Do you know how to identify existing system properties? Do you know where to find descriptions of existing system properties? How can you define a system property? If you need answers to these questions, keep reading.
System properties give you the flexibility to change system behavior without hard-coding values. There are numerous system properties available in the base ServiceNow system. All system properties are defined in the sys_properties table, but not all are visible by default.
Finding available system properties
- View a list of all properties in the System Properties [sys_properties] table by entering sys_properties.list in the Application Navigator filter.
- View the Available System Properties page in the ServiceNow product documentation (wiki) to read descriptions of existing system properties not associated with a specific module.
- View the Service Catalog Properties page in the ServiceNow product documentation (wiki) to read descriptions of existing service catalog properties.
Defining a system property
Follow the steps below to define a property on the System Property [sys_properties] table. If you are going to add a significant number of system properties, consider creating property categories to group the properties logically.
- In the Application Navigator filter, enter sys_properties.list.
- Click New.
- Enter a Name for the property.
You must enter the name of a property that already exists. The "installed with" pages in the ServiceNow product documentation can help you identify property names. For example, Installed with Project Management and Installed with Assessments. - In Description, explain the property clearly so others understand how to use the property.
The product documentation can be helpful again here - the documentation should include a good description of the property. - In Choices, if appropriate, enter comma-separated values for a choice list type property.
- In Type, select an information type such as integer, choice list, or string.
- If necessary, enter a Value.
- Assign other options and read/write roles as appropriate.
Here is an example of a typical system property. - Click Update.
Here are some additional tips and tricks when working with system properties:
- View the System Properties Best Practices page in the product documentation (wiki) for helpful advice and a great video.
- A couple of questions related to the glide.ui.reference.readonly.clickthrough property were recently received in the community. See Showing look-up list icon and Make reference icon available for read-only fields on form. Kudos to Mark Stanger (Crossfuze) and Chandana Nagavarapu for jumping in with answers.
- Community member rfedoruk needed to know about system property types and Bhavesh Jain provided a clever answer.
- Very interesting community thread about getting system properties from categories started by Linda Kendrick. Andrew Venables and Justin Drysdale pitched in with helpful advice.
ServiceNow offers more information about system properties in the product documentation:
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