ServiceNow Forms and Lists

Forms and lists are the two main ways users view and interact with data in ServiceNow. Every day, agents switch between these two views constantly — scanning a list of open tickets, then clicking into a form to work on a specific one. Knowing how to configure and use both makes any ServiceNow user significantly more efficient.

List View: Seeing Many Records at Once

A list view shows all records in a table in a row-and-column format. Each row is one record. Each column shows the value of one field for that record. Lists are the starting point for finding and managing records.

Incident List View
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
| Number    | Short Description      | Priority | State       |
|-----------|------------------------|----------|-------------|
| INC000001 | Email not working      | 2-High   | Open        |
| INC000002 | VPN disconnects        | 1-Crit   | In Progress |
| INC000003 | Printer offline        | 4-Low    | Resolved    |
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Filtering a List

The list view includes a breadcrumb filter bar at the top. Clicking the funnel icon opens a condition builder where users specify exactly which records to show. For example: State = Open AND Priority = 1 - Critical. ServiceNow applies the filter and shows only matching records.

Sorting a List

Clicking any column header sorts the list by that column. Clicking twice reverses the sort order. Sorting by Priority shows the most urgent tickets at the top. Sorting by Opened At shows the oldest tickets first.

Column Control

Right-clicking any column header opens an options menu. Users add more columns, remove existing ones, or reorder the layout to show exactly the fields most relevant to their work. Each user saves their own column preferences.

Inline Editing

Double-clicking a cell in the list view opens it for direct editing — without opening the full form. Agents change a ticket's state or priority directly in the list, saving the time of opening and closing individual forms repeatedly.

Form View: Working with One Record

Clicking any row in a list opens the full form view for that record. The form shows all fields for a single record, organized in sections. This is where agents read details, fill in information, update states, and add work notes.

Form Layout

A form typically organizes its fields in two columns side by side. Mandatory fields display a red asterisk. Read-only fields appear in grey. The form often ends with an Activity section showing the full history of changes and comments.

Incident Form Layout (simplified):
┌──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Number:  INC000001   │ State: In Progress   │
│ Caller:  Jane Doe    │ Priority: 2 - High   │
│ Category: Hardware   │ Assigned To: J.Smith │
├──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┤
│ Short Description:                          │
│ Email not working                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Description:                                │
│ User cannot open Outlook. Error message     │
│ appears: "Cannot connect to server."        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ACTIVITY SECTION                            │
│ [Work Notes] [Additional Comments]          │
│ Mar 15 - Created by Jane Doe                │
│ Mar 15 - Assigned to IT Support             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Form Sections

Administrators group related fields into named sections on a form. For example, an incident form might have a "Resolution" section that only appears when the state changes to Resolved. Sections keep forms organized and reduce visual clutter.

Related Lists

At the bottom of most forms, below the Activity section, are related lists. These show records from other tables that link to the current record. For example, a Problem record shows a related list of all Incidents linked to that problem. Clicking any row in a related list opens that linked record.

Problem Record Form
  ├── Main fields (number, description, state...)
  ├── Activity Section
  └── Related List: Related Incidents
       ├── INC000001 - Email not working
       ├── INC000002 - VPN disconnects
       └── INC000005 - Outlook crashes on startup

Configuring a Form Layout

Administrators customize form layouts using the Form Designer or by right-clicking a field label and selecting "Configure." Changes made here affect what all users see on that form. No code is required to rearrange, add, or remove fields from a form layout.

Form Designer vs. Form Layout

The Form Designer is a drag-and-drop visual editor for building form layouts. The Form Layout option provides a list-based editor for moving fields between sections. Both tools produce the same result — they change how the form appears to users.

Personalized Forms

Individual users can personalize their own form view using the gear icon that appears when hovering over a form section header. Personal changes apply only to the logged-in user and don't affect other people's views of the same form.

Context Menus in Lists and Forms

Right-clicking any field label or column header in ServiceNow opens a context menu with powerful shortcuts — adding to favorites, filtering by this value, opening configuration options, or viewing field details. This menu is one of the fastest ways to navigate and configure ServiceNow without hunting through menus.