Use forms to limit or extend the query response
On occasion, there is a need to limit the number of field values that a SOAP query returns.
You can use a form view to limit the number of field values returned by a SOAP query. Specifying a form view has the effects of:
- Limiting the response elements to contain only the fields on the view.
- Specifying reference record field values from referenced fields such as caller_id.email. This causes the value of the caller's email to be returned in the SOAP response.
To enable form views for SOAP queries, configure the com.glide.soap.view property to contain the name of the view that you want to use for all SOAP query responses. The default is soap_response. You can also specify the view name as a URL parameter, sysparm_view=<view name>, when making the SOAP call. For example:
https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?SOAP&sysparm_view=essBy default, if a specified view name does not exist, the response contains all fields.
Parent Topic:Direct web services
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Return the display value for reference variables
Clear values from a target instance
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--- title: Use forms to limit or extend the query response description: On occasion, there is a need to limit the number of field values that a SOAP query returns. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/api-reference/web-services/using-forms-limit-extend-query-resp.html release: australia product: Web Services classification: web-services topic_type: concept last_updated: "2026-09-10" reading_time_minutes: 1 breadcrumb: [Direct services, SOAP web service, Inbound, Web services, API implementation, API implementation and reference] --- # Use forms to limit or extend the query response On occasion, there is a need to limit the number of field values that a SOAP query returns. You can use a form view to limit the number of field values returned by a SOAP query. Specifying a form view has the effects of: 1. Limiting the response elements to contain only the fields on the view. 2. Specifying reference record field values from referenced fields such as **caller\_id.email**. This causes the value of the caller's email to be returned in the SOAP response. To enable form views for SOAP queries, configure the **com.glide.soap.view** property to contain the name of the view that you want to use for all SOAP query responses. The default is **soap\_response**. You can also specify the view name as a URL parameter, **sysparm\_view=<view name>**, when making the SOAP call. For example: ``` https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?SOAP&sysparm_view=ess ``` By default, if a specified view name does not exist, the response contains all fields. **Parent Topic:**[Direct web services](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/api-reference/web-services/c_DirectWebServices.md) **Related topics** [Return the display value for reference variables]() [Clear values from a target instance]() [Retrieve journal entries using direct web services]() [Retrieve choice fields using direct web services]() [Persist an HTTP session across all SOAP calls]() [SOAP direct web service API functions]()
| title | Use forms to limit or extend the query response |
| description | On occasion, there is a need to limit the number of field values that a SOAP query returns. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/api-reference/web-services/using-forms-limit-extend-query-resp.html |
| release | australia |
| product | Web Services |
| classification | web-services |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 1 |
| breadcrumb | Direct servicesSOAP web serviceInboundWeb servicesAPI implementationAPI implementation and reference |