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All Menu & Navigation Filter

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • What the All menu is
  • The difference between an application menu and a module
  • How to use the filter box to find anything fast
  • Shortcuts that open a table’s list or a new form

1 The All menu

In Lesson 3.1, you saw All in the top bar. Click it, and a long list opens. This list is how you get to almost every part of ServiceNow.

Think of it like the table of contents in a big book. 📖 Chapters are listed in bold, and under each chapter are its pages.

Key term: Application menu

A group heading in the All menu, like Incident or Service Catalog. It’s like a chapter.

Key term: Module

A link under an application menu, like Create New or Open. Click it to open a page. It’s like a page in the chapter.

The All menu with incident typed in the filter box. The Incident application menu shows its modules: Create New, Assigned to me, Open, Open - Unassigned, Resolved, and All. Labels point out the filter box, the application menu heading, and a module, with a star to add a module to Favorites.
Figure 1. Type in the filter box, and the All menu shows only what matches.

2 The filter box

The All menu is very long. Nobody scrolls through all of it! Instead, you use the filter box at the top.

  1. Click All.
  2. Type a word, like incident. You don’t need to press Enter.
  3. The menu shrinks to show only application menus and modules that match.
  4. Click the module you want. It opens in the main work area.

💡 Good to know: The filter looks at both application menu names and module names. Typing open shows every module called “Open”, in many different apps.

3 Table shortcuts in the filter

Every list in ServiceNow comes from a table, and every table has a short system name. For example, the Incident table is called incident, and the User table is called sys_user.

Admins can type a table name with an ending to jump straight to it:

Type this What opens
incident.list The list of all records in the Incident table
incident.do A new, empty Incident form
sys_user.list The list of all users
Two filter shortcuts side by side. Typing incident.list opens the list of all incident records. Typing incident.do opens a new, empty incident form ready to fill in.
Figure 2. .list opens a list. .do opens a new form.

⚠️ Heads up: A module might show only some records (for example, “Open” shows only open incidents). The .list shortcut shows every record in the table. Keep that in mind when you count things.

4 Why the menu looks different for different people

The All menu only shows what you are allowed to see. It depends on your roles.

  • An admin sees almost everything.
  • A fulfiller with the itil role sees apps like Incident, Problem, and Change.
  • A requester with no roles sees very little, because they mostly use the portal.

⭐ Remember: If someone says “I can’t find that menu,” check their roles first. You’ll learn more in Chapter 6.

📝 Note: Admins build and change application menus and modules too. You’ll learn how in Chapter 18.

5 Let’s try it: use the filter

  1. Click All and type incident. Click Open under Incident. How many open incidents are there?
  2. Open All again and type incident.list. Press Enter. Is the count bigger? Why?
  3. Open All and type incident.do, then press Enter. A new, empty incident form opens. Don’t save it. Just look!
  4. Open All, type users, and find the Users module under User Administration.

6 Quick recap

  • The All menu lists every app you can use
  • An application menu is a group. A module is a link inside it
  • Use the filter box to find things fast
  • table.list opens all records. table.do opens a new form
  • What you see in the menu depends on your roles

7 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Is “Incident” in the All menu an application menu or a module? Show answer

An application menu. The links under it, like Open, are modules.

2 What opens if you type sys_user.list in the filter? Show answer

The list of all records in the User table.

3 You want a new, empty incident form. What do you type? Show answer

incident.do

4 A new user says the Change menu is missing. What should you check first? Show answer

Their roles. The All menu only shows what their roles allow.

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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