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Dependent variable of type "lookup select box" does not honor ORDERBY on reference qualifier in Service Portal - Known Error
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  • Dependent variable of type "lookup select box" does not honor ORDERBY on reference qualifier in Service Portal
KB0695435

Dependent variable of type "lookup select box" does not honor ORDERBY on reference qualifier in Service Portal


8424 Views Last updated : Jun 22, 2025 public Copy Permalink
KB Summary by Now Assist

Description

Issue Description: 
Dependent variable of type "lookup select box" does not honor ORDERBY on reference qualifier in Service Portal
 
Business Impact: When a select box with a large list of records in it is displayed, customer would like to order by sequence to give a lower value to the records that are most likely to be selected, makes it a better user experience when users fill out the form.  
 
Issue was reproduced in Kingston and Jakarta

Steps to Reproduce

In an out of box Kingston instance:
 
- Import attached update set
- got to /nav_to.do?uri=/sys_choice_list.do%3Fsysparm_query%3DnameSTARTSWITHincident%255Eelement%253Dcategory%26sysparm_first_row%3D1%26sysparm_view%3D
- change the sequence of the records returned
- go to /nav_to.do?uri=/sys_choice_list.do%3Fsysparm_query%3DnameSTARTSWITHincident%255Eelement%253Dsubcategory%255Edependent_value%253Dnetwork%26sysparm_first_row%3D1%26sysparm_view%3D
- Add a sequence to the records returned, when doing this make it so that when ordering by sequence they are not alphabetical. Ex: ip address, wireless, dns, dhcp, vpn
- Go to /sp?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=3f1dd0320a0a0b99000a53f7604a2ef9
- Under Category, select Network from the dropdown, notice that the category is sorted by sequence based on the  reference qualifier on the variable
- Under Subcategory, when the dropdown is selected, notice how it is ordered alphabetically and not by the sequence as set in the reference qualifier

Workaround

After carefully considering the severity and frequency of the issue, and risk of attempting a fix, it has been decided to not address this issue in any current or future releases. We do not make this decision lightly, and we apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any questions regarding this problem, contact ServiceNow Customer Support.

Sorting is supported using "ref_ac_order_by" in reference variables which is what should be used.


Related Problem: PRB1256488

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