Reference Field Not Showing Dropdown Results Until Search Icon Clicked (alm_asset + Reference Qualif

[Baskarank]

Hi all,

I’m working on a reference field (“Created Asset”) on the sc_task form, and it should display all hardware assets assigned to the user in the Requested For field.

Earlier, the dropdown would automatically show these assets as soon as the field was clicked.
Now, the dropdown displays “No results found” unless I click the search icon, although the reference qualifier returns correct results.

What I have so far

Reference Table: alm_asset

Reference Qualifier (Advanced):

javascript
javascript:
var gr = new GlideRecord('alm_asset');
gr.addQuery('assigned_to', current.request_item.requested_for);
gr.addQuery('install_status', 6); // Assigned
gr.query();
var assets = [];
while (gr.next()) {
assets.push(gr.getUniqueValue());
}
"sys_idIN" + assets.join(',');

This correctly filters assets, but the dropdown still shows empty until I click the lookup icon.

---

Field Attributes

edge_encryption_enabled=true,
encode_utf8=false,
ref_ac_columns=serial_number;asset_tag,
ref_ac_columns_search=true

Even after adding ref_auto_completer=AJAXTableCompleter, the list still does not auto-load.

---

Behavior

* Clicking the dropdown → No results found
* Clicking the lookup/search icon → Correct assigned assets appear
* So the qualifier works, but the reference field does not preload values

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What I want

I need the field to behave like a normal reference field where:

* Clicking the field shows the filtered list immediately
* No need to click the search icon
* No need to type

Basically, the same behavior we get with some other fields where the dropdown is auto-populated.

---

Question

Is this a platform-level change for large tables like alm_asset, or am I missing a specific field attribute or configuration?

Has anyone faced (or solved) this issue where:

Reference qualifier is correct, but the dropdown does not auto-populate anymore?

Any guidance, alternative solutions, or recommended best practices would be appreciated!