A security rule that decides who can read, write, create or delete a record or field.
ServiceNow glossary
Every ServiceNow term used in our lessons, explained in plain English. Where a lesson teaches the term properly, you will find a link to it.
- ACL (Access Control)
- App shell
The frame around every page of an experience, such as the header, menus and navigation, that stays the same while pages change inside it.
Learn it in: Next Experience, experiences and app shells- Array
A list of items in a fixed order, such as a list of records returned by a query. In JSON it is written inside square brackets.
- Assignment group
The team responsible for working on a task, such as the Network team for a network incident.
- Audience
A group of users, usually defined by their roles, used to decide which variant of a page each person sees.
Learn it in: Pages, variants and audiences in UI Builder- Business Rule
A server-side script that runs automatically when a record is displayed, inserted, updated, deleted or queried.
Learn it in: What is a Business Rule in ServiceNow?- Client Script
A script that runs in the user's browser when a form loads, a field changes or the form is submitted.
- Client-side
Code that runs in the user's browser, usually to react instantly to what they do on a form.
- Component
A ready-made building block you place on a UI Builder page, such as a button, a list, a card or a set of tabs.
Learn it in: Components and their properties in UI Builder- Content tree (Content panel)
The Content panel on the left of the UI Builder editor, listing every component on the page, nested the way they sit inside each other.
Learn it in: A tour of the UI Builder editor- current
In a server script, the record being worked on right now, including any new values.
Learn it in: What is a Business Rule in ServiceNow?- Data binding
Connecting a component property to data, so its value comes from records, page state or the logged-in user instead of being typed in.
- Data resource
Something you add to a UI Builder page to fetch data, such as a list of records, so components can show it.
- Database
Where ServiceNow permanently stores every record. Saving a record writes it to the database.
- Event
A named signal raised by a script (for example with gs.eventQueue) that notifications and other scripts can listen for.
- Event (UI Builder)
A signal a component sends when something happens on the page, such as a button being clicked, so the page can react.
- Experience
A complete app built for Next Experience, such as a workspace. It is made up of pages and opens at its own URL.
Learn it in: Next Experience, experiences and app shells- Field
One piece of information on a record, like an incident's Priority or Short description.
- Flexbox
A layout that lines components up in a single row or column and controls how they share the space, such as a header with buttons on the right.
Learn it in: Layouts in UI Builder: columns, Flexbox and Grid- Form
The screen that shows one record and lets you view or edit its fields.
- g_scratchpad
An object a display Business Rule fills with server data, so Client Scripts on the form can use it.
Learn it in: Types of Business Rules: before, after, async and display- GlideAggregate
A server-side API that asks the database for totals, such as how many records match a query, without loading each record.
Learn it in: GlideAggregate in ServiceNow: count and total records fast- GlideRecord
The server-side API used in scripts to find, create, update and delete records.
- Grid (CSS Grid)
A layout that places components in rows and columns that line up both across and down, like a table or a dashboard of tiles.
Learn it in: Layouts in UI Builder: columns, Flexbox and Grid- Horizon Design System
ServiceNow's design system for Next Experience: the shared look, rules and ready-made components that UI Builder pages are built from.
- Incident
A record describing something that is broken or not working for a user, like a laptop that will not connect to Wi-Fi.
- Layout (UI Builder)
A frame that decides where components sit on a page: in columns, in a Flexbox row or column, or in a grid.
Learn it in: Layouts in UI Builder: columns, Flexbox and Grid- List
The screen that shows many records of one table as rows, like a spreadsheet.
- Next Experience
ServiceNow's modern user interface, introduced in the San Diego release, with a new header, menus, themes and workspaces.
Learn it in: Next Experience, experiences and app shells- Notification
An email or message ServiceNow sends automatically when something happens, such as an event being fired.
- Page (UI Builder)
One screen inside an experience, such as a home page or a record page, with its own URL.
Learn it in: Pages, variants and audiences in UI Builder- PDI (Personal Developer Instance)
A free ServiceNow instance you get from developer.servicenow.com to practise on safely.
- Preset (UI Builder)
A ready-made configuration a component can be added with, setting its properties, data bindings and events for a common job.
Learn it in: Styles, themes and presets in UI Builder- previous
In a Business Rule, a copy of the record as it was before the current change.
Learn it in: What is a Business Rule in ServiceNow?- Property (UI Builder)
A setting on one component on a page, such as a button's label or a list's table, changed on the Configure tab.
Learn it in: Components and their properties in UI Builder- Record
One single entry in a table, like one specific incident such as INC0010023.
- Reference field
A field that points to a record in another table, like an incident's Caller pointing to a user.
- Repeater
A UI Builder component that draws the components inside it once for every item in a list, such as one card per incident.
Learn it in: Repeating content with the Repeater in UI Builder- Role
A named set of permissions given to users, like itil for support agents or admin for administrators.
- Scheduler (background jobs)
ServiceNow's background job system. Async Business Rules wait here and run shortly after the record is saved.
- Script Include
A reusable piece of server-side code that other scripts can call, so you write the logic once.
Learn it in: Script Includes in ServiceNow: write it once, call it anywhere- Server-side
Code that runs on ServiceNow's servers, not in the user's browser. Users see its effect, never the code itself.
- Service Portal
ServiceNow's older framework for self-service websites, built from AngularJS widgets. Employee Center is built on it.
- Stage (UI Builder)
The large area in the middle of the UI Builder editor that shows a live picture of the page you are building.
Learn it in: A tour of the UI Builder editor- sys_id
The unique 32-character ID every record in ServiceNow has. It never changes, even if every other field does.
- Table
A collection of records of the same kind, like the Incident table that stores every incident.
- Theme (Next Experience)
The shared look of an experience, including its colours, fonts, logo and corner shapes. Polaris is the default for UI Builder experiences.
Learn it in: Styles, themes and presets in UI Builder- Theme Builder
A visual tool for administrators to create, preview and publish Next Experience themes, such as a company-branded copy of Polaris.
Learn it in: Styles, themes and presets in UI Builder- UI Builder
ServiceNow's drag-and-drop tool for building Next Experience pages, such as the pages inside a workspace.
Learn it in: What is UI Builder in ServiceNow?- UI Page
A classic custom page built with Jelly, HTML and scripts, the way custom screens were made before Next Experience.
- UI16 (classic interface)
The older ServiceNow interface, with the application navigator on the left, used before Next Experience.
Learn it in: Next Experience, experiences and app shells- Variant
One version of a UI Builder page. A page can have several variants, and each user sees the one meant for them.
Learn it in: Pages, variants and audiences in UI Builder- Workspace
An experience made for people who work through records all day, like support agents, with lists, records and tools on one screen.