Forms in the classic environment

A form displays information from one record in a data table.

Note:

This content pertains to the classic environment, which refers to working in lists of records and on record forms directly, not in the Configurable Workspace interface. You can work in the classic environment with Next Experience active, or with it inactive, which is referred to as Core UI (formerly known as UI16).

The specific information on a form depends on the type of record displayed. Users can view and edit records in forms. Administrators can configure what appears on forms.

Figure 1. Form elements

Table 1. Form element descriptions

Form element	Function
Form header	Provides navigation tools and actions related to the record.
Fields	Stores specific data about the record.
Sections	Groups related information on the form. To enable or turn off form tabs, select the gear icon in the banner frame () and toggle the Tabbed forms option. Users can select icons to collapse () or expand () form sections when tabbed forms are turned off. When you collapse or expand a form section, your selection is saved as a user preference. The next time you access a record that uses the same form, the same sections are collapsed or expanded.
Related links	Provides access to additional functions based on record type and system setup. Administrators can add related links to forms using UI actions.
Related lists	Displays records in other tables that have relationships to the current record.
Embedded lists	Users can edit related lists without navigating away from the form. Changes are saved when the form is saved.
Response time indicator	Appears at the bottom of some forms to indicate the processing time required to display the form.

• Form headers for UI versions
  Core UI and UI15 each have a different form header that offers different navigation icons.
• Form context menu
  The form context menu provides controls based on the table and user access rights. Administrators can customize some of the options available on a context menu using UI actions.
• Form fields
  A field represents an individual item of data on a record.
• Navigate to a record or module using a URL
  Users can navigate to a record or module directly by using a URL. This topic explains the URL schema by which the system renders pages.
• Configure the activity filter
  The activity formatter contains a filter that lets users select which of the available fields to show in the activity list.
• Embedded lists or Related lists
  Some forms may show related lists as embedded. Changes to embedded lists are saved when the form is saved.
• Related lists
  Related lists appear on forms and show records in tables that have relationships to the current record.
• Edit a form
  You can edit a record in the form view. You can also insert a record, apply a template, and cancel changes to the record.
• Personalize a form
  When the form personalization feature is activated, users can personalize fields to appear on a specific form view according to individual preferences. Form personalization is available in Core UI.
• Add and manage attachments
  You can upload a file as an attachment to an incident, a knowledge article, a change request, or to another type of record.
• Document Viewer
  Document Viewer enables you to view documents directly in the ServiceNow AI Platform rather than having to download them.
• Checklists
  Checklists provide a simple way to track the progress of tasks without creating additional records. Checklists can be added to the form view of any table that extends Task [task].

Related topics

• UI actions