Which of the following is a good practice for adding instructions to a form?

ServiceNow provides the Annotation field type specifically so designers can embed static, read-only text (and optional images or HTML) directly on a form. Because an annotation is treated as a field, it appears in the normal tab order, moves with the form layout, and requires no scripting or navigation outside the record. ServiceNow documentation and the official CAD courseware cite annotations as the recommended, lightweight method for presenting user instructions or guidance on a form.

B. Related links open external pages; users must leave the record, so guidance is not immediately visible and is discouraged for inline instructions.
C. Context-menu UI Actions hide instructions behind a right-click, making them non-discoverable and intended for actions, not help text.
D. A read-only populated field stores data unnecessarily and clutters the table; it is not meant for instructional content.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation – “Annotation field type” in Field Type Reference, UI Framework, para. 1-3 (Rome release docs).

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation – “Add instructional text to a form using an annotation,” Configure > Forms > Annotations, steps 1-2.

3. ServiceNow Certified Application Developer Courseware (Now Learning) – Module “Create and Design Application Forms,” section “Best practices: provide help with Annotation fields,” slide 7.

4. ServiceNow Developer Site – Form Design Guide, “Use Annotation to supply inline help,” rev June 2023, p. 2.