SNOW-CSA UI, Navigation and Forms Practice Question
A company uses a custom application with a table named 'project_task' that contains several reference fields pointing to large tables (e.g., 'User', 'Department'). Users report that the 'project_task' form takes over 10 seconds to load, primarily due to the time required to fetch options for these reference fields. The administrator wants to improve the form loading performance without removing any fields or changing the user workflow. The instance is on a standard license and performance optimization is a priority. Which approach should the administrator take?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think a reference qualifier (Option C) will improve performance by reducing the dataset, but they overlook that the query still executes synchronously during page load, whereas 'Use Ajax on Reference' changes the loading mechanism itself to be asynchronous.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable the 'Use Ajax on Reference' option on the dictionary records for the reference fields.
Enabling 'Use Ajax on Reference' on the dictionary records causes the reference fields to load their options asynchronously via AJAX after the form renders, rather than during the initial page load. This significantly reduces the initial load time because the large reference tables (e.g., 'User', 'Department') are not queried synchronously when the form is first opened.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Convert all reference fields to choice fields with a predefined list.
Why it's wrong here
Changing field types alters the data model and may not accommodate all necessary values from large reference tables.
- ✗
Write a client script to load reference options asynchronously using GlideAjax.
Why it's wrong here
This duplicates functionality that already exists in the platform and requires custom code maintenance.
- ✗
Add a reference qualifier to each reference field to limit the number of options displayed.
Why it's wrong here
While this reduces the query size, the options are still loaded synchronously and may not solve the 10-second load issue.
- ✓
Enable the 'Use Ajax on Reference' option on the dictionary records for the reference fields.
Why this is correct
This loads reference options asynchronously, allowing the form to render quickly while options populate in the background.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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