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Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-03-12 · Official documentation · View source

JSUtil- Global

The JSUtil script include provides shortcuts for common JavaScript routines.

This API is available in global server-side scripts, not scoped scripts.

JSUtil - doesNotHave(Object item)

Checks if item is null or is undefined.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The object to check

Type	Description
Boolean	True if the specified object is null or undefined.

var x = "the quick brown fox";
var y = "";
var z;

gs.print("x = '" + x + "', JSUtil.doesNotHave(x) = " + JSUtil.doesNotHave(x));
gs.print("y = '" + y + "', JSUtil.doesNotHave(y) = " + JSUtil.doesNotHave(y));
gs.print("z = '" + z + "', JSUtil.doesNotHave(z) = " + JSUtil.doesNotHave(z))

Output:

x = 'the quick brown fox', JSUtil.doesNotHave(x) = false
y = '', JSUtil.doesNotHave(y) = false
z = 'undefined', JSUtil.doesNotHave(z) = true

JSUtil - escapeAttr(String text)

Escape ampersands commonly used to define URL attributes.

Name	Type	Description
text	String	The text

Type	Description
String	The text with ampersands properly escaped.

var attr = "sysparm_query=active=true&sysparm_view=special";

gs.print(JSUtil.escapeAttr(attr));

Output: This is the returned text. If the text is displayed in the application, the page will render the escaped ampersand with a single ampersand.

sysparm_query=active=true&sysparm_view=special

JSUtil - escapeText(String text)

Escapes invalid XML characters such as "< > &".

Name	Type	Description
text	String	The text

Type	Description
String	The text with escape characters added.

var html = "<b>This is my title</b>";

gs.print(JSUtil.escapeText(html));

Output: This is the value returned. If the result is displayed in the application, the page renders the brackets back so it appears that it is not escaped.

<b>This is my title</b>

JSUtil - getBooleanValue(GlideRecord now_GR, String field)

Returns the value in a boolean GlideRecord field.

Name	Type	Description
now_GR	GlideRecord	A GlideRecord
field	String	The field from which to retrieve the boolean value.

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns the value in a boolean GlideRecord field, returns true if value of field is true, "true", 1, or "1".

var inc = new GlideRecord("incident");
//get an active incident
inc.addActiveQuery();
inc.setLimit(1);
inc.query();
inc.next();

gs.print(JSUtil.getBooleanValue(inc, "active"));

Output: true

JSUtil - has(Object item)

Checks if item is not null and is not undefined.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The Object to check

Type	Description
Boolean	True if the specified object is not null and is not undefined.

var x = "the quick brown fox";
var y = "";
var z;

gs.print("x = '" + x + "', JSUtil.has(x) = " + JSUtil.has(x));
gs.print("y = '" + y + "', JSUtil.has(y) = " + JSUtil.has(y));
gs.print("z = '" + z + "', JSUtil.has(z) = " + JSUtil.has(z));

Output:

x = 'the quick brown fox', JSUtil.has(x) = true
y = '', JSUtil.has(y) = true
z = 'undefined', JSUtil.has(z) = false

JSUtil - instance_of(Object item, String class)

Checks to see if the specified object is a member of the specified class.

For JavaScript objects, this method behaves exactly like the JavaScript operator "instanceof", but also supports Java objects.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The object to check
class	String	The class to check

Type	Description
Boolean	True if the specified object is a member of the specified class.

var a = ['a','b','c'];
var b = 10;
var c = new GlideRecord("incident");

gs.print("JSUtil.instance_of(a,'Array') = " + JSUtil.instance_of(a,Array));
gs.print("JSUtil.instance_of(a,'String') = " + JSUtil.instance_of(a,String));

gs.print("JSUtil.instance_of(b,'String') = " + JSUtil.instance_of(b,String));

gs.print("JSUtil.instance_of(c,'GlideRecord') = " + JSUtil.instance_of(c,GlideRecord));

Output:

JSUtil.instance_of(a,'Array') = true
JSUtil.instance_of(a,'String') = false
JSUtil.instance_of(b,'String') = false
JSUtil.instance_of(c,'GlideRecord') = true

JSUtil - isJavaObject(Object value)

Checks if the specified object is a Java class.

Name	Type	Description
value	Object	The object to check

Type	Description
Boolean	True if the specified object is an instance of a Java class.

var tu = new TableUtils("incident");
var classes = tu.getHierarchy(); //Java ArrayList
var tables = ["task, incident"]; //JavaScript Array

gs.print("JSUtil.isJavaObject(classes) = " + JSUtil.isJavaObject(classes));
gs.print("JSUtil.isJavaObject(tables) = " + JSUtil.isJavaObject(tables));

Output:

JSUtil.isJavaObject(classes) = true
JSUtil.isJavaObject(tables) = false

JSUtil - logObject(Object obj, String name)

Logs all the properties in the given object: name, type, and value.

Output is written to the console if you are running from a background script or have debug logging enables. The output is also written to the system log.

