Help context types and prioritization

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Help context types and prioritization

    In ServiceNow, help contexts can be created to assist users by linking specific help content to tables in your instance. These help contexts can be categorized as Form, List, or Record types. When users click the help icon, the system evaluates these help contexts to display the most relevant help page based on the user's current view.

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    Help context types

    • Record-level help: Applies to a single specific record only. For instance, if a Record type help context exists for a particular record, the help icon directs users to that specific help page when viewing that record.
    • List-level help: Applies to the list view of a table. If no Form-level help is defined, List-level help also applies to the form view of the same table.
    • Form-level help: Applies to the form view of a table. If no List-level help is defined, Form-level help also applies to the list view of the same table.
    • Combined List and Form-level help: When both List and Form help contexts are defined for a table, the help icon displays the relevant help page depending on whether the user is viewing a list or a form.

    Important: Creating a help context for a base table affects all tables that extend from the base table, unless a more specific help context exists for those extended tables.

    Help context prioritization

    When multiple help contexts could apply, ServiceNow uses the following priority rules (in descending order) to determine which help context to display:

    • Help contexts created by the customer take precedence over default help contexts provided by the instance.
    • Help contexts matching the user's language setting override those in the default language.
    • Help contexts linked to a table closer to the record's specific table in the extended table hierarchy take precedence over those linked to more general parent tables. For example, a help context for cmdbciserver will be prioritized over one for cmdbci when viewing a cmdbcilinuxserver record.

    You can create a help context with the type Form, List, or Record, and link it to a particular table in your ServiceNow instance. If you have multiple help contexts, prioritization determines which help contexts apply to what a user views.

    Help context types

    When a user clicks the help icon, the system analyzes the relevant help contexts to determine which help page to display.
    • Record-level help applies to only one specific record, not the list or form for that table.

      For example, if a Record type help context exists for the Validate Number record in the Business Rule table, the help icon only directs to the page specified when a user views that record.

    • List-level help applies to the list for a table. If no form-level help is defined, list-level help also applies to the form for the same table.

      For example, if a List type but not a Form type help context exists for the Business Rule table, the help icon directs to the page specified by the List type help context when a user views any list or record (if record-level help is not defined for it) in the Business Rule table.

    • Form-level help applies to the form for a table. If no list-level help is defined, the form-level help also applies to the list for the same table.

      For example, if a Form type but not a List type help context exists for the Business Rule table, the help icon directs to the page specified by the Form type help context when you view any record (if record-level help is not defined for it) or list in the Business Rule table.

    • If both list- and form-level help are defined for a table, the appropriate help is displayed for the list and the form.

      For example, if a List type and a Form type help context exist for the Business Rule table, the help icon directs to the page specified by the List type help context when a user views the Business Rules list. The help icon directs to the page specified by the Form type help context when a user views any record (if record-level help is not defined for it) in the Business Rule table.

    Important:
    If you create a help context for a base table list or record, the help system opens that target topic for any list or record in a table that extends the base table if no other help context is created in that extended table.

    Help context prioritization

    When there are several matching help context records, the following rules determine which help context is used, in descending order of priority.
    1. A customer-created help context is used instead of a default help context provided in the instance for the same table.
    2. A help context that matches the user's language setting is used instead of a help context in the default language of the instance. See the Language field on the Help Context form.
    3. A help context for a closer table in an extended table hierarchy is used instead of a help context for a further table.

      Consider the case of the Linux Server [cmdb_ci_linux_server] table, which has the following parentage: cmdbi_ci > cmdb_ci_hardware > cmdb_ci_computer > cmdb_ci_server > cmdb_ci_linux_server. If help contexts exist for both the cmdb_ci_server table and the cmdb_ci table, the help icon directs to the page specified by the cmdb_ci_server help context when you view a record in the cmdb_ci_linux_server table.