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Condition Builder

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • How to open the condition builder
  • The three parts of every condition: field, operator, and value
  • Common operators and when to use them

1 Filtering a list

The Incident list might have thousands of records. Usually you only want some of them, like “open incidents assigned to my team”. A filter hides everything else. 🔍

You build filters with the condition builder.

Key term: Condition builder

The tool at the top of a list where you build a filter by picking a field, an operator, and a value.

Key term: Condition

One rule in a filter, like “Priority is 1 – Critical”.

2 Field, operator, value

Every condition has three parts. Read them like a sentence:

The condition builder open above the Incident list. One condition row reads: field Priority, operator is, value 1 - Critical. Labels explain that the field is what to check, the operator is how to compare, and the value is what to compare with. Buttons show Run, Save, AND, OR, and Add Sort.
Figure 1. Field + operator + value = one condition. Click Run to apply it.
  • 📌 Fieldwhat to check
  • ⚖️ Operatorhow to compare
  • 🎯 Valuewhat to compare with

Example: Priority (field) is (operator) 1 – Critical (value).

3 Build a filter

  1. Open a list, like Incident > All.
  2. Click the filter icon (the funnel) next to the breadcrumbs. The condition builder opens.
  3. Pick a field, like Priority.
  4. Pick an operator, like “is”.
  5. Pick or type a value, like “1 – Critical”.
  6. Click Run. The list now shows only matching records. ✅

4 Common operators

The operators you can pick depend on the type of field:

Operator Example Good for
is / is not State is New Exact matches
contains Short description contains email Words inside text
starts with Number starts with INC00100 Beginnings of text
is empty / is not empty Assigned to is empty Finding missing values
greater than / less than Reassignment count greater than 2 Numbers
on / before / after Opened on Today Dates and times
is (dynamic) Assigned to is (dynamic) Me “Me” or “my groups”, for any user

💡 Good to know: is (dynamic) is great for shared filters. “Assigned to is (dynamic) Me” shows each person their own records.

⚠️ Heads up: “contains” can be slow on very big tables, because ServiceNow has to look inside every text value. Use “is” or “starts with” when you can.

5 Let’s try it: find what matters

  1. Open Incident > All and click the filter icon.
  2. Build: Priority is 1 – Critical. Click Run. How many?
  3. Change it to Assigned to is empty. Run. These incidents need an owner!
  4. Try Opened on This week. Run.
  5. Try Short description contains email. Run.

6 Quick recap

  • Open the condition builder with the filter icon on a list
  • Each condition = field + operator + value
  • Operators depend on the field type
  • is (dynamic) Me shows each user their own records
  • Click Run to apply the filter

7 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 In “State is New”, which part is the operator? Show answer

“is”.

2 Which condition finds incidents nobody owns? Show answer

Assigned to is empty.

3 You want one saved filter that shows each person their own incidents. Which operator helps? Show answer

is (dynamic), with the value Me.

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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