A reference field stores a reference to a field on another table. For example, the Caller field on the Incident table is a reference to the User [sys_user] table.

When you define a reference field, the system creates a relationship between the two tables. Adding a reference field to a form makes the other fields in the referenced table available to the form.

Note: A reference field can refer only to records from one other table. To add a field that can refer to records on any table, use the Document ID element type.

Administrators can create new reference fields and configure several options for reference fields.

Table 1. Reference field options
OptionDescription
Display values Each reference field stores a sys_id for each referenced record in the database, but the sys_id is not shown. The reference field shows the specified display value.
Decorations A reference decoration is an icon that appears next to a reference field.
Reference styles Reference styles are specialized field styles that control the appearance of reference fields.
Reference qualifiers Reference qualifiers restrict the records that are available for reference fields.
Cascade delete rules Cascade delete rules specify what should happen to records that reference a record that is deleted.
Auto-complete By default, a reference field auto-completes as the user types in the field. Administrators can configure auto-complete settings.
Reference key A reference key saves a field other than sys_id as the unique identifier for a reference field.
Enable dynamic creation When dynamic creation is enabled, entering a nonexistent value in a reference field creates a new record on the referenced table instead of returning an error.
Tip: For troubleshooting information, see the Reference field is not showing the expected display value when selected or it appears blank [KB0693859] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.