sp_page Table — ServiceNow Reference

Table Reference/sp_page

The sp_page table defines Service Portal page layouts, URL routing, and widget container structures. Owned by Service Portal module. Key gotcha: the layout field stores JSON that defines the entire page structure — modify it wrong and you'll break the page rendering.

What This Table Is

The sp_page table stores Service Portal page definitions that control how end users navigate and interact with portal interfaces. Each record represents a single page with its URL route, layout structure, and widget assignments. This table serves as the foundation for all Service Portal experiences — from employee self-service portals to customer-facing knowledge bases.

Owned by the Service Portal module, this table supports the complete portal development lifecycle from page creation through widget assignment and responsive layout design. Pages can be assigned to specific portals via the sp_portal table relationship, allowing different portal experiences to share common pages or maintain completely separate page hierarchies.

This table does not extend any parent table — it's a standalone table specific to Service Portal functionality. No other tables extend sp_page, but it has tight integration with sp_widget and sp_instance records that define the actual content and behavior within each page layout.

Large enterprises typically maintain 50-200 active portal pages across multiple portal instances. Record volume stays relatively low, but the layout field can store complex JSON structures that impact rendering performance when pages contain dozens of widgets or deeply nested container layouts.

When You'll Script Against This Table

You'll script against sp_page primarily in Script Includes called by Service Portal widgets, Business Rules triggered by page modifications, and Scheduled Scripts that perform bulk page operations. Widget server scripts frequently query this table to determine current page context or redirect users to different pages programmatically. Portal-specific Script Includes use it to build dynamic navigation menus and implement custom routing logic.

Access requires sp_admin role for write operations, though widgets running in portal scope can read page data through the SPM API. Portal users cannot directly query this table — access is mediated through portal framework APIs that respect page-level access controls and portal assignments.

Common scripting patterns:

Dynamically building navigation menus by querying active pages assigned to current portal
Programmatic page redirects based on user role or department assignments
Cloning page layouts for multi-language or multi-brand portal deployments
Bulk widget replacement across multiple pages during upgrade migrations
Custom access controls that hide/show pages based on user attributes or entitlements
Performance monitoring by analyzing page layout complexity and widget counts
Automated testing scripts that validate page rendering and widget functionality

Table Gotchas

⚠️

The layout field stores JSON that defines the entire page structure. Modifying this field directly without understanding the schema will break page rendering completely. Always use the Portal Designer or carefully validate JSON structure before updates.

⚠️

URL routing is case-sensitive and doesn't automatically handle trailing slashes. A page with id 'my-page' won't match requests for 'My-Page' or 'my-page/' unless explicitly configured.

The public field doesn't override portal-level authentication — a public page in a private portal still requires login
Page roles (roles field) are cumulative with portal roles — users need access to both the portal AND the page

⚠️

Deactivating a page doesn't remove it from search results or cached navigation menus immediately. Portal cache may serve stale navigation for up to 30 minutes.

Queries on title field are expensive since it's not indexed — use id field for lookups instead
The layout field has a practical size limit around 1MB — pages with 50+ widgets may hit this ceiling

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The sp_portal table defines portal instances that contain multiple pages — each page can be assigned to one or more portals through the many-to-many sp_page_portal relationship table. The sp_widget table contains the reusable components that get embedded in page layouts, while sp_instance stores the specific widget configurations and parameters for each placement within a page.

Navigation and menu functionality connects through sp_menu records that reference pages via the page field. Developers frequently join these tables when building dynamic navigation widgets or implementing breadcrumb functionality. The sys_ui_message table provides internationalization support for page titles and content, though this relationship is managed through message keys rather than direct foreign key references.

