanced Reference Qualifier with a Script Include. You create a Script Include that returns an encoded query and then call that Script Include function inside the field’s reference qualifier using the javascript: prefix.

Example setup:

1. Create a Script Include in your scoped application.
   Name: x_training_budget_FilterDivisions , create funcation getDivisionsForUser add logic here 

2. In the Advanced Reference Qualifier script field, enter:

   javascript: new x_training_budget_FilterDivisions().getDivisionsForUser()

[swethavelu]

@sangrulkaradvai 

Thank you so much! The solution using an Advanced Reference Qualifier with a Script Include worked perfectly. I was able to filter the Division field based on the logged-in user's role as Division Manager, and allow full access for admins. Appreciate the guidance! 🙌