What is the use of addEncodedQuery?

[yashkamde]

Not getting results as expected using applyEncodedQuery(),

var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');

gr.addQuery('category=Hardware');

gr.query();

gr.applyEncodedQuery('category=Software');

while (gr.next()) {

    var c = gr.getDisplayValue('category');

    gs.info("Incident: " + gr.number + " | Category: " + c);

}

[yashkamde]

Little Clarification - i.e applyEncodedQuery not addEncoded....

[Shruti D]

Hello @yashkamde,

addEncodedQuery(): This is the standard method for adding encoded queries before executing the query.

applyEncodedQuery(): This is used to filter an existing result set (i.e., after a .query() has already been run).

Your current code with both addQuery('category=Hardware') and applyEncodedQuery('category=Software') will return zero results. You should not combine contradictory conditions (Hardware and Software) unless you're using OR.

Refer the below code:

var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');
// Get incidents where category is Hardware OR Software
gr.addEncodedQuery('category=Hardware^ORcategory=Software');
gr.query(); 

// Filter only category = Software
gr.applyEncodedQuery('category=Software');
while (gr.next()) {
    var c = gr.getDisplayValue('category');
    gs.info("Incident: " + gr.number + " | Category: " + c);
}

Please Mark Correct ✔️if this solves your query and also mark Helpful 👍 if you find my response worthy based on the impact.

Regards, 

Shruti

[Shashank_Jain]

No @Shruti D !

It does not used to filter an existing result set.

See my response in below thread where I explained the use case of it.

Thank you!

[Shashank_Jain · Accepted solution]

@yashkamde ,

Please update the question above, not everyone will see this reply as it is hide between so many replies.

Okay, so you wanted to know about applyEncodedQuery:

• applyEncodedQuery() is not for filtering results like addEncodedQuery().

• Instead, it sets field values on the current record based on an encoded query string.

• This is usually useful when you want to clone field conditions into a new record before insert/update.

Tried this on PDI -

// Step 1: Build an encoded query from an existing GlideRecord
// Here, we search for all Incidents where the description = "test"
var gr1 = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr1.addEncodedQuery('description=test');  
gr1.query();

// Save the encoded query string so it can be reused later
// Example of encoded query generated → "description=test"
var encQuery = gr1.getEncodedQuery();   


// Step 2: Create a NEW Incident record
var gr2 = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr2.initialize();                        // Prepares a blank new record

// Apply the encoded query values we built earlier (in this case: description=test)
// Note: applyEncodedQuery() sets field values based on the query string
gr2.applyEncodedQuery(encQuery);         

// Step 3: Insert the new record into the Incident table
var newSysId = gr2.insert();
gs.info("✅ New Incident created with Sys ID: " + newSysId);


// Step 4: Double-check what got created
if (newSysId) {
    var check = new GlideRecord('incident');
    if (check.get(newSysId)) {
        gs.info("ℹ️ New Incident Details → Number: " + check.number +
                " | Description: " + check.description );
    }
}

What we did in the code

1. Created a query first

   • We searched the Incident table for all records where the description = "test".

   • This gave us an encoded query string (basically, a compact way of saying "description equals test").

2. Saved that query for reuse

   • Instead of hard-coding the condition again, we stored the encoded query in a variable.

   • Example: encQuery = "description=test". (var encQuery = gr1.getEncodedQuery();)

3. Created a new Incident record

   • We initialized a blank Incident record.

   • Added some custom values like short_description and caller_id.

4. Applied the saved query values to the new record

   • Using applyEncodedQuery(encQuery), we told ServiceNow:
      "Apply all field values from that query (description = test) onto this new record".

5. Inserted the new record

   • Finally, we saved the new Incident into the database.

   • When we checked it, the new record had description = test (inherited from the query) along with our manually added fields.

 Note: applyEncodedQuery() is used to take an encoded query string (like "priority=1^active=true") and directly apply those field values to the current GlideRecord object.

Screenshot from Official Servicenow Doc -

Hope you now understand the use case of applyEncodedQuery(). If you still have any doubts, please feel free to ask!

CC : @Shruti D , @Bhuvan  , @RaghavSh , @Juhi Poddar , @Ankur Bawiskar ,  @Nikhil Bajaj9  ,  @Ravish  , @Jennifer Rahman 

Please verify — this is what I know to the best of my knowledge. Feel free to add any points if I may have missed something, or correct me if I’m wrong anywhere.

[yashkamde]

Thank you for the clear explanation and guidance! Your breakdown of how the encoded query works and how to apply it dynamically to a new record was really helpful. It clarified exactly what I needed, and the solution worked perfectly in my use case.

Appreciate your support and the time you took to explain it step by step.