Setting field values from the email body

reference brazil Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read r_SetFieldValsFromTheEmailBody.md

Values in an inbound email can set field values in a task record.

Any name:value pair in an inbound email body gets parsed into a variable/value pair in the inbound email script. The name:value pair must be on its own line. Note that most email clients limit the number of characters allowed per line and may truncate excessively long name:value pairs.

Tip: To prevent unexpected parsing, ensure that all the names in the name:value pairs are unique.

See Redirecting Emails for an example of using setDisplayValue() in an inbound email action.

Note: The action always generates a lowercase variable name. Also, this functionality does not work on reference fields.

For example, if an email body contains this line:

Text

Foo:bar

The inbound email script creates the variable email.body.foo with the value of bar. You can use these variables to create conditions such as:

JavaScript

if(email.body.foo!=undefined){   current.[field]=email.body.foo;}

In this example, the script sets the value of [field] to the value bar.

Note: Spaces are rendered as underscores when a name:value pair gets parsed into a variable/value pair. For example, if an email body contains a line with spaces like my variable:data, then the inbound email script creates the variable email.body.my_variable. The value of the variable is data.

Parent Topic:Configure inbound email actions

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---
title: Setting field values from the email body
description: Values in an inbound email can set field values in a task record.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/r\_SetFieldValsFromTheEmailBody.html
release: brazil
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Configure, Inbound email, Notifications, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Setting field values from the email body

Values in an inbound email can set field values in a task record.

**Tip:** To prevent unexpected parsing, ensure that all the names in the name:value pairs are unique.

See [Redirecting Emails](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/r_RedirEmailDifferentAssignGrp.md) for an example of using **setDisplayValue\(\)** in an inbound email action.

**Note:** The action always generates a lowercase variable name. Also, this functionality does not work on reference fields.

For example, if an email body contains this line:

```
Foo:bar
```

The inbound email script creates the variable *email.body.foo* with the value of **bar**. You can use these variables to create conditions such as:

```
if(email.body.foo!=undefined){
current.[field]=email.body.foo;}
```

In this example, the script sets the value of *\[field\]* to the value **bar**.

**Note:** Spaces are rendered as underscores when a name:value pair gets parsed into a variable/value pair. For example, if an email body contains a line with spaces like `my variable:data`, then the inbound email script creates the variable *email.body.my\_variable*. The value of the variable is **data**.

**Parent Topic:**[Configure inbound email actions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/configure-inbound-email.md)