CI relations formatter

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of CI relations formatter

    The CI relations formatter in ServiceNow’s default CI form provides a dynamic way to view and manage Configuration Item (CI) relationships. It enables customers to explore a CI’s connections in multiple views and launch the CI relationship editor directly from the formatter. When domain separation is activated, users only see relationships they are authorized to access, ensuring data security and compliance.

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    This formatter displays a list of related CIs alongside toolbar controls that allow customization of the view, such as filtering by relationship types or adjusting layout styles. It excludes certain complex relationship chains and specific relationship types (e.g., Applicative Flow To::Application Flow From used in Service Mapping) to maintain clarity.

    Key Features

    • Relationship Viewing Controls: Includes options to add CI relationships, launch Dependency Views maps centered on the CI, and search/filter related CIs with customizable settings preserved across sessions.
    • View Customization: Toggle between flat and tree layouts for relationship display, merge or split upstream/downstream relationships, filter by relationship level depth, type, and CMDB views.
    • Performance Management: Properties allow configuring maximum levels and number of related CIs shown to optimize performance in large networks. Notifications alert users when limits are reached.
    • Domain Separation Support: Ensures relationship data visibility respects domain boundaries and user permissions.
    • Visual Indicators: Icons highlight recent changes, planned changes, outages, problems, and incidents related to CIs, providing immediate operational context.

    Important Notes for Customers

    • Endpoints that are both parent and child in different relationships are hidden to simplify views.
    • CIs not extending from the base cmdbci table are excluded from Dependency Views maps and the relations formatter.
    • The formatter automatically falls back to a legacy version if browser requirements are not met.
    • Customers can create custom relationship filters to tailor which CI relationships appear, and can exclude certain relationships from the formatter view for cleaner displays.

    Practical Benefits

    ServiceNow customers can use the CI relations formatter to gain a clearer, more manageable understanding of complex CI relationships, enhancing impact analysis, troubleshooting, and change management. The configurable views and domain-aware access controls ensure that users see relevant, actionable data while maintaining system performance and security.

    The default CI form includes a CI relations formatter from which you can examine a CI and its relationships in various views. From the CI relations formatter, you can also launch the CI relationship editor for the CI.

    If the domain separation plugin is activated, then only relationships in which the logged on user is authorized to view both CIs, are displayed.

    The CI relations formatter contains a list of related CIs and a toolbar with controls for viewing the relationships between the current CI and related CIs. You can configure the controls in this formatter to modify varying aspects of the view. For more information about formatters, see Create a formatter and add it to the form.

    Note:
    • If an endpoint is a child in one relationship and the same endpoint is a parent in another relationship, then that endpoint is hidden and does not appear in the relations formatter view. Similarly, relationship qualifier chains are also hidden and do not appear in the relationship formatter view.
      • Example: CI1 > endpoint > CI2

        In this example, CI1 is related to CI2 through relationships with endpoint. A single relationship appears in the relations formatter:

        CI1 > CI2 (These relationships appear as a direct relationship without endpoint, because endpoint is a parent in one relationship and a child in another relationship).

      • Example: CI1 > endpoint1 > CI2 > endpoint2

        Two relationships appear in the relations formatter:

        CI1 > CI2 (endpoint1 is hidden because it is a parent in one relationship and a child in another relationship).

        CI1 > CI2 > endpoint2 (appears as level 2 relationship – endpoint1 is hidden and endpoint2 appears as it a child and not a parent in any other relationship).

    • On instances that do not meet the internet browser requirements for the CI relations formatter, the default CI form includes the legacy CI relations formatter instead. For more information, see Legacy CI relations formatter.
    • CIs not extended from the Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] table, are not displayed in Dependency Views maps and in CI relation formatters.
    • The Applicative Flow To::Application Flow From relationship is a special relationship type used only between Service Mapping endpoints. This relationship type is not intended for use in the CMDB as a relationship between CIs and therefore it is not displayed in the relations formatter.
    Table 1. Controls for viewing related CIs
    Control Definition

    Add CI relationship

    		 Starts the relationship editor to manually create CI relationships. For more information (including about roles required for the '+' control to appear), see Create or edit a CI relationship.

    Show dependency views

    		 Launches a Dependency Views map in another window or tab. The CI is the central node in the map, with a configurable number of levels above and below that node in the hierarchy. Map indicators next to the nodes indicate the number of tasks, incidents, problems, changes, or outages related to that node. Right-click to expand collapsed nodes or display a list of related tasks or problems. For more information, see Dependency Views map.
    Search for CI Filters the CIs included in the display.

    Select the Settings icon to configure additional view settings that filter the data displayed. Settings are preserved through logging out and logging back in.

    Table 2. Related items settings
    Setting Description
    Show Relations in Flat/Tree Layout

    To view a flat list of related CIs that are grouped by relationship type in alphabetical order, click Flat (default value).

    To view groups of related CIs in a hierarchical tree, clickTree. If you select the tree view, you cannot configure any other settings for viewing related CIs. A single list of upstream and downstream relationships is displayed.
    Show Relations in Split/Merge Layout

    To view a single list that includes both upstream and downstream relationships, click Merge (default value). Relationships are grouped by relationship type.

    To view separate lists for upstream and downstream relationships, click Split.
    Filter Relations by Max Level

    Select the number of downstream and upstream levels in the hierarchy to include when displaying CIs in a flat view.

    Default value is 3.
    Filter Relations by Relationship Type

    Select the types of relationships to view.

    Default value is 'All Relationship Types'.
    Filter Relations by CMDB View Filter by tables specified in CMDB views, if any relationship filters exist.
    The relations formatter uses the following icons to provide additional information about changes, problems, and outages related to CIs in the relationship:
    Icon
    Recently closed changes
    Planned changes
    Currently open changes
    Recently closed outages
    Problems
    Incidents
    Planned outages
    Currently open outages

    In large networks, a list of related CIs might be excessively long, which can slow performance when a CI form is rendered. You can configure these properties to control the amount of data that is displayed. To find a property, enter sys_properties.list in the left navigation filter and search for the property.

    Table 3. Properties related to performance
    Property Description
    glide.ecmdb.find_relationship_issues Hides or displays an icon in the CI relations formatter that links to open issues for the CI. This property defaults to true (displays the icon).
    glide.ui.max_relation_levels Specifies the maximum level for displaying CIs in flat view before reaching the maximum relations limit. The default value is 5.
    glide.ui.max_relations

    Specifies the maximum number of related CIs to display.

    When exceeded:
    • A notification appears indicating that the limit has been reached, and that not all relations are displayed. The default value is 1000.
    • Flat layout reverts to the tree layout view.