ODBC guide

Create an incident using display values

This example demonstrates how to create a new incident record by supplying human-readable labels (display values) for reference fields instead of their underlying sys_id values.

Normally, ServiceNow requires reference fields (such as caller_id or assignment_group) to be populated using the target record's sys_id. In this example, label-to-ID resolution is explicitly enabled using AllowDisplayValueAsInput='true', allowing display values to be passed instead.

This approach is useful for ad-hoc operations, demos, or interactive usage. For automated or high-volume integrations, using sys_id values is strongly recommended.

-- Create a new Incident using DISPLAY VALUES (labels) for reference fields
-- Instead of passing sys_id values, this example uses human-readable labels.
-- This works ONLY because AllowDisplayValueAsInput='true' is specified.

INSERT INTO incident
(
	short_description,
	incident_state,
	severity,
	category,
	caller_id,           -- reference to sys_user
	assignment_group     -- reference to sys_user_group
)
VALUES
(
	'Email service is intermittently failing',
	2,                   -- In Progress
	1,                   -- High severity
	'software',
	'John Doe',          -- LABEL (user display name), not sys_id
	'Network'            -- LABEL (group name), not sys_id
)
WITH(AllowDisplayValueAsInput='true')