Overview

Provides information about using filters, breadcrumbs, and lists, when working with a list of records (e.g., requests, incidents, groups, users).

Audience

All UW Connect users

Content

• Filters
• Breadcrumbs
• Lists

Filters

You can use filters to search for records. A filter is a query against the database, and a list displays the query results. Breadcrumbs allow you to quickly remove search conditions from a filter. This article explains these concepts in detail.

Most of the modules under each application are saved filters. For example, under Incident, the Open module is just a saved filter with the following search conditions:

All Incidents AND Active=true AND State NOT EQUAL TO Resolved

When you click the Open module, the filter runs and the results are displayed in a list in the content frame. The search conditions are summarized in breadcrumbs at the top of the list (more on breadcrumbs later in this article).

Filter Scope

Filters run against the table associated with their application. This means that if you run the Open filter under the Incident application, the filter results will contain only Incident records. Likewise, if you run the Open filter under the Request application, the filter results will contain only Request records. However, you can run filters against multiple tables by using the Work filter under My in the My Records application and customizing it to meet your needs. The Work filter runs against the Task table, which references other tables.

Note About the Active Field

Active is a field on the Task table that makes it easier to find records that are not closed. Active is set to false when a record is in a closed state (Closed on Incident and Request or Closed Complete, Closed Incomplete, and Closed Skipped on tasks). Active=true filters out all varieties of closed records so you don't need to know the exact states to exclude every time.

It is also common that resolved task records are excluded from the any "Open" lists.  That is because - though the record is still editable - the issue is resolved and no longer needs heightened attention. 

Tip: Always look at the breadcrumbs to see the search conditions of filter modules.

Filters on Choice Lists

Some fields have a list of choices. For example, the State field for Requests has the following choices and others that appear in the field as a dropdown list: Awaiting User Info, Internal Review, Active, Open, and so forth). Each choice is associated with an integer value (starting with 1) and a text label. Filtering  is performed on the integer values, not on the labels. 

Many different field choices use the same integers, so when you filter on the Task table (which goes  across multiple tables) the filter results can include  unexpected results. For example, a filter against the Task table with the  following conditions:

All AND Active=true AND State = Closed Incomplete

can include results with State = Awaiting User Info (and others). This can happen because in the State field on the Task  table, Closed Incomplete has a value of 4, while in the State field on the Incident table, Awaiting User Info also  has a value of 4. So when running a filter on the Task  table for State = Closed Incomplete you are really running  a filter on all tables that inherit from Task that have the  State = 4, which can have different meanings per table. 

For more information about filtering on choice lists, see Searching Values in Choice Lists on the ServiceNow Support Wiki.

Creating Custom Filters

You can create custom filters by running a filter (such as Open), changing the search conditions, and then saving it.

There are four ways to change the search conditions:

• Use the Show Matching and Filter Out commands from within a list.
• Use the Go to box to filter within a list.
• Edit the filter in the Condition Builder, which allows you to more easily construct complex filters.
• Search individual columns.

To create a custom filter using the Show Matching and Filter Out commands

1. Click a filtering module in the application that you want to search. For example, if you want to make a custom filter to find incidents, click Open under the Incident application.
2. In the list, find a field that represents the condition for which you want to search. For example, you might want to filter the list to show only those incidents opened by a certain service provider. In that case, find a record the has that service provider's name in the Opened by field.
3. Right-click the desired field, and then click one of the following:
   • Show Matching. Shows only the records in list that match the desired field. For example, if you right-clicked someone's name in the Opened by field, the list is reduced to show only the records opened by that person.
   • Filter Out. Shows only the records in list that do not match the desired field. For example, if you right-clicked someone's name in the Opened by field, the list is reduced to show only the records not opened by that person.

   When you customize a list using Show Matching and Filter Out, the changes to the filter are shown in the breadcrumbs and in the condition builder, so you can save the filter. See Saving Custom Filters for details.

To create a custom filter using the Go To box

1. Click a filtering module in the application that you want to search. For example, if you want to make a custom filter to find incidents, click Open under the Incident application.
2. At the top of the list, in the Go To box, select the field that you want to filter on from the menu.
3. In the text box to the right of the Go To box, enter the value that you want to filter on, and then click the magnifying glass icon  to filter the list.

   When you customize a list using the Go To box, the changes to the filter are shown in the breadcrumbs and in the condition builder, so you can save the filter. See Saving Custom Filters for details.

To create a custom filter using the Condition Builder

1. Click a filtering module in the application that you want to search. For example, if you want to make a custom filter to find incidents, click Open under the Incident application.
2. Click the triangle to the left of the breadcrumbs to open the Condition Builder.
   
   
3. In the Condition Builder, you can add or remove search conditions, and you can run or save the filter.
   
   

To create a custom filter by searching individual columns

1. Click a filtering module in the application that you want to search. For example, if you want to make a custom filter to find Incidents, click Open under the Incident application.
2. Make sure that the first record of the list is displayed. If necessary, scroll to the top of the list.
3. In the top-left corner of the list, next to the Gear icon , click the Magnifying Glass icon  to display search boxes at the top of every column.
4. In the search box for the column that you want to search, enter a value to search on, and then press Enter.
   The changes to the filter are shown in the breadcrumbs and in the condition builder, so you can save the filter. See Saving Custom Filters for details.

Saving Custom Filters

1. In the condition builder, click Save to open the save bar.
   
2. In the Save as field, enter a name for the filter.
   
   
3. To make the filter visible to others, select Group. To make it visible only to yourself, select Me.
4. To the right of the Group button, click Save. Do not click the Save button above the Save as field, which would close the save bar without saving the filter.
   

