Service Catalog Variable Management

Overview

This skill covers comprehensive catalog variable management:

• All variable types and when to use each
• Creating and configuring variables
• Reference qualifiers for filtering options
• Cascading/dependent variables
• UI policies for show/hide/mandatory logic
• Variable choices (question_choice table)
• Variable sets for reusability

When to use: When building catalog forms, implementing dynamic form behavior, or troubleshooting variable issues.

Prerequisites

• Roles: catalog_admin or admin
• Access: item_option_new, question_choice, catalog_ui_policy tables
• Knowledge: Basic catalog structure
• Related Skills: catalog/item-creation for full item configuration

Procedure

Step 1: Understand Variable Types

CRITICAL: Variable types are numeric values stored in the type field.

Complete Variable Type Reference:

Type	Value	Use Case	Example
Single Line Text	16	Short text input	Names, titles, codes
Multi-Line Text	6	Long text	Descriptions, notes, justifications
Choice (Radio)	1	2-5 options, visible at once	Priority, Yes/No/Maybe
Select Box (Dropdown)	5	6+ options or long labels	Department, Location
Reference	8	Link to ServiceNow record	User, CI, Group
Yes/No	7	Boolean toggle	Checkboxes, toggles
CheckBox	7	Same as Yes/No	Acceptance, agreement
Date	9	Date picker	Start date, due date
Date/Time	10	Date and time picker	Meeting time, deadline
Email	32	Email validation	Contact email
URL	26	URL validation	Website, link
Numeric Scale	2	1-10 rating	Satisfaction, priority
Lookup Select Box	21	Filtered reference dropdown	Filtered users/CIs
Container Start	19	Group variables visually	Section header
Container End	20	End container group	Section footer
Label	11	Display-only text	Instructions, warnings
Break	12	Visual separator	Line break
Macro	14	UI macro execution	Custom widgets
Masked	25	Password-style input	Sensitive data
HTML	17	Rich text/HTML display	Formatted instructions
Wide Text	6	Same as Multi-Line	Legacy
IP Address	27	IP address validation	Network config
Duration	29	Time duration	SLA duration
Attachment	15	File upload	Documents, images
List Collector	22	Multi-select reference	Multiple users/groups
Lookup Multiple Choice	23	Multi-select filtered	Multiple filtered refs

Step 2: Create Basic Variables

Single Line Text Variable:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "employee_name"
    question_text: "Employee Full Name"
    type: 16
    order: 100
    mandatory: true
    active: true
    help_text: "Enter the employee's full legal name as it appears on their ID"
    example_text: "John A. Smith"
    default_value: ""

Multi-Line Text Variable:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "business_justification"
    question_text: "Business Justification"
    type: 6
    order: 200
    mandatory: true
    active: true
    help_text: "Explain why this request is needed for business operations"

Date Variable:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "required_by_date"
    question_text: "Required By Date"
    type: 9
    order: 300
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Step 3: Create Choice Variables

CRITICAL: Catalog variable choices use question_choice table, NOT sys_choice!

Type 1 - Choice (Radio Buttons): Best for 2-5 options that users need to see at once.

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "urgency_level"
    question_text: "Request Urgency"
    type: 1  # Radio buttons
    order: 400
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Type 5 - Select Box (Dropdown): Best for 6+ options or options with long labels.

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "department"
    question_text: "Department"
    type: 5  # Dropdown
    order: 500
    mandatory: true
    active: true
    include_none: false  # Don't show "-- None --" option

Add Choices to Variable:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: [variable_sys_id]  # item_option_new sys_id
    text: "Engineering"
    value: "engineering"
    order: 100
    inactive: false

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: [variable_sys_id]
    text: "Marketing"
    value: "marketing"
    order: 200
    inactive: false

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: [variable_sys_id]
    text: "Finance"
    value: "finance"
    order: 300
    inactive: false

Query Variable Choices:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  query: question=[variable_sys_id]
  fields: sys_id,text,value,order,inactive
  limit: 100

