🎯 Why This Matters
Throughout this course, you'll see us repeatedly open the NetSuite Help documentation to look up syntax, parameters, and examples. This isn't laziness—it's exactly how professional developers work.
✅ The Reality of Professional Development
No developer memorizes every API. The skill is knowing where to find the answer quickly. NetSuite's documentation is comprehensive—learn to navigate it, and you can solve any problem.
The documentation contains:
- Complete method signatures with all parameters
- Return types and possible values
- Working code examples
- Governance unit costs
- Version compatibility notes
🔗 Accessing the Documentation
Primary URL
Bookmark this! You'll use it daily.
Quick Access from NetSuite
Inside NetSuite, click the Help link in the top-right corner, then search or browse to SuiteScript documentation.
💡 Pro Tip: Use Google
Often the fastest way to find specific documentation is to Google: netsuite N/record load site:docs.oracle.com. The site filter ensures you get official docs.
🗂️ Documentation Structure
Understanding how the docs are organized helps you find information faster:
📁 SuiteScript 2.x API Reference
📁 SuiteScript 2.x Modules ← Most used!
📄 N/record Module
📄 N/search Module
📄 N/query Module
📄 N/email Module
📄 ... (50+ modules)
📁 SuiteScript 2.x Script Types
📄 User Event Script Type
📄 Client Script Type
📄 Map/Reduce Script Type
📁 SuiteScript 2.x Developer Guide
📁 Records Browser ← For field IDs
🔍 How to Look Up a Module
Step-by-Step: Finding N/record.load()
- Go to docs.oracle.com and search "N/record" or navigate to SuiteScript 2.x Modules
- Click on N/record Module
- Find the Methods section
- Click on record.load(options)
- You'll see:
- Parameters: type, id, isDynamic, defaultValues
- Returns: record.Record object
- Governance: 10 units
- Example code
📋 What Each Help Page Contains
Method Documentation Pattern
Every method page follows a consistent structure:
Anatomy of a Help Page
- Method Signature: record.load(options)
- Description: What the method does
- Parameters Table:
- Parameter name
- Type (string, number, boolean, object)
- Required or optional
- Description of valid values
- Returns: What the method gives back
- Errors: What exceptions can be thrown
- Governance: Units consumed
- Since: Version introduced (2015.2, 2019.1, etc.)
- Example: Working code sample
⚠️ Pay Attention To
Required vs Optional parameters - Missing a required parameter causes errors. Governance costs - Plan your script budget. Since version - Ensure your account supports the feature.
🔎 Finding Field IDs: Records Browser
When you need to know what fields exist on a record (and their internal IDs), use the Records Browser:
Using the Records Browser
- In the Help docs, navigate to Records Browser
- Search for a record type (e.g., "Sales Order", "Customer")
- View all available fields with:
- Field ID (what you use in code)
- Field label (what users see)
- Field type
- Whether it's on body or sublist
💡 Alternative: &xml=T Parameter
Add &xml=T to any NetSuite record URL to see raw field IDs. Example: /app/accounting/transactions/salesord.nl?id=123&xml=T
📚 Script Type Documentation
Each script type has its own help page documenting:
- Entry Points: Which functions you can export (beforeLoad, afterSubmit, etc.)
- Context Object: What properties are available (context.newRecord, context.type)
- Triggers: When each entry point fires
- Governance: Total units available for that script type
- Examples: Complete working scripts
📚 Common Lookups
User Event entry points? → Search "User Event Script Type"
Client Script entry points? → Search "Client Script Type"
Map/Reduce stages? → Search "Map/Reduce Script Type"
🏃 Quick Reference Searches
Bookmark these common searches:
| When You Need... | Search For... |
|---|---|
| Load/create/save records | N/record Module |
| Run searches | N/search Module |
| Write SuiteQL queries | N/query Module |
| Send emails | N/email Module |
| Build custom forms | N/ui/serverWidget Module |
| Check governance | N/runtime Module |
| Field IDs on a record | Records Browser + record name |
| Script entry points | [Script Type] Script Type |
🎯 Key Takeaways
- NetSuite Help at docs.oracle.com is your primary reference—bookmark it
- Use the SuiteScript 2.x Modules section for API documentation
- Every method page shows parameters, returns, governance, and examples
- Use Records Browser to find field IDs on any record type
- Script Type pages document entry points and context objects
- Google with site:docs.oracle.com for faster searching
- Looking things up is not cheating—it's professional development