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Key Fields

Column	Type	Label	Notes
id	string	Page ID	Unique URL route identifier for this page. Used in portal URLs after the portal path — must be unique within a portal instance but can be duplicated across different portals.
title	string	Title	Display name for the page shown in browser tabs and navigation menus. Not indexed, so avoid querying on this field for performance reasons.
short_description	string	Short description	Brief description of page purpose, often used in tooltips or admin interfaces. Limited to 255 characters unlike the longer description field.
layout	json	Page layout	JSON structure defining the complete page layout including rows, columns, and widget placements. Modifying this directly can break page rendering — use Portal Designer instead.
css	string	CSS - dependencies	CSS includes and dependencies for this page. Can reference Bootstrap classes, custom CSS files, or inline styles that apply specifically to this page layout.
bootstrap_alt	string	Alternative CSS framework	Alternative CSS framework reference when not using standard Bootstrap. Rarely used but allows pages to opt into different responsive frameworks.
public	boolean	Public	Allows anonymous access to this page when true. However, portal-level authentication settings still apply — a public page in a private portal still requires login.
roles	string	Roles	Comma-separated list of roles required to access this page. These are additive with portal-level role requirements — users need both portal AND page access.
active	boolean	Active	Controls whether the page is available for rendering. Inactive pages return 404 errors, but may still appear in cached navigation menus for up to 30 minutes.
internal	boolean	Internal	Marks system-generated pages that shouldn't appear in user navigation menus. These pages are accessible via direct URL but hidden from automated menu generation.
category	reference	Category	References sys_db_object for categorizing pages functionally. Used primarily for organization in Portal Designer and has no impact on page behavior or access control.
order	integer	Order	Numeric sort order for this page within navigation contexts. Lower numbers appear first in menus, but actual menu ordering also depends on sp_menu configuration.
draft	boolean	Draft	Indicates a page under development that shouldn't be visible to end users. Draft pages are accessible to sp_admin role users but hidden from standard portal navigation.
home_page	boolean	Home page	Designates this as the default landing page for its assigned portals. Each portal should have exactly one home page — multiple home pages create unpredictable routing behavior.
theme	reference	Theme	References sp_theme record for custom styling. Overrides portal-level theme settings for this specific page, allowing mixed themes within a single portal instance.

Common Queries

Get all active pages

// Most basic query — what every developer tries first
var gr = new GlideRecord('sp_page');
gr.addQuery('active', true);
gr.query();

while (gr.next()) {
    gs.info('Page: ' + gr.getValue('title') + ' (ID: ' + gr.getValue('id') + ')');
}

// Returns all active pages across all portals
// Use this for bulk operations or system analysis

Find pages by role requirement and category

// Filter by role and category for access control analysis
var gr = new GlideRecord('sp_page');
gr.addQuery('active', true);
gr.addQuery('roles', 'CONTAINS', 'itil');
gr.addQuery('category.name', 'Service Management');
gr.query();

while (gr.next()) {
    gs.info('ITIL page: ' + gr.getValue('title'));
    gs.info('All roles: ' + gr.getValue('roles'));
}

// Critical for security audits and role cleanup projects
// CONTAINS operator handles comma-separated role lists

Get portal homepage for routing logic

// Real-world scenario: redirect users to correct portal homepage
var portalId = 'employee_portal'; // from current portal context
var gr = new GlideRecord('sp_page');
gr.addQuery('active', true);
gr.addQuery('home_page', true);
gr.addJoinQuery('sp_page_portal', 'sys_id', 'sp_page')
  .addCondition('sp_portal.url_suffix', portalId);
gr.setLimit(1);
gr.query();

if (gr.next()) {
    var homePageId = gr.getValue('id');
    gs.info('Homepage for ' + portalId + ': ' + homePageId);
} else {
    gs.warn('No homepage found for portal: ' + portalId);
}

Count pages by portal assignment

// Aggregate count for portal management dashboard
var ga = new GlideAggregate('sp_page');
ga.addQuery('active', true);
ga.addJoinQuery('sp_page_portal', 'sys_id', 'sp_page');
ga.addAggregate('COUNT');
ga.groupBy('sp_page_portal.sp_portal.title');
ga.query();

while (ga.next()) {
    var portalName = ga.getValue('sp_page_portal.sp_portal.title');
    var pageCount = ga.getAggregate('COUNT');
    gs.info(portalName + ' has ' + pageCount + ' active pages');
}

// Essential for portal governance and capacity planning

Wrong way vs right way to find page by title

// WRONG: Query by title (not indexed, slow)
var slowGr = new GlideRecord('sp_page');
slowGr.addQuery('title', 'Employee Dashboard');
slowGr.query(); // This will scan the entire table

// RIGHT: Query by id field (indexed, fast)
var fastGr = new GlideRecord('sp_page');
fastGr.addQuery('id', 'employee_dashboard'); // URL-friendly identifier
fastGr.query(); // Uses index for instant lookup

// Always use 'id' field for page lookups
// Title field exists for display only, not for queries
if (fastGr.next()) {
    gs.info('Found page: ' + fastGr.getValue('title'));
}

Related Tables

sp_widget

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