Transform maps

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Transform Maps

    A transform map in ServiceNow establishes relationships between fields in an import set and those in existing tables, such as Incident or User tables. Once created, a transform map can be reused for different import sets targeting the same table, allowing for efficient data mapping through a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.

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    Key Features

    • Auto-mapping: Automatically maps fields, but verification is crucial to ensure only necessary fields are linked, avoiding potential issues with sensitive data like encrypted passwords.
    • Performance Considerations: Mapping reference fields requires validation of sysid existence, which can introduce performance overhead. This can be bypassed using transform scripts when validation is not needed.
    • Multiple Transform Maps: You can apply several transform maps to a single data source, resulting in multiple temporary records in the import set table.
    • Transform Map Scripts: Enables customization of import operations, offering two types of scripts: Explicit Transform Map scripts for defining relationships and Transformation Event scripts for modifying event processing stages.

    Key Outcomes

    Utilizing transform maps allows ServiceNow customers to streamline data imports efficiently, ensuring accurate field mapping and data integrity. By leveraging transform scripts, users can implement complex logic tailored to specific import requirements, enhancing overall data management processes.

    A transform map is a set of field maps that determine the relationships between fields in an import set and fields in an existing ServiceNow table, such as Incident [incident] or User [sys_user].

    After creating a transform map, you can reuse it to map data from another import set to the same table.

    The Transform Maps module enables an administrator to define destinations for imported data on any tables. Transform mapping can be as simple as a drag and drop operation to specify linking between source fields on an import set table and destination fields on any table. Use transform mapping to map source and destination fields dynamically.

    For a video overview of transform maps, see the Transform Maps video on the ServiceNow Dev Program YouTube channel.

    Transform considerations

    Auto-mapping
    Double-check that fields the system maps automatically are actually required. For example, encrypted passwords probably should not be mapped.
    Mapping reference fields
    If you are mapping reference field data and the sys_id does not exist, the sys_id could potentially appear in the target record as the DisplayValue, and this may be undesirable.
    Field mapping a large number of reference fields incurs additional performance overhead because the system checks that the referenced sys_id actually exists before performing choice actions at the field level.
    Note:
    You can bypass the performance overhead using transform scripts such as onBefore (on the assumption that there is no requirement to validate the import of reference fields). For example, target.<field_name> = source.<field_name>.

    Using multiple transform maps

    Multiple transform maps can be applied to a single data source.

    One import set row is created per transform map, which can cause a large number of temporary records to be generated.
    Note:
    If you use multiple transform maps for the same import set, the transform creates multiple entries in the import set table.

    Run multiple transforms off a single import set

    Users can select multiple transform maps during data import.

    The selected transform maps will be executed on the same import set in the order specified.

    Transform map scripts

    Transform Map scripts allow you to customize import operations using a robust programming interface to introduce advanced logic.

    A transform map script executes as events occur while an import set is being transformed onto a ServiceNow table. Transform Map scripting is fully integrated into the ServiceNow scripting environment. There are two types of Transform Map scripts:
    • Explicit Transform Map scripts, which explicitly define mapping relationships
    • Transformation Event scripts, which modify the processing of events at different stages of a transformation