Tracking Down Field IDs

Finding NetSuite sublist field IDs can range from extremely easy to nearly impossible. This is because there isn’t a sure-fire way to find the internal IDs of line-level fields like there is for fields on the body level. For body level fields, one can often simply click the field label on the record or install a quick Chrome extension to find a field’s internal ID. But sublist fields can be more complicated.

Thankfully, not every NetSuite user needs access to these internal field IDs. SuiteScript developers are often the ones most frequently encountering this obstacle. In this post, we want to give some tips on how we at SuiteRep typically go about finding these hidden gems of information.

Attempt 1: Check the Records Browser

Our first go-to would be the native NetSuite records browser. (Click here to view the latest version as of this blog post.) One thing to note, however, is that this will only be useful for native NetSuite fields. If you know you are looking for a custom field, then you’ll need to jump to the next suggestion below. Once you are on the records browser, you can locate the kind of record you are attempting to find the sublist field on. Then, either look under the SUBLISTS section or do a quick page search in your browser.

Attempt 2: Check the Custom Sublist Fields

Perhaps what you’re looking for is actually a custom sublist field. Typically what we do in this scenario is search for the field on the Transaction Line Fields page (Customization > Lists, Records, and Fields > Transaction Line Fields). Once there, we either look manually or do a browser search of the page. Keep in mind that if the Transaction Line Fields browser has multiple pages, you’ll need to redo the search for each page.

Attempt 3: Customize Form to Confirm Actual Name

If at this point you still haven’t found your field, things are getting a bit desperate. There are still a couple things you can try however. One option is to customize the form of the record and locate the field label you are seeing on the record. This will tell you if the label has been changed from its original name. If this is the case, you may have to repeat tips 1 and/or 2 using the correct label in your search.

Attempt 4: Inspect Element

One of the last tools we have in our arsenal is perhaps the most powerful and complicated. Our modern browsers provide amazing tools for inspecting the elements that make up the internet pages we see. In most browsers, you should be able to right click on the sublist field and select something like “inspect” or “inspect element” in the list of options.

If you know what you’re looking for, sometimes this will work like a charm. But not always. Sometimes the internal ID will not show up here either, in which case, your guess is as good as mine.

Attempt 5: Guess

If all else fails and you have tried all the previous techniques without success, then give it your best guess in the script. I have had to do this occasionally in my past project developments. Thankfully, by this time you will likely have a very good idea what the field should be called. There’s not much else we can do at this point but try our best to find it through simple trial and error.

Conclusion

Finding NetSuite sublist field IDs can be tricky. There are 5 different steps you can take however in locating this important information. (1) You can use the Records Browser, (2) you can look for the label on the Transaction Line Fields page, (3) you can customize the form to confirm the correct label, (4), you can inspect the element in your browser, and (5) you can give it your best guess. We hope you find these tips helpful! Do you have another tool to help you find sublist field IDs? Please comment and let us know! And don’t forget to subscribe to our email list if you would like more helpful SuiteScript and NetSuite content in your inbox!