Displaying, Editing, and Running Custom Filters

You display, run, and edit custom filters two ways:

• From the List menu. From the list menu, you can display and edit only the filters that you have created.
• From the Filters module under Resources in the My Records application, you can display and edit the filters that you have created and any other custom filters that were saved as Visible to = Group.

To run custom filters from the List menu

• At the top right of the list, click the List Menu icon  to open the List menu. On the list menu, point to Filters, and then click the name of your saved filter. You can also open the List menu by right-clicking in the list title bar.
  

     

To display, edit, and run custom filters from the List menu

1. In the top-left corner of any list, click the List Menu icon  to open the List menu. On the list menu, point to Filters, and then click Edit Personal Filters.
   A list of filters that you created appears.
2. To edit a filter, open the record for the filter that you want to work with. In most cases, you open the record by clicking the value in the leftmost column (see Opening Records from a List).
3. To run the filter, at the bottom of the record click Run Filter.
   
   

To display, edit, and run custom filters from the Filters module

1. In the My Records application, under Resources, click Filters.
   A list appears showing the filters that you have created and any custom filters that others have created and saved as Visible to = Group.
2. To edit a filter, open the record for the filter that you want to work with. In most cases, you open the record by clicking the value in the leftmost column (see Opening Records from a List).
3. To run the filter, at the bottom of the record click Run Filter.

 

Breadcrumbs

When you run a filter, the search conditions are summarized at the top of the list in the form of breadcrumbs. In this example, the breadcrumbs show the following search conditions: all incidents AND Active is true AND Opened before May 16, 2013 OR Opened Today AND Approval is Not Yet Requested:

 

In breadcrumbs, the AND operator is represented by a right angle bracket ( > ) and the OR operator is represented by .or.

Removing Search Conditions from Breadcrumbs

You can quickly remove one or more search conditions by clicking in the breadcrumbs.

To remove a single search condition using breadcrumbs, click the right angle bracket to the left of any search condition to remove only that condition.
In the following example, pointing to the bracket to the left of Opened highlights the search condition Opened before May 16, 2013 OR Opened Today.

Clicking the bracket removes the highlighted condition and immediately runs a new filter without that condition.

To remove multiple search conditions using breadcrumbs, click within the text portion of a search condition to remove that condition and everything to the right of it.
In the following example, clicking anywhere within the text portion of the search condition Opened before May 16, 2013 OR Opened Today removes that condition and everything to the right of it and immediately runs a new filter without those conditions.

You can now see the new filter with the conditions removed.

 

Lists

A list is a display of zero or more records representing the results of running a filter. For example, if you click the Open module under Incident, the content frame displays a list of all open incidents.

Note: If a list contains a message stating: Rows removed due to security constraints, it indicates that the filter returned records that you do not have permission to see.

Opening Records from a List

1. In the list, locate the record that you want to work with.
2. In most cases, you open the record by clicking the value in the leftmost column. However, certain field values open other records and not record represented in the list. For example, fields such as User contain values corresponding to the names of service providers. If you click one of these names, you open the User record for that person, not the record represented in the list. If your list is set up to have one of these fields as the leftmost column, click the next one to the right to open the record.

Overwriting Fields in a List

There are two ways to change field values directly from within a list (information about reference fields/links follows):

1. Field value in a single record
   • In the list, find the record that you want to change.
   • In the row for the desired record, double-click the field that you want to change. If the field has values that are links, see the note below.
   • Enter a new value: either type in a new value or use the dropdown list (for fields that have choices).
   • Click the green checkmark to save the change
     
2. Field value in multiple records
   • In the list, select the desired field across the records that you want to change.
     • To select a field across contiguous records, hold down the Shift and Windows keys, and then click and drag the mouse cursor over the desired records. 
     • To select a field across noncontiguous records, hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys, and then click the field in the desired records one-by-one.
   • With the multiple fields selected, double-click one of the desired fields, and update the value as described in Steps 3 and 4 of the previous procedure.

Note: Editing fields with links

If you want to edit a field whose values are links, such as Assignment Group, be careful to click an area in the field that is not part of the link. Clicking the link opens the associated record and does not allow you to edit the field.

Sorting Lists

• Right-click in the column head that you want to sort by, and then click Sort (a to z) or Sort (z to a).

Grouping Lists

• Right-click in the column head that you want to sort by, and then click Group By.
  
  or

• At the top right of the list, click the List Menu icon  to open the List menu. On the List menu, point to Group By, and then click the field that you want to group by. You can also open the List menu by right-clicking in the list title bar.

   

Controlling Which Columns Appear and Where They Appear

You can add or remove columns from a list, and you can change the order in which the appear across the top of the list.

When you change the columns in a list, the changes persist across subsequent accesses to the associated table. 

To customize list columns

1. At the left of the column header bar, click the gear icon.
   The Personalize List Column dialog box appears.
   • To move a field into the list, click it in the Available list, and then click the right-arrow button below Add.
     The field moves from the Available list into the Selected List.
   • To remove a field from the list, click it in the Selected column, and then click the left-arrow button above Remove.
     The field moves from the Selected list to the Available list.
   • To change the position of a field in the column header bar, click it in the Selected list, and then click the Up or Down arrows to change its position.
2. When done, click OK.

Note: It is not possible to change the width of the list columns.

Deleting Records

You can delete records if your role has permission to do so. You might be able to delete some record types, but not others.

To delete a record

1. Check the box to the left of the record,
2. At the bottom of the list, from the Actions on selected items menu, click Delete.