Unable to find configuration for "Make approval decision" button in SOW.

[AkurathiPrK]

I'm trying to identify where the "Make approval decision" button and its corresponding Approval Decision dialog are configured in Service Operations Workspace (SOW).

Currently, when an approver clicks Make approval decision, a modal opens with Approve and Reject options and an Approval notes field.

Observed behavior:

• When Reject is selected, Approval notes becomes mandatory (Approval notes *).
• When Approve is selected, Approval notes is optional.

My goal is to make Approval notes mandatory for both Approve and Reject decisions.

Could someone please point me to:

1. Where is the Make approval decision button/action configured?
2. Where the logic that makes Approval notes mandatory only for Reject is defined?
3. What is the recommended way to make Approval notes mandatory for Approve as well?
4. I've attached screenshots of the dialog for reference.

   Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[sachinvic]

@AkurathiPrK 

Yes, you can locate it, but modifying its core UI layout is not officially supported.

The dialog box is a pre-compiled UX Macroponent bundled within the Service Operations Workspace (SOW) application scope. Here is how to trace it:

• Where it lives: Navigate to sys_ux_macroponent.list and search for records containing *cab* or *agenda*.

• The validation logic: The condition making the notes mandatory upon rejection resides inside the component's internal UX Client Scripts event handlers.

Architectural Recommendation:
Because it is a packaged component, modifying its code directly will flag the file as a customization and trigger upgrade skips. If changing this UI is an absolute business requirement, the best practice is to configure a completely custom Declarative Action modal to replace the OOB button, rather than modifying the native dialog.

Hope this helps! If it clarifies the architecture, please consider marking this as Helpful or Accept as Solution.

[HarishKumar6668 · Accepted solution]

Hi @AkurathiPrK ,

As mentioned by @sachinvic , OOB ServiceNow restricts editing this page. However, I have a workaround that I regularly use in cases where the page is not editable directly from UI Builder.

1.Navigate to the UX App Route table and locate the record with the name “Chg Overview Approvers” (Sys ID: 133964ab071111100339a95eced30031) and open the record.

2.Modify the Extension Point field value to “SOW Record page modals.” If the Extension Point field is not available on the form, add it to the form first and then modify the value.

3.Open UI Builder, select the Page Collections tab, and open “SOW Record page modals.”


4.Open the Change Approvers Overview page, as shown in the screenshot below.


5.Open the page record and create a Variant, as the OOB page is not editable. Modify the Variant Order to -1 (or another appropriate value).
6.In the Editor tab, under Modals, select the Reason Notes Textarea component. On the right-hand side, you will see that the Required property is currently set to decision == reject.

Change this to Static Input and select the checkbox so that the text area is always mandatory.

7.Save the changes. Now, when clicking Make Approval Decision, the Approval Notes field will always be marked as required.
 
8.Once the changes are completed, revert the UX App Route record to its previous state by clearing the Extension Point field.

If you find this useful, please mark this response as Helpful and Accept the Solution.

Regards,
Harish