api - UI Builder

The api API provides methods that you can use when developing client scripts in the UI Builder.

This API is exposed to client scripts, also known as page scripts. Client scripts are executed in response to something happening on a page, such as:

• User interaction events/actions, such as a button click.
• Lifecycle events, such as a data broker execution started.

These scripts do not have to return anything to the framework and can be written as an asynchronous function.

This API is also exposed to scripted property values. These scripts are executed whenever the framework-runtime needs to calculate a value, such as:

• Passing to a component property.
• Determining component visibility.
• Emitting an event with a payload.

These scripts cannot be written as an asynchronous function. They also cannot invoke side-effect methods on the api object, such as, api.emit(), api.setState(), and api.data.<data_resource_id>.*().

The api object contains both configuration dependent and configuration independent properties that you can access within the context of the associated page or component. You cannot directly modify the properties within this object. Modification can only be made through the available methods.

Parent Topic:UIB API reference

api - api.context.props.<page_property_name>

Page properties can be configured within UI Builder. The configuration values depend on the context in which the page is used.

`// A record page with property table could be accessed with
function isActivityStreamVisible({api}) {
  return api.context.props.table === 'incident';
} `

api - api.context.session.<session_property>

Context session properties associated with the current user.

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.lifecycle.lastFetchSucceeded

Boolean flag that indicates whether the last fetch attempt for the specified data resource instance finished successfully.

If the value is true, the last fetch attempt for the data resource instance finished successfully; otherwise, false.

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.addErrorMessage(Object payload)

Displays the specified error message at the top of the current form.

"payload": {
  "message": "String"
}

api.data.gform.addErrorMessage({message: 'Error message'});

api -api.data.<data_resource_id>.addInfoMessage(Object payload)

Displays the specified informational message at the top of the current form.

"payload": {
  "message": "String"
}

api.data.gform.addInfoMessage({message: 'Test message'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.addOption(Object payload)

Adds an option to the specified choice type field.

"payload": {
  "choiceIndex": "String",
  "choiceLabel": "String",
  "choiceValue": "String",
  "fieldName": "String"
}

api.data.gform.addOption({fieldName: 'priority', choiceLabel: 'Extremely High', choiceValue: '10'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.addWarningMessage(Object payload)

Displays the specified warning message at the top of the current form.

"payload": {
  "message": "String"
}

api.data.gform.addWarningMessage({message: 'Test message'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.clearMessage()

Removes all informational and error messages from the top of the current form.

api.data.gform.clearMessage();

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.clearOptions(Object payload)

Clears all options from the specified choice type field.

"payload": {
  "fieldName": "String"
}

api.data.gform.clearOptions({fieldName: 'priority'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.executeUiAction(Object payload)

Executes the specified UI action.

"payload": {
  "actionSysId": "String"
}

The following code example shows how to call this method.

api.data.gform.executeUiAction({actionSysId: '60615ff90f730010ac7de6f8c4767e9a'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.execute(Object inputValues)

Triggers an execute operation on the specified data resource.

This method is only available if the data resource is one of the following types:

• Composite
• GraphQL
• REST
• Scriptlet
• Transform

Note: This method is only exposed if the mutates_server_data field is set to true on the corresponding data resource (sys_ux_data_broker_* table) record. It is accessible under api.data.<data_resource_Id>.refresh().

This code example shows a page script that is invoked when the Submit button on the page is clicked. The page is configured wit a Server Data Resource tat creates a new record.

function handler({api}) {
  if (api.state.movieYear === 2020) {
    // The data resource used in this case specifies two input parameters: name and year
    api.data.create_movie_record.execute({
      name: api.state.movieName,
      year: api.state.movieYear
    });
  }
}

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.hideFieldMessage(Object payload)

Hides the oldest message next to the specified field or clears all messages associated with the field.

"payload": {
  "clearAll": Boolean,
  "fieldName": "String"
}

api.data.gform.hideFieldMessage({fieldName: 'short_description'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.hideRelatedList(Object payload)

Hides the specified related list on the current form.

"payload": {
  "listTableName ": "String"
}

The following code example shows how to call this method.

api.data.gform.hideRelatedList({listTableName:'incident.parent_incident'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.hideRelatedLists()

Hides all related lists on the current form.

api.data.gform.hideRelatedLists();

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.refresh()

Triggers a refresh operation for the specified non-mutating data resource instance.

Call this method if the underlying data being fetched by the data resource changes. A data resource is considered non-mutating if the mutates_server_data field on the record is set to false.

This method is asynchronous and emits an internal event to trigger the refresh of the specified data resource instance. The UI Builder allows you to trigger client scripts in response to data resource lifecycle events, such as DATA_FETCH_SUCCEEDED and DATA_FETCH_FAILED. For additional information on these events, see Event mapping.

This method is only available if the data resource is one of the following types:

• Composite
• GraphQL
• REST
• Scriptlet
• Transform

Note: This method is only exposed if the mutates_server_data field is set to false on the corresponding data resource (sys_ux_data_broker_* table) record.

This code example shows a page script that is invoked when a dropdown item is selected in a page. The page is configured with two Server Data Resources that query problem and incident tables.

function handler({api, event}) {
  const value = event.payload.value[0];
  if (value === 'problem')
    api.data.problem_list_1.refresh();
  else if(value === 'incident')
    api.data.incident_list_1.refresh();
}

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.reload()

Reloads the current form using the same table and sys_id.

api.data.gform.reload();

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.removeOption(Object payload)

Removes an option from the specified choice type field.

