How to Create Real-Time ServiceNow Incident Triggers Combining AND and OR Conditions

·Aug 12, 2026 04:56 PM·

Hi again, I didn't see if/how this is possible in the docs - I would like a real-time trigger for new/updated servicenow incidents that has the structure of A and B and (C or D). So ABC or ABD would be accepted triggers. The docs only explain using only ANDs or only ORs. There was not much info on the servicenow query language except that it was a filter and not described as part of the trigger. Clarity would be helpful. Image of my AND version, but there was no option to add an OR after doing ANDs.

8 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Amy J.
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You can write trigger conditions that have a formula like x == a && z == b which evaluates to true/false and then use an or condition to combine multiple together.
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❤️2
RussellJ
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dkuroda in case an image helps, here the kind of scenario mentioned by Amy J. (but in an IF rather than a Trigger, but the idea is the same). The first image is the IF block in the Recipe and the second shows the details of the Fields (note both are in Formula mode)...
RussellJ
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(The rather odd looking second clause "not equal to true is true" is because I want to include both false and null values, and the drop down list of conditions doesn't allow me to check for that combination)
dkuroda
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Looks like formulas in the data fields is the way to do this. Continuing this for clarity, my use case is more A and B and (C or D or E), which would ABC or ABD or ABE, but it would seem much faster to combine 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step vs, three long AND formulas. Can I do the 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step? or rather what would the data field look like to combine the C or D or E into one datafield formula so I can use the three AND version? Thanks again for your help.
RussellJ
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Yes 😀 Over to you to try it out in your Dev environment...
dkuroda
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I have nothing to try, since I don't know how to do blind ORs in the trigger form. If there is no way to do it, just tell me, as I've already spent time reading and looking for examples before I asked. Again, the question is one of efficiency, speed, and readability of code --> Can I do the 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step? I have to pose the question this way since I've asked other folks and they suggest 3 ORs which misses the 3 ANDs, where the last AND is the 3 ORs. Inquiring minds want to know.
Amy J.
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I'm not able to access slack on my computer to give you a screenshot, but try to make a variable that calculates as true like 1==1 && 2==2. Then try 1==1 || 2==1. After that, string them together with some parenthesis. Do this all in a test recipe not in the trigger so you can see how the values react. Once you have the formula you want, put it in the trigger
👍1
dkuroda
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Thanks Amy, that helps! I didn't know that OR was simply pipe symbols. I'm not familiar with Ruby and past attempts to try ruby formatting failed. Now I can do what RussellJ said and try stuff in dev.

How to Create Real-Time ServiceNow Incident Triggers Combining AND and OR Conditions | Workato Builders Community

Amy J.
·
·
You can write trigger conditions that have a formula like x == a && z == b which evaluates to true/false and then use an or condition to combine multiple together.
👍1
❤️2
RussellJ
·
·
dkuroda in case an image helps, here the kind of scenario mentioned by Amy J. (but in an IF rather than a Trigger, but the idea is the same). The first image is the IF block in the Recipe and the second shows the details of the Fields (note both are in Formula mode)...
RussellJ
·
·
(The rather odd looking second clause "not equal to true is true" is because I want to include both false and null values, and the drop down list of conditions doesn't allow me to check for that combination)
dkuroda
·
·
Looks like formulas in the data fields is the way to do this. Continuing this for clarity, my use case is more A and B and (C or D or E), which would ABC or ABD or ABE, but it would seem much faster to combine 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step vs, three long AND formulas. Can I do the 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step? or rather what would the data field look like to combine the C or D or E into one datafield formula so I can use the three AND version? Thanks again for your help.
RussellJ
·
·
Yes 😀 Over to you to try it out in your Dev environment...
dkuroda
·
·
I have nothing to try, since I don't know how to do blind ORs in the trigger form. If there is no way to do it, just tell me, as I've already spent time reading and looking for examples before I asked. Again, the question is one of efficiency, speed, and readability of code --> Can I do the 2 simple ANDs and (C or D or E) in one step? I have to pose the question this way since I've asked other folks and they suggest 3 ORs which misses the 3 ANDs, where the last AND is the 3 ORs. Inquiring minds want to know.
Amy J.
·
·
I'm not able to access slack on my computer to give you a screenshot, but try to make a variable that calculates as true like 1==1 && 2==2. Then try 1==1 || 2==1. After that, string them together with some parenthesis. Do this all in a test recipe not in the trigger so you can see how the values react. Once you have the formula you want, put it in the trigger
👍1
dkuroda
·
·
Thanks Amy, that helps! I didn't know that OR was simply pipe symbols. I'm not familiar with Ruby and past attempts to try ruby formatting failed. Now I can do what RussellJ said and try stuff in dev.