Understanding People Picker Fields

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 100 views

Introduction

SharePoint's People Picker field is a powerful tool for selecting and managing users within a site. However, when it comes to adding or updating users programmatically, things can get a bit tricky. This is where SPServices comes in – a JavaScript library that simplifies interactions with SharePoint's web services. In this article, we'll explore how to use SPServices to add values to People Picker fields in SharePoint.

Understanding People Picker Fields

Before we dive into the code, let's take a moment to understand how People Picker fields work. A People Picker field is a type of field that allows users to select one or more users from a list of available users within the site. When a user is selected, the field displays the user's display name, and the underlying value is stored as a user ID.

The Challenge

When trying to add or update a People Picker field using SPServices, you may encounter issues if you're using the account ID or display name. This is because SharePoint's web services expect a specific format for user IDs, which is not always straightforward to work with.

SPServices to the Rescue

SPServices is a JavaScript library that provides a set of functions for interacting with SharePoint's web services. With SPServices, you can easily add or update users in a People Picker field, even if you're using the account ID or display name.

Adding a User to a People Picker Field

To add a user to a People Picker field using SPServices, you'll need to use the AddUserToPeoplePicker function. This function takes three parameters: the list ID, the field ID, and the user ID.

$.SPServices({
  operation: "AddUserToPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

In this example, we're adding a user with the account ID user@domain.com to a People Picker field in a list called "Your List Name". The fieldName parameter should match the internal name of the People Picker field.

Updating a User in a People Picker Field

To update a user in a People Picker field using SPServices, you'll need to use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function. This function takes three parameters: the list ID, the field ID, and the user ID.

$.SPServices({
  operation: "UpdateUserInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

In this example, we're updating a user with the account ID user@domain.com in a People Picker field in a list called "Your List Name". The fieldName parameter should match the internal name of the People Picker field.

Display Name vs. Account ID

When working with People Picker fields, you may encounter issues if you're using the display name or account ID. SharePoint's web services expect a specific format for user IDs, which is not always straightforward to work with.

To avoid these issues, it's recommended to use the account ID when adding or updating users in a People Picker field. The account ID is a unique identifier for each user, and it's the format that SharePoint's web services expect.

Best Practices

When using SPServices to add or update users in a People Picker field, keep the following best practices in mind:

Use the account ID when adding or updating users.
Make sure to match the internal name of the People Picker field with the fieldName parameter.
Use the AddUserToPeoplePicker function to add users, and the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function to update users.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored how to use SPServices to add values to People Picker fields in SharePoint. We've covered the basics of People Picker fields, the challenge of working with account IDs and display names, and the solution provided by SPServices. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you'll be able to easily add or update users in a People Picker field using SPServices.

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: When trying to add or update a user in a People Picker field, the user is not added or updated.
Solution: Make sure to use the account ID when adding or updating users, and match the internal name of the People Picker field with the fieldName parameter.
Issue: When trying to add or update a user in a People Picker field, the user is added or updated, but the display name is not updated.
Solution: Make sure to use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function to update users, and use the account ID when adding or updating users.

Example Use Cases

Adding a user to a People Picker field: Use the AddUserToPeoplePicker function to add a user to a People Picker field.
Updating a user in a People Picker field: Use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function to update a user in a People Picker field.

Code Snippets

Adding a user to a People Picker field:

$.SPServices( operation "AddUserToPeoplePicker", listName: "Your List Name", fieldName: "Your Field Name", userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com" );


*   **Updating a user in a People Picker field:**
    ```javascript
$.SPServices({
  operation: "UpdateUserInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Conclusion

Introduction

In our previous article, we explored how to use SPServices to add values to People Picker fields in SharePoint. We covered the basics of People Picker fields, the challenge of working with account IDs and display names, and the solution provided by SPServices. In this article, we'll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about using SPServices with People Picker fields.

Q&A

Q: What is the difference between the `AddUserToPeoplePicker` and `UpdateUserInPeoplePicker` functions?

A: The AddUserToPeoplePicker function is used to add a new user to a People Picker field, while the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function is used to update an existing user in a People Picker field.

Q: How do I use the `AddUserToPeoplePicker` function to add a user to a People Picker field?

A: To use the AddUserToPeoplePicker function, you'll need to pass the following parameters:

listName: The name of the list that contains the People Picker field.
fieldName: The internal name of the People Picker field.
userId: The account ID of the user you want to add.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "AddUserToPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Q: How do I use the `UpdateUserInPeoplePicker` function to update a user in a People Picker field?

A: To use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function, you'll need to pass the following parameters:

listName: The name of the list that contains the People Picker field.
fieldName: The internal name of the People Picker field.
userId: The account ID of the user you want to update.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "UpdateUserInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Q: What if I want to add or update multiple users in a People Picker field at the same time?

A: You can use the AddUsersToPeoplePicker function to add multiple users to a People Picker field, and the UpdateUsersInPeoplePicker function to update multiple users in a People Picker field.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "AddUsersToPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userIds: ["i:0#.f|membership|user1@domain.com", "i:0#.f|membership|user2@domain.com"]
});

Q: What if I want to remove a user from a People Picker field?

A: You can use the RemoveUserFromPeoplePicker function to remove a user from a People Picker field.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "RemoveUserFromPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Q: What if I want to get the users in a People Picker field?

A: You can use the GetUsersInPeoplePicker function to get the users in a People Picker field.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "GetUsersInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Q: What if I want to get the display name of a user in a People Picker field?

A: You can use the GetDisplayNameInPeoplePicker function to get the display name of a user in a People Picker field.

Here's an example:

$.SPServices({
  operation: "GetDisplayNameInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Conclusion

In this article, we've answered some of the most frequently asked questions about using SPServices with People Picker fields. We've covered topics such as adding and updating users, removing users, getting users, and getting display names. By following the examples and best practices outlined in this article, you'll be able to easily use SPServices with People Picker fields in your SharePoint applications.

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: When trying to add or update a user in a People Picker field, the user is not added or updated.
Solution: Make sure to use the account ID when adding or updating users, and match the internal name of the People Picker field with the fieldName parameter.
Issue: When trying to add or update a user in a People Picker field, the user is added or updated, but the display name is not updated.
Solution: Make sure to use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function to update users, and use the account ID when adding or updating users.

Example Use Cases

Adding a user to a People Picker field: Use the AddUserToPeoplePicker function to add a user to a People Picker field.
Updating a user in a People Picker field: Use the UpdateUserInPeoplePicker function to update a user in a People Picker field.
Removing a user from a People Picker field: Use the RemoveUserFromPeoplePicker function to remove a user from a People Picker field.
Getting users in a People Picker field: Use the GetUsersInPeoplePicker function to get the users in a People Picker field.
Getting display name of a user in a People Picker field: Use the GetDisplayNameInPeoplePicker function to get the display name of a user in a People Picker field.

Code Snippets

Adding a user to a People Picker field:

$.SPServices( operation "AddUserToPeoplePicker", listName: "Your List Name", fieldName: "Your Field Name", userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com" );


*   **Updating a user in a People Picker field:**
    ```javascript
$.SPServices({
  operation: "UpdateUserInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Removing a user from a People Picker field:

$.SPServices( operation "RemoveUserFromPeoplePicker", listName: "Your List Name", fieldName: "Your Field Name", userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com" );


*   **Getting users in a People Picker field:**
    ```javascript
$.SPServices({
  operation: "GetUsersInPeoplePicker",
  listