With each ServiceNow release, small but useful UI changes often slip in quietly — and Zurich is no exception. While reviewing the SC Catalog Item widget options, I noticed not just one, but two interesting updates that deserve a closer look.
Spot the Difference
Here’s a comparison between Yokohama and Zurich:
“Show drag-and-drop widget on the form”
When enabled, this option adds a file upload area directly on the catalog item form, allowing users to drag and drop files rather than navigating through the standard attachment dialog.
This seemingly minor improvement streamlines the user experience — especially for items that expect documentation, screenshots, or completed forms. Previously, admins had to add a custom widget or tweak the portal code to achieve this behaviour. Now, it’s just a checkbox away.
Why it matters:
- Less customization – no extra widget needed.
- Better UX – a more intuitive way for end-users to attach files.
- Consistency – matches attachment behaviour in other portal areas.
URL Prefill Support for Catalog Items
Another small but impactful change in Zurich is one that wasn’t available out of the box before — native support for variable prefill via URL parameters.
Developers used to rely on Catalog Client Scripts to grab parameters from the URL and populate variables — a common, slightly brittle workaround.
That’s now a thing of the past.
In Zurich, ServiceNow introduced the sysparm_variable_values parameter, allowing you to pass variable values in JSON format directly through the URL. The catalog form then auto-populates those fields.
Example:
https://yourinstance.service-now.com/sp?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=<item_sys_id>&sysparm_variable_values={"requested_for":"abel.tuter"}
This behaviour is enabled by default in Zurich.
You can disable it globally using the system property:
glide.sc.enable_url_prefill = false
or selectively at the Catalog Item Form Widget level.
Use cases include:
- Sending prefilled catalog links in emails
- Bookmarking forms with default values
- Embedding prefilled catalog links in Knowledge Articles
- Simplifying demo or testing scenarios
Full documentation is now available here:
👉 ServiceNow Docs – Prefill variable values on a catalog item form (Zurich)
Final Thoughts
Between the drag-and-drop file upload and native URL prefill support, Zurich adds a few quality-of-life improvements that make Catalog Item configuration smoother and more powerful.
Neither change is flashy, but both will quietly save time, reduce customization, and make Service Portal forms feel that bit more modern.
