StandaloneClientMethods

concept brazil Updated Sep 10, 2026 3 min read StandaloneClientMethods.md
Raw file servicenow.com

Standalone client methods are methods that you can use within your client JavaScripts, such as reflistOpen, but aren't a part of any class or API.

You can directly access these methods within a client script without any constructor or other type of instantiation before use.

Parent Topic:Client API reference

Standalone - reflistOpen (String target, String elementName, String refTableName, String dependent, String useQBE, String refQualElements, String additionalQual, String parentID, String forceReference, String ignoreTargetValue)

Shows the reference field data in a standard pop-up window. This method is commonly used when selecting a magnifying glass icon, beside any reference field, in UI 16 forms.

For example, using this method you can display reference field data for a specific set of query criteria:

[Omitted image "reflistOpen_popup_image1.png"] Alt text: Ref data in pop-up window

Similarly, you can use this method to display a search form that enables the user to enter their own set of query criteria for selecting the reference field data to display.

[Omitted image "reflistOpen_popup_image2.png"] Alt text: Search in pop-up window

When opening the URL in the standard pop-up, if the URL length is greater than TinyURL length, 1024 by default, the URL is converted to TinyURL, such as:

"sys_user_list.do?sysparm_tiny=7ea02c4ff8a8b510f877c74d78b60460".

Note:

reflistOpen() isn’t supported in Workspace Client Script. Use the g_modal.showFrame() method instead.

Name

Type

Description

target

String

Form target reference field ID.For example, the caller_id parameter's target reference field ID is incident.caller_id.

elementName

String

Form reference field element name. For example: caller_id

refTableName

String

Reference table to map to the form reference field. For example, for the reference field caller_id, sys_user is the reference table. In this case, you would pass the value sys_user.

dependent

String

Configured dependent field for the specified target element. For additional information, see Make a field dependent.

useQBE

String

Flag that indicates the type of information to return in the pop-up window.Valid values:

  • true: Display a query form with a search button.
  • false: Display the query results.

Default: false

refQualElements

String

Configured reference qualifier for the specified target element. The function appends the specified reference qualifiers to the URL and only displays the filtered results in the pop-up window. If you don't want to include a reference qualifier, pass an empty string.For additional information on reference qualifiers, see Reference qualifiers.

additionalQual

String

Optional. Additional qualifier query to use to filter the results that display in the pop-up window.For example, for a caller_id reference field in an incident, you could pass the user's sys_id sys_id=62826bf03710200044e0bfc8bcbe5df1.

The function filters the User [sys_user] table and shows the filtered results in the pop-up window.

parentID

String

Optional. Currently only an internal parameter, no need to pass a value.

forceReference

String

Optional. Currently only an internal parameter, no need to pass a value.

ignoreTargetValue

String

Optional. Currently only an internal parameter, no need to pass a value.

|Type|Description| |----|-----------| |Pop-up window|Displays the returned reference field data in a standard pop-up window.|

The following example shows how to invoke this method to show the caller field data in the pop-up window for the incident table (first image above).

JavaScript
function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading, isTemplate) {   if (isLoading || newValue === '') {      return;   }
   reflistOpen('incident.caller_id', 'caller_id', 'sys_user','company', 'false', '');}

The following example shows how to invoke this same client script, but with useQBE = true, which displays a search button and associated search criteria within the pop-up window (second image above).

JavaScript
function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading, isTemplate) {   if (isLoading || newValue === '') {      return;   }
   //  Type appropriate comment here, and begin script below   reflistOpen('incident.caller_id', 'caller_id', 'sys_user','company', 'true', '');}
Search documentation
Search document titles and file paths on the brazil branch