Step 4: Create Reference Variables

Basic Reference Variable:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "requested_for"
    question_text: "Request For (User)"
    type: 8  # Reference
    reference: sys_user  # Target table
    order: 100
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Reference with Qualifier (Filter):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "manager_approval"
    question_text: "Manager for Approval"
    type: 8
    reference: sys_user
    reference_qual: "active=true^rolesLIKEmanager"
    order: 200
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Reference Qualifier Examples:

Use Case	Reference Qual
Active users only	active=true
Users in specific group	sys_idIN<group_members_subquery>
Active CIs	install_status=1
Specific CI class	sys_class_name=cmdb_ci_server
Servers in location	location=[location_sys_id]^sys_class_name=cmdb_ci_server

Dynamic Reference Qualifier (JavaScript):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "team_member"
    question_text: "Team Member"
    type: 8
    reference: sys_user
    reference_qual: "javascript:new MyCatalogUtils().getTeamMembers(current.variables.department)"
    order: 300
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Step 5: Create Cascading/Dependent Variables

Cascading variables change based on another variable's selection.

Example: Department -> Team cascade

Step 1 - Create Parent Variable (Department):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "department"
    question_text: "Department"
    type: 5
    order: 100
    mandatory: true
    active: true
# Result: sys_id = "dept_var_id"

Step 2 - Create Child Variable (Team):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "team"
    question_text: "Team"
    type: 5
    order: 200
    mandatory: true
    active: true
    dependent_on_variable: "dept_var_id"  # Parent variable sys_id
# Result: sys_id = "team_var_id"

Step 3 - Add Choices with Dependencies:

# Engineering teams
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "team_var_id"
    text: "Frontend Engineering"
    value: "frontend"
    order: 100
    inactive: false
    depends_on: "engineering"  # Value of parent choice

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "team_var_id"
    text: "Backend Engineering"
    value: "backend"
    order: 200
    inactive: false
    depends_on: "engineering"

# Marketing teams
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "team_var_id"
    text: "Digital Marketing"
    value: "digital"
    order: 100
    inactive: false
    depends_on: "marketing"

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "team_var_id"
    text: "Brand Marketing"
    value: "brand"
    order: 200
    inactive: false
    depends_on: "marketing"

Step 6: Create UI Policies

UI policies control variable visibility, mandatory status, and read-only state based on conditions.

IMPORTANT: UI Policy Actions cannot be fully linked via REST API due to ServiceNow limitations. The catalog_variable field won't update through standard API calls.

Create UI Policy:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy
  data:
    catalog_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    short_description: "Show manager approval when cost > 1000"
    active: true
    on_load: true
    reverse_if_false: true
    script_false: ""
    script_true: ""
    order: 100

UI Policy Conditions: Conditions are evaluated against catalog item variables.

Create UI Policy with Conditions:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy
  data:
    catalog_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    short_description: "Show additional details for external vendors"
    conditions: "vendor_type=external"  # Variable name = value
    active: true
    on_load: true
    reverse_if_false: true
    order: 200

UI Policy Action Fields:

Action	Description
visible	Show/hide the variable
mandatory	Make variable required
disabled	Make variable read-only

Create UI Policy Action:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy_action
  data:
    ui_policy: [ui_policy_sys_id]
    catalog_variable: "IO:[variable_sys_id]"  # Must use IO: prefix
    visible: true
    mandatory: true
    disabled: false

Known Issue - UI Policy Action Linking: The catalog_variable field may not link properly via REST API.

Workaround - Background Script:

Tool: SN-Execute-Background-Script
Parameters:
  script: |
    var gr = new GlideRecord('catalog_ui_policy_action');
    gr.get('[action_sys_id]');
    gr.setValue('catalog_variable', 'IO:[variable_sys_id]');
    gr.update();
    gs.info('Updated UI policy action: ' + gr.sys_id);
  description: "Link UI policy action to catalog variable"

Step 7: Configure Variable Sets

Variable sets group reusable variables across multiple catalog items.