Name	Type	Description
obj	Object	The object for which to enumerate properties
name	String	Optional name for the logged object

Type	Description
void

var arr = ["a","b","c"];

var inc = new GlideRecord("incident");
//get an active incident
inc.addActiveQuery();
inc.setLimit(1);
inc.query();
inc.next();

JSUtil.logObject(arr, "arr");
JSUtil.logObject(inc, "inc");

Output:

Log Object: arr
  Array of 3 elements
    [0]: string = a
    [1]: string = b
    [2]: string = c
Log Object: inc
  GlideRecord('incident') @ INC0000002

JSUtil - nil(Object item)

Checks if item is null, undefined, or evaluates to the empty string.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The object to check

Type	Description
Boolean	True if the item is null, undefined, or evaluates to the empty string.

var x = "the quick brown fox";
var y = "";
var z;

gs.print("x = '" + x + "', JSUtil.nil(x) = " + JSUtil.nil(x));
gs.print("y = '" + y + "', JSUtil.nil(y) = " + JSUtil.nil(y));
gs.print("z = '" + z + "', JSUtil.nil(z) = " + JSUtil.nil(z));

Output:

x = 'the quick brown fox', JSUtil.nil(x) = false
y = '', JSUtil.nil(y) = true
z = 'undefined', JSUtil.nil(z) = true

JSUtil - notNil(Object item)

Checks if an item is null, undefined, or evaluates to the empty string.

Note: This method returns an error if the object provided isn’t declared.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The object to check.

Type	Description
Boolean	Flag that indicates whether the item exists and isn’t empty. An error returns if the object provided isn’t declared.Valid values: - true: The object provided has been declared and defined. If the object is a string, it isn’t empty. - false: The object provided is null, undefined, or evaluates to an empty string.

The following example shows results for a string variable, an empty string variable, and an undefined variable.

var x = "the quick brown fox";
var y = "";
var z;

gs.print("x = '" + x + "', JSUtil.notNil(x) = " + JSUtil.notNil(x));
gs.print("y = '" + y + "', JSUtil.notNil(y) = " + JSUtil.notNil(y));
gs.print("z = '" + z + "', JSUtil.notNil(z) = " + JSUtil.notNil(z));

Output:

x = 'the quick brown fox', JSUtil.notNil(x) = true
y = '', JSUtil.notNil(y) = false
z = 'undefined', JSUtil.notNil(z) = false

JSUtil - toBoolean(Object item)

Converts the specified object to a Boolean.

Name	Type	Description
item	Object	The object to convert

Type	Description
Boolean	If the specified object is a boolean, it is passed through. Non-zero numbers return true. Null or undefined return false. Strings return true only if exactly equal to 'true'.

var zero = 0;
var one = 1;
var number = 12;
var trueBoolean = true;
var trueString = "true";
var otherString = "random text";

gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(zero) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(zero));
gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(one) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(one));
gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(number) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(number));
gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(trueBoolean) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(trueBoolean));
gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(trueString) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(trueString));
gs.print("JSUtil.toBoolean(otherString) = " + JSUtil.toBoolean(otherString));

Output:

JSUtil.toBoolean(zero) = false
JSUtil.toBoolean(one) = true
JSUtil.toBoolean(number) = true
JSUtil.toBoolean(trueBoolean) = true
JSUtil.toBoolean(trueString) = true
JSUtil.toBoolean(otherString) = false

JSUtil - type_of(Object value)

Determines the type of the specified object.

Name	Type	Description
value	Object	The object to check

Type	Description
String	The type of the specified object. - 'null' if the given value is null or undefined - 'string' if the given value is a primitive string or a String wrapper instance - 'number' if the given value is a primitive number or a Number wrapper instance - 'boolean' if the given value is a primitive boolean or a Boolean wrapper instance - 'function' if the given value is a function - 'object' otherwise

var a = ["a","b","c"];
var b = 10;
var c = new GlideRecord("incident");
var d = true;
var e;

gs.print("JSUtil.type_of(a) = " + JSUtil.type_of(a));
gs.print("JSUtil.type_of(b) = " + JSUtil.type_of(b));
gs.print("JSUtil.type_of(c) = " + JSUtil.type_of(c));
gs.print("JSUtil.type_of= " + JSUtil.type_of(d));
gs.print("JSUtil.type_of(e) = " + JSUtil.type_of(e));

Output:

JSUtil.type_of(a) = object
JSUtil.type_of(b) = number
JSUtil.type_of(c) = object
JSUtil.type_of= boolean
JSUtil.type_of(e) = null

JSUtil - unescapeAttr(String text)

Restore ampersands from escaped text.

Name	Type	Description
text	String	The text

Type	Description
String	The text with escape characters removed.

var attr = "sysparm_query=active=true&amp;sysparm_view=special";

gs.print(JSUtil.unescapeAttr(attr));

Output:

sysparm_query=active=true&sysparm_view=special

JSUtil - unescapeText(String text)

Removes escape characters.

Name	Type	Description
text	String	The text to process.

Type	Description
String	The the text without escape characters.

var html = "&lt;b&gt;This is my title&lt;/b&gt;";

gs.print(JSUtil.unescapeText(html));

Output: This is the value returned. If the text is displayed in the application the page, it renders the html tags and displays the text in bold.

<b>This is my title</b>