Fields with decimal separators (for example, % complete) can become corrupted in a multi-language environment when Record Watcher is enabled - Known Error

Fields with decimal separators (for example, % complete) can become corrupted in a multi-language environment when Record Watcher is enabled Description Record Watcher enables you to see record updates made by other users without needing to refresh the form. There is an issue with the Record Watcher ignoring the number format between the various users.

Example 1: 1. User A (number format example: "X XXX,XX") updates a form. 2. The update is reflected on User B's form , but User B's format (number format example "X,XXX.XX") is ignored and the field on their form obtains the number format from User A. 3. If User B saves the record, unless there is validation on the field, the decimal and grouping separators will be stripped and the number will be effectively multiplied by 10.

Example 2: 1. An English user sets the value to 10.50. 2. A French user receives that update through Record Watcher and modifies a completely different field. 3. The value is saved as 1050 because the field is sent to the server as 10.50, but the user is French and the server expects it to be 10,50 (comma as the decimal separator).

Steps to Reproduce

Log in as administrator on an instance with the ' I18N: French Translations ' (com.snc.i18n.french) plugin activated . Navigate to User Administration > Users . Open the record for Beth Anglin. Click the menu icon and select Configure > Form Layout . Add Country code to the form. Click Save . Set Country Code to France . Click Save . Impersonate Beth Anglin. This is Session A. Open a separate browser or an incognito/private window and log on to the instance as an admin user. This is Session B. In either session, navigate to /release_feature.do. For example, https:// .service-now.com/release_feature.do Create a new record. Open the new record in both Session A and Session B. In Session B, set the % complete field to 12.34 and save the record. Note that in Session A the field has updated to say 1234 . In Session A, set the Short Description field to test and save the record. Observe the following behaviour:

The % complete field was not changed in step 15, but it does not remain as 12.34. The % complete field does not always display with format X XXX,XX in Session A (French). The % complete field does not always display with format X,XXX.XX in Session B (English). The % complete field changes to 1234 after saving the record in step 14 and is corrupted. The Record Watcher appears to ignore the number format, so after updating the field in step 14, in Session A (French) the field obtains the number format of Session B (English).

Workaround After carefully considering the severity and frequency of the issue, and the cost and risk of attempting a fix, it has been decided to not address this issue in any current or near future releases. We do not make these decisions lightly, and we apologize for any inconvenience. You can submit an Enhancement Request from the Self-Service portal on HI, and Subscribe to this article to be notified in case of future updates.