Create Variable Set:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new_set
  data:
    title: "Standard Requester Information"
    description: "Common requester fields used across all hardware requests"
    active: true
    type: "one_to_one"  # Each item gets unique variable instances
    order: 100

Variable Set Types:

Type	Description
one_to_one	Variables cloned per item (independent values)
one_to_many	Variables shared across items (same record)

Add Variables to Variable Set:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    variable_set: [variable_set_sys_id]  # Instead of cat_item
    name: "cost_center"
    question_text: "Cost Center"
    type: 16
    order: 100
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Associate Variable Set with Catalog Item:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: io_set_item
  data:
    sc_cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    variable_set: [variable_set_sys_id]
    order: 100

Step 8: Advanced Variable Configuration

Hidden Variable (for workflow data):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "internal_tracking_id"
    question_text: "Tracking ID"
    type: 16
    order: 9999
    mandatory: false
    active: true
    hidden: true  # Not visible to users
    read_only: true

Read-Only Variable (display only):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "calculated_cost"
    question_text: "Estimated Cost"
    type: 16
    order: 800
    mandatory: false
    active: true
    read_only: true
    default_value: "$0.00"

Variable with Attributes:

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "quantity"
    question_text: "Quantity"
    type: 16
    order: 600
    mandatory: true
    active: true
    attributes: "min=1,max=100,step=1"  # HTML5 validation

List Collector (Multi-Select Reference):

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: [catalog_item_sys_id]
    name: "additional_users"
    question_text: "Additional Users for Access"
    type: 22  # List Collector
    reference: sys_user
    reference_qual: "active=true"
    order: 700
    mandatory: false
    active: true

Step 9: Query and Verify Variables

Get all variables for a catalog item:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  query: cat_item=[catalog_item_sys_id]
  fields: sys_id,name,question_text,type,order,mandatory,active,reference
  limit: 100

Get choices for a variable:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  query: question=[variable_sys_id]
  fields: sys_id,text,value,order,depends_on,inactive
  limit: 100

Get UI policies for catalog item:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy
  query: catalog_item=[catalog_item_sys_id]^active=true
  fields: sys_id,short_description,conditions,on_load,reverse_if_false
  limit: 50

Get variable sets for catalog item:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: io_set_item
  query: sc_cat_item=[catalog_item_sys_id]
  fields: sys_id,variable_set.title,order
  limit: 50

Complete Example: Hardware Request Form

# 1. Create container for requester info
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "requester_section"
    question_text: "Requester Information"
    type: 19  # Container Start
    order: 100
    active: true

# 2. Requested For
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "requested_for"
    question_text: "Requested For"
    type: 8
    reference: sys_user
    reference_qual: "active=true"
    order: 110
    mandatory: true
    active: true

# 3. Department (dropdown)
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "department"
    question_text: "Department"
    type: 5
    order: 120
    mandatory: true
    active: true
# Result: sys_id = "dept_id"

# Add department choices
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "dept_id"
    text: "Engineering"
    value: "eng"
    order: 100

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "dept_id"
    text: "Sales"
    value: "sales"
    order: 200

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "dept_id"
    text: "Finance"
    value: "fin"
    order: 300

# 4. End requester section
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "requester_section_end"
    question_text: ""
    type: 20  # Container End
    order: 190
    active: true

# 5. Hardware type (radio - 3 options)
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "hardware_type"
    question_text: "Hardware Type"
    type: 1  # Radio buttons
    order: 200
    mandatory: true
    active: true
# Result: sys_id = "hw_type_id"

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "hw_type_id"
    text: "Laptop"
    value: "laptop"
    order: 100

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "hw_type_id"
    text: "Desktop"
    value: "desktop"
    order: 200

Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: "hw_type_id"
    text: "Monitor"
    value: "monitor"
    order: 300

# 6. Business justification
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "justification"
    question_text: "Business Justification"
    type: 6  # Multi-line
    order: 300
    mandatory: true
    active: true

# 7. Required by date
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: item_option_new
  data:
    cat_item: "hardware_item_id"
    name: "needed_by"
    question_text: "Required By"
    type: 9  # Date
    order: 400
    mandatory: true
    active: true

Variable Type Decision Guide

Text Input:
├── Short answer (< 100 chars)?
│   └── Type 16: Single Line Text
├── Long answer (> 100 chars)?
│   └── Type 6: Multi-Line Text
└── Sensitive/password?
    └── Type 25: Masked

