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02-06-2025 08:50 PM
Hi, I have a reference variable with a reference qualifier that correctly displays the fields I want in the dropdown. However, I’ve noticed that the search does not perform a wildcard (contains) search within the reference field.
For example, if the title field contains "Knowledge article creation best practice," the search does not return this row when I type "article." Instead, I must start the search with "Knowledge."
Is this because the autocomplete only searches from the beginning of the field rather than anywhere within the string? If so, is there a workaround to enable contains search in the reference field?
Here is my reference qualifier
ref_auto_completer=AJAXTableCompleter,ref_ac_columns=u_number;title,ref_ac_columns_search=true,ref_ac_order_by=title
Many thanks
Max
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02-06-2025 09:56 PM
that's the platform behavior.
If you start typing then only it will start searching
To perform contains search you need to type in *article and it should show the result
If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.
Ankur
✨ Certified Technical Architect || ✨ 9x ServiceNow MVP || ✨ ServiceNow Community Leader
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02-06-2025 09:57 PM
Hi @CCZMAX1 ,
Can you please check the below article?
How can I do a contains search on 'name' as well as other fields for a Reference variable?
If my response finds helpful, please indicate its helpfulness by selecting Accept as Solution and Helpful.
Thanks,
Vaibhav Nikam
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02-06-2025 09:56 PM
that's the platform behavior.
If you start typing then only it will start searching
To perform contains search you need to type in *article and it should show the result
If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.
Ankur
✨ Certified Technical Architect || ✨ 9x ServiceNow MVP || ✨ ServiceNow Community Leader
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02-06-2025 09:57 PM
Hi @CCZMAX1 ,
Can you please check the below article?
How can I do a contains search on 'name' as well as other fields for a Reference variable?
If my response finds helpful, please indicate its helpfulness by selecting Accept as Solution and Helpful.
Thanks,
Vaibhav Nikam
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02-06-2025 10:24 PM
Thank you for this. That system property explicitly tells you that contains will work when set to false.