Sort Option form

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Sort Option form

    The Sort Option form allows ServiceNow customers to create and configure search result sort options within AI Search application configurations. This enables users to define how search results are ordered based on specific fields, improving the relevance and usability of search outputs.

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    Key Features

    • Label: Set the display name for the sort option as it appears in the search application’s sort menu, helping users easily identify sorting criteria.
    • Sort Field: Specify the field used to sort search results. This can be a field from a source table or a common AI Search index field, supporting date, number, or string types. The field can be qualified with the source table name (e.g., kbknowledge.author) or unqualified if it is a common index field (e.g., title).
    • Support for Parent and Child Table Fields:
      • Sorting on parent table fields includes values from child tables for comprehensive sorting across extended tables.
      • Sorting on child table fields is possible by referencing the parent table qualifier, enabling sorting on fields unique to child tables.
    • Application Scope: Automatically set to define the scope of the sort option within the search application.
    • Ascending Option: Choose to sort results in ascending (a to z) order; unchecking sorts in descending order (z to a).
    • Active Option: Activate or deactivate the sort option for use in the search application, controlling its availability to end users.

    Important Considerations

    • Only fields of supported data types (date, number, string) can be used; unsupported types trigger error messages on save.
    • The linked search profile in the parent search application configuration must include a search source derived from the specified indexed source table, or saving the sort option will fail.
    • The qualifier for the sort field must be the parent table name, not child tables directly, to ensure proper indexing and sorting behavior.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring sort options using the Sort Option form, customers can customize how AI Search displays results, tailoring the user experience to better meet organizational needs. This capability enhances search efficiency and satisfaction by allowing sorted views based on relevant fields such as authorship, titles, or custom attributes across related tables.

    The Sort Option form enables you to create a search result sort option in the search application configuration for an AI Search application.

    For details on creating or editing search result sort options, see Search result sort options in AI Search application configurations.

    Table 1. Sort Option form
    Field Description
    Label Label displayed for the search result sort option in the search application's sort menu.
    Sort Field Name of a source table field or common index field that the sort option uses to sort search results.
    The sort field can be a date, number, or string field.
    Note:
    If you specify a sort field of an unsupported type, an error message appears when you attempt to save the sort option.
    Supports the following formats:
    Qualified [indexed_source_table_name].[field_name] entry

    Sort search results on their values from the specified table's field.

    For example, enter kb_knowledge.author to sort search results by their Author field values.
    Note:
    The parent search application configuration's linked search profile must include a search source derived from the specified indexed source table. If this condition isn't met, an error message appears when you attempt to save the sort option.
    Unqualified common index field name

    Sort search results on their values from the specified common AI Search index field.

    For example, enter title to sort search results based on their titles, or language to sort search results based on their language.

    The [indexed_source_table_name] qualifier must be the name of a table specified in an indexed source. Don't specify indexed source child table names for this qualifier.

    Special cases include:
    Sorting on parent table fields

    If you specify an indexed source parent table's field in a sort option, AI Search includes values from the same field on child tables from the indexed source.

    For example, suppose you create an indexed source for custom table Parent [u_parent] which is extended by custom table Child [u_child], and then specify u_parent.author as the field for a sort option. When a user applies the sort option, AI Search uses both u_parent.author and u_child.author field values to sort the search result list.

    Sorting on child table fields

    You can specify a field that's unique to an indexed source's child table as a sort option field.

    Continuing the previous example, if your Child [u_child] table includes an Editor field that's not present on the Parent [u_parent] table, you can define u_parent.editor as a sort option field to sort search result s using this field's values.
    Note:
    Be sure to specify the parent table's name as the qualifier, not the child table's name.
    Application Application scope for the search result sort option. This field is automatically set.
    Ascending Option to make the search result sort option display results in ascending order (a to z). Clear this option to make the search result sort option display results in descending order (z to a).
    Active Option to activate the search result sort option for use in the search application.