Variables not showing in Order Guide (Service Portal) for bundled catalog items

[utkarsh0212]

Hello Community,

I’m a ServiceNow developer and need some help troubleshooting an issue with Order Guides in Service Portal.

I have 2 order guides, each bundling multiple catalog items:

• In the first order guide, I can see the variables of the bundled catalog items on the second page of the order guide (they appear as dropdowns, as expected).

• In the second order guide, the bundled catalog items are visible, but their associated variables do not show up on the second page.

For the catalog items in question, I have already confirmed that the variables have “Visible on Guide” and “Visible Elsewhere” set to true.

I also reviewed this KB article: KB1638885, which mentions that the issue can occur due to duplicate Variable Set mappings. However, in my case, I do not see any duplicate mappings on the affected catalog items.

Has anyone encountered this behavior before? Are there other possible causes or configurations that can prevent variables from rendering in an order guide within the Service Portal?

Any insights or troubleshooting suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[harishk07]

Hi Utkarsh,

Here's what's likely happening and how to fix it:

1) The “Visible Elsewhere” 

This is a long-standing Service Portal quirk: even if “Visible on Guide” is enabled, the variable won’t display in the portal unless “Visible Elsewhere” is also checked. 

Solution: Ensure both “Visible on Guide” and “Visible Elsewhere” are enabled on those variables.

If you’re using a Variable Set, and making changes is tricky, the best workaround is to clone the Variable Set, adjust the checkboxes, and attach the new version to the order guide. 

2) Cascade Variables & Variable Name Matching

If you're relying on variable values to cascade from the first page to catalog items on the second, you must:

Enable Cascade Variables on the Order Guide.

Ensure each catalog item has identically-named variables (or includes the same Variable Set).

Without Cascade Variables, the portal may not render them even if they’re technically visible. 

3) Possible Import Set “Variable Mapping” Glitch

Another rare but possible issue is a duplicate or missing Variable Set mapping at the catalog item level. Even if the UI doesn’t show duplicates, a back-end mismatch can block display. Confirm the Variable Set is properly mapped to the items and not duplicated. 

In summary: checklist for troubleshooting:

1. On each variable: “Visible on Guide” = true AND “Visible Elsewhere” = true
2. Enable Cascade Variables on the order guide
3. Confirm catalog items have the same variable names
4. Verify no mapping duplicate / misconfiguration at item-variable set link

Once those are validated, your variables should appear correctly on the second page of the order guide in the Service Portal.

Regards,

Harish

✔️ Kindly mark as Helpful / Accept Solution if this answered your question

[harishk07]

@utkarsh0212 

Hope you are doing good!

Did my reply answer your question?

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[harishk07]

Hi @utkarsh0212 - did you try the checklist I mentioned?

If my response helped to solve your issue, please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

Best Regards,

Harish