Dynamic Data Binding in ServiceNow UI Builder: Greet Users Dynamically

Hardcoding text like “Hello user” on a UI might be quick, but it’s not helpful — especially in ServiceNow, where context matters and experiences should feel personal. In this tutorial-style article, we’ll turn a static greeting into a dynamic, user-aware message in UI Builder. You’ll learn three clean ways to bind session data to a Styled Text component so your portal or workspace greets each person by name, without resorting to heavy scripting.

What We’re Building

We’ll start from a simple page layout created in a previous session, then:

• Add a Styled Text component for the greeting.
• Bind it to the logged-in user’s data.
• Do it three ways: direct binding, a lightweight script, and a no-code formula.

Method 1: Directly Bind to Session Properties (No Code)

The fastest, cleanest approach is to bind the component to the current session’s user properties.

1. Click the bind data icon next to your Styled Text content field.
2. Navigate: Page properties > session > user.
3. Double-click a property to bind it (for example, fullName).
4. Apply to see the result.

You’ll immediately get something like “System Administrator” if you’re logged in as that user. This proves the binding works, but it’s not a “greeting” yet — it’s just the name.

Method 2: Use a Script Expression for Concatenation (Low Code)

If you want “Hello ” and prefer a single expression:

1. Open the bind data panel and switch to the Use Script tab.
2. Return a concatenated string, for example:

• return “Hello “ + API.context.session.user.fullName;

Click Apply to see “Hello System Administrator.” This is quick and flexible, but we can avoid code entirely with the next option.

Method 3: No-Code Formula with string.concat

UI Builder’s Formula binding lets you compose strings without writing script.

1. In the bind data panel, choose Formula.
2. Select string.concat and provide two values:

• Value 1: “Hello “ (include a space)
• Value 2: @context.session.user.userName (or fullName)

Apply to see “Hello admin” or “Hello John Doe,” depending on the property you select.

This approach keeps the experience fully no-code and is great for simple, readable concatenations.

Testing Your Greeting

• Use impersonation to validate the greeting for different roles and users. The greeting should reflect the impersonated user’s name or username immediately.
• If the result doesn’t update, ensure the binding pill shows the correct path and that you used double-click to insert properties.

Practical Tips and Gotchas

• Choose the right attribute: fullName feels more personal; userName is predictable in demos.
• Keep spacing in mind: include the trailing space in “Hello “ to avoid “Helloadmin”.
• Prefer no-code first: Formula and direct bind are easier to maintain than scripts.
• Styling is independent: heading level, alignment, and CSS don’t affect binding — configure them as you like.

Conclusion

You don’t need to hardcode greetings — or write heavy scripts — to personalize UI Builder pages. With a few clicks, you can bind session data directly, use a tiny script for quick concatenation, or stay fully no-code with a string formula.