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Creating & Switching Views

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • How to switch between views on a form or list
  • How ServiceNow remembers your last view
  • How to create a new view as an admin

1 Switching views

You saw in Lesson 15.1 that a form can have several views. Switching is easy:

  • On a form: open the context menu (☰) > View > pick a view.
  • On a list: open the list title menu (☰) > View > pick a view.
  • In a URL: add sysparm_view= and the view’s name, like incident.do?sysparm_view=ess.

📝 Note: When you pick a view, ServiceNow remembers it as your preference. The next time you open that form, you’ll see the same view. If a form looks “wrong”, check which view you’re in!

2 Creating a new view

SNWR’s managers want a short “Manager” view of incidents. Let’s build it.

Creating a new view in four steps. Step 1: open an incident and choose Configure, Form Layout. Step 2: in the View name picker, choose New. Step 3: type the name Manager and click OK. Step 4: pick the fields for the Manager view, such as Short description, Priority, State, and Assigned to, and click Save. Then switch to it with View, Manager.
Figure 1. New views are created from the View name picker in Form Layout.
  1. Open any incident. Choose ☰ > Configure > Form Layout.
  2. Open the View name picker at the top and choose New.
  3. Type a name, like Manager, and click OK.
  4. You’re now editing the Manager view. Pick its fields and their order.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Switch to it with ☰ > View > Manager. ✅

💡 Good to know: Always check the View name at the top of Form Layout before you save. It’s easy to change the Default view by mistake when you meant to change another one.

⭐ Remember: Create a view in Form Layout (View name > New). Switch views with ☰ > View.

3 Let’s try it: build a Manager view

  1. Open any incident and choose Configure > Form Layout.
  2. Create a new view called SNWR Manager.
  3. Keep only: Number, Short description, Priority, State, Assignment group, and Assigned to. Save.
  4. Switch to the SNWR Manager view. Then open another incident. Is it still in SNWR Manager view?
  5. Switch back to Default view when you’re done.

4 Quick recap

  • Switch views with ☰ > View on forms and lists
  • URLs can pick a view with sysparm_view=
  • ServiceNow remembers the last view you picked
  • Create a view in Form Layout: View name > New
  • Always check which view you’re editing before you save

5 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 How do you switch a form to another view? Show answer

Open the form’s context menu (☰), choose View, and pick the view.

2 Where do you create a new view? Show answer

In Form Layout, from the View name picker, by choosing New.

3 A user says their incident form suddenly has fewer fields. What’s a likely reason? Show answer

They switched to another view, and ServiceNow remembered it. Switch back to Default view.

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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