Selection (from list):
├── 2-5 options, visible at once?
│   └── Type 1: Choice (Radio)
├── 6+ options OR long labels?
│   └── Type 5: Select Box
├── Single ServiceNow record?
│   └── Type 8: Reference
├── Multiple ServiceNow records?
│   └── Type 22: List Collector
└── Filtered reference list?
    └── Type 21: Lookup Select Box

Boolean:
└── Yes/No or Checkbox?
    └── Type 7: Yes/No

Date/Time:
├── Date only?
│   └── Type 9: Date
└── Date and time?
    └── Type 10: Date/Time

Special:
├── Email address?
│   └── Type 32: Email
├── URL/link?
│   └── Type 26: URL
├── IP address?
│   └── Type 27: IP Address
├── File upload?
│   └── Type 15: Attachment
├── Rating (1-10)?
│   └── Type 2: Numeric Scale
└── Time duration?
    └── Type 29: Duration

Display Only:
├── Instructions/info?
│   └── Type 11: Label
├── Rich HTML content?
│   └── Type 17: HTML
└── Visual separator?
    └── Type 12: Break

Layout:
├── Start section?
│   └── Type 19: Container Start
└── End section?
    └── Type 20: Container End

Tool Usage Summary

Operation	MCP Tool	Table
Create variable	SN-Create-Record	item_option_new
Create choice	SN-Create-Record	question_choice
Create UI policy	SN-Create-Record	catalog_ui_policy
Create UI policy action	SN-Create-Record	catalog_ui_policy_action
Create variable set	SN-Create-Record	item_option_new_set
Link variable set	SN-Create-Record	io_set_item
Query variables	SN-Query-Table	item_option_new
Query choices	SN-Query-Table	question_choice

Best Practices

• Use Type 5 for 6+ Options: Dropdowns handle long lists better than radio buttons
• Use Type 1 for 2-5 Options: Radio buttons let users see all options at once
• question_choice NOT sys_choice: Always use question_choice for catalog variables
• Order in Increments of 100: Allows inserting variables later (100, 200, 300...)
• Meaningful Variable Names: Use lowercase_with_underscores naming
• Help Text: Always provide context for complex fields
• Group with Containers: Use Type 19/20 to organize related fields
• Reference Qualifiers: Filter reference fields to relevant records only
• Test UI Policies: Verify show/hide logic works in both directions

Troubleshooting

Choices Not Appearing

Symptom: Dropdown or radio shows no options Cause: Choices created in sys_choice instead of question_choice Solution:

# Verify choices are in question_choice
Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  query: question=[variable_sys_id]
  fields: text,value,order,inactive

# If empty, create choices in correct table
Tool: SN-Create-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  data:
    question: [variable_sys_id]
    text: "Option 1"
    value: "opt1"
    order: 100

Cascading Variable Not Filtering

Symptom: Child variable shows all choices regardless of parent selection Cause: depends_on value doesn't match parent choice value Solution:

# Check parent choices
Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  query: question=[parent_variable_sys_id]
  fields: text,value

# Verify child choices have matching depends_on values
Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: question_choice
  query: question=[child_variable_sys_id]
  fields: text,value,depends_on

UI Policy Not Working

Symptom: Variable not hiding/showing based on conditions Causes:

1. UI policy inactive
2. Condition syntax incorrect
3. UI policy action not linked Solution:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy
  query: catalog_item=[item_sys_id]
  fields: short_description,conditions,active,reverse_if_false

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: catalog_ui_policy_action
  query: ui_policy=[policy_sys_id]
  fields: catalog_variable,visible,mandatory,disabled

Reference Qualifier Syntax Error

Symptom: Reference field shows error or no results Cause: Invalid encoded query syntax in reference_qual Solution: Test query in list filter first, then use exact same syntax

Related Skills

• catalog/item-creation - Creating complete catalog items
• catalog/approval-workflows - Approval configuration
• catalog/request-fulfillment - Processing submitted requests
• development/client-scripts - Dynamic form behavior

References

• ServiceNow Variable Types
• Catalog UI Policies
• Variable Sets