"payload": {
  "choiceValue": "String",
  "fieldName": "String"
}

api.data.gform.removeOption({fieldName: 'priority', choiceValue: '1'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.save()

Triggers form submission using the Save UI action.

api.data.gform.save();

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.setMandatory(Object payload)

Sets whether the specified form field is mandatory.

"payload": {
  "fieldName": "String",
  "mandatory": Boolean
}

api.data.gform.setMandatory({fieldName: 'short_description', mandatory: false});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.setReadOnly(Object payload)

Sets the read/write capabilities of the specified form field.

"payload": {
  "fieldName": "String",
  "readonly": Boolean
}

api.data.gform.setReadOnly({fieldName: 'short_description', readonly: false});

api -api.data.<data_resource_id>.setValue(Object payload)

Updates a specified GlideForm field with the specified value. Optionally, you can also update the display value with the same specified value.

Only the value on the form is updated. The value is not saved in the database.

"payload": {
  "displayValue": "String",
  "fieldName": "String",
  "value": "String"
}

api.data.gform.setValue({fieldName: 'short_description', value: 'short description'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.setVisible(Object payload)

Sets the visibility of the specified form field.

"payload": {
  "fieldName": "String",
  "visibility": Boolean
}

api.data.gform.setVisible({fieldName: 'short_description', visibility: false});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.showFieldMessage(Object payload)

Displays the specified message next to the specified field.

"payload": {
  "fieldName": "String",
  "message": "String",
  "type": "String"

api.data.gform.showFieldMessage({fieldName: 'short_description', message: 'Error message', type: 'error'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.showRelatedList(Object payload)

Displays the specified related list on the current form.

"payload": {
  "listTableName ": "String"
}

The following code example shows how to call this method.

api.data.gform.showRelatedList({listTableName:'incident.parent_incident'});

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.showRelatedLists()

Displays all related lists associated with the current form.

api.data.gform.showRelatedLists();

api - api.data.<data_resource_id>.submit()

Triggers form submission using the specified UI action.

"payload": {
  "submitActionName": "String"
}

api.data.gform.submit({submitActionName:'sysverb_ws_save'});

api - api.emit(String eventName, Object payload)

Emits an event with the specified name and payload.

The event name being emitted must be part of the associated page definition's dispatched events list, which is stored in the UX Macroponent Definition [sys_ux_macroponent] table. Any api.emit call that dispatches events not declared in this table are ignored.

For additional information on events, see Work with events.

The following code example shows emitting an event called NOW_UXF_PAGE#ADD_NOTIFICATIONS with an associated items payload.

function handler({api}) { 
  api.emit('NOW_UXF_PAGE#ADD_NOTIFICATIONS', { 
    items: [
      { 
        id: 'alert1', 
        status: 'positive', 
        icon: 'check-circle-outline', 
        content: 'Here is some information!', 
        textLinkProps: { 
          label: 'More info',
          href: 'https://www.servicenow.com' 
        }, 
      action: {type: 'acknowledge'} 
      } 
    ] 
  }); 
} 

api - setState(String stateParam, Any value)

Sets the value of the specified client state parameter.

Use client state parameters to maintain a shared state on a page. The shared state can then be passed as values to properties of components used on the page. You can also access and update client states in multiple page scripts. A common use case is to keep track of values input by users in multiple form controls on a page. When the form is submitted, a client script could then use all of the values stored in client state parameters to create a new record with a data broker. A page can have one or more client state parameters, which you can declare for a page through the UI Builder. You can then bind a client state parameter to one or more components to share or act on the client state parameter.

api.setState() calls are executed asynchronously and do not necessarily update the UI immediately. If the value to set depends on the currentValue of the client state parameter, or any of the properties provided in the api object, you should use this variant of the api.setState() method to avoid using outdated values.

This example shows a script that could be executed to update the email client state parameter when an input value is set on a now-input component.

function handler({api, event}) {
    api.setState('email', event.payload.value);
}

api - setState(String stateParam, Function callbackFn)

Sets the value of the specified client state parameter to the value returned by the specified callback function.

The callback function is invoked with an object that has two properties: currentValue and api. The function should never mutate the currentValue property or the api object directly.

Use client state parameters to maintain a shared state on a page. The shared state can then be passed as values to properties of components used on the page. You can also access and update client states in multiple page scripts. A common use case is to keep track of values input by users in multiple form controls on a page. When the form is submitted, a client script could then use all of the values stored in client state parameters to create a new record with a data broker. A page can have one or more client state parameters, which you can declare for a page through the UI Builder. You can then bind a client state parameter to one or more components to share or act on the client state parameter.

api.setState() calls are executed asynchronously and do not necessarily update the UI immediately. If the value to set depends on the currentValue of the client state parameter, or any of the properties provided in the api object, you should use this variant of the api.setState() method to avoid using outdated values.

This example shows how to use api.setState to log users into a page.

function handler({api, event}) {
  const {name, value} = event.payload;
  if (name === 'username' || name === 'password') {
    // Update the loginParameters state object with the username/password value
    api.setState('loginParameters', ({currentValue}) => {
      return {
        ...currentValue,
        [name]: value
      };
    });
  }
}

api - api.state.<client_state_parameter_name>

Current value of the specified client state parameter.

function showRelatedLists({api}) { 
  return !api.state.isCustomListSelected; 
}