N/record Module

📚 What is a Record?

In NetSuite, a record is any entity stored in the database that can be retrieved as key-value pairs. Sales Orders, Customers, Items, and Custom Records are all examples of records.

Viewing Raw Record Data

Add &xml=T to any record URL to see the raw XML data. This reveals all field IDs and their current values—invaluable for development.

🔧 Core Record Operations

record.create()

Creates a new record in memory. The record must be saved with .save() to persist to the database.

const newCustomer = record.create({
    type: record.Type.CUSTOMER,
    isDynamic: true
});
newCustomer.setValue({ fieldId: 'companyname', value: 'Acme Corp' });
const customerId = newCustomer.save();

record.load()

Loads an existing record from the database for reading or modification.

const salesOrder = record.load({
    type: record.Type.SALES_ORDER,
    id: 12345,
    isDynamic: false
});
const customer = salesOrder.getValue({ fieldId: 'entity' });

record.copy()

Creates a copy of an existing record—same as the "Make Copy" action in the UI.

const copiedOrder = record.copy({
    type: record.Type.SALES_ORDER,
    id: 12345
});

record.transform()

Converts one record type to another (e.g., Sales Order → Item Fulfillment).

const fulfillment = record.transform({
    fromType: record.Type.SALES_ORDER,
    fromId: 12345,
    toType: record.Type.ITEM_FULFILLMENT
});

record.delete()

Permanently removes a record from the database.

record.delete({
    type: record.Type.CUSTOMER,
    id: 99999
});

📝 getValue() vs getText()

NetSuite fields often have two representations:

// Get the internal ID of the customer
const customerId = salesOrder.getValue({ fieldId: 'entity' }); // 227

// Get the display name of the customer
const customerName = salesOrder.getText({ fieldId: 'entity' }); // "Zenith and Acme"

📊 Working with Sublists

Sublists are the line-item sections on records (Items on Sales Orders, Addresses on Customers). They require special methods:

Getting Line Count

const lineCount = salesOrder.getLineCount({ sublistId: 'item' });

Reading Sublist Values

for (let line = 0; line < lineCount; line++) {
    const item = salesOrder.getSublistValue({
        sublistId: 'item',
        fieldId: 'item',
        line: line
    });
    const quantity = salesOrder.getSublistValue({
        sublistId: 'item',
        fieldId: 'quantity',
        line: line
    });
}

Setting Sublist Values

salesOrder.setSublistValue({
    sublistId: 'item',
    fieldId: 'quantity',
    line: 0,
    value: 10
});

⚡ submitFields() for Efficiency

When you only need to update a few fields, submitFields() is more efficient than load/save:

// Less efficient: 4 governance for load + 20 for save = 24 units
const rec = record.load({ type: 'salesorder', id: 123 });
rec.setValue({ fieldId: 'memo', value: 'Updated' });
rec.save();

// More efficient: Only 4 governance units
record.submitFields({
    type: 'salesorder',
    id: 123,
    values: {
        memo: 'Updated'
    }
});

🔗 UI Equivalents

SuiteScript record operations mirror actions users take in the UI:

📖 Finding This in the Docs

To look up N/record methods:

1. Go to docs.oracle.com → SuiteScript 2.x Modules
2. Click on N/record Module
3. Browse Methods (load, create, copy, delete, submitFields) and Record Object properties

Key pages to bookmark:

• record.load(options) → parameters: type, id, isDynamic
• record.create(options) → parameters: type, isDynamic, defaultValues
• record.submitFields(options) → efficient field updates
• Record.getValue / Record.setText → reading and writing fields
• Records Browser → find field IDs for any record type