Catalogs, Categories & Variable Configuration
ServiceNow Service Catalog is the backbone for self-service. These are used to translate various organizational offerings, such as IT assets, HR requests, or facilities management, into structured, actionable requests.
This topic focuses on the core architecture that is used to organize, structure, and capture data for requests across the organization.
Creating Catalogs
ServiceNow catalogs are the organizational unit that acts as storefronts. A high-level container grouping categories and items for a specific audience. To create a new catalog, navigate to Service Catalog > Catalog Definitions > Maintain Catalogs and click “New”.
A form will open, with multiple fields:
| Field Name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 1. Title | The display name of the catalog. |
| 2. Manager | Primary owner (Reference to sys_user). |
| 3. Editors | Users permitted to modify items. |
| 4. Enable Wish List | Toggle “Save for Later” functionality. |
| 5. Desktop Image | Visual branding for the native UI. |
| 6. Catalog Home Page | Define the home page for our catalog. |
Once all required fields are filled, save the record.
Types of Catalog Items
Displays all top-level organizational folders created for this catalog. ServiceNow offers three different types of catalog items, including:
- Record producers: They provide alternative ways to add information, such as Incidents, via the service catalog.
- Order guides: They group multiple catalog items into a single request.
- Content Items: Catalog items used to provide information rather than goods or services.
Categories of Catalogs
For the different catalogs, there are defined categories that provide a structure. They help navigate the large volume of data. The different categories are:
| Field Name | Purpose | Impact if Enabled/Disabled |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Catalog | The parent catalog it belongs to. | Mandatory; defines where the category is searchable. |
| 2. Parent | Hierarchical link to another category. | Used to create sub-folders (e.g., Hardware > Laptops). |
| 3. Title | Label visible in the Category widget. | Visible name in the portal navigation. |
| 4. Active | Master toggle for visibility. | If unchecked, all items in this category are hidden. |
| 5. Description | Text explaining the contents. | Displays at the top of the category page in the portal. |
| 6. Icon / Image | Visual identifiers for the tile. | Critical for a “Retail” look on the Service Portal. |
Variables
Service Catalog Variables store specific information about the choices customers make when adding a catalog item. Variables are defined to extract information that is shown to customers. The different types of variables are:
Variable Sets
In ServiceNow, there are two different types of variable sets, including:
Single-row variable set
Single-row variable sets collect data one variable at a time. As the variables in a single-row variable set are grouped together, they are collectively presented. When a single variable is presented, the entire set has no values filled out.
Multi-row variable set
A multi-row variable set (MRVS) is utilized to capture variable data in a grid layout. This is required when submitting a catalog item request for a group of entities from a department and the selected service.
What’s Next?
In the next topic, we will focus on creating items in Service Management and provide a detailed overview of Record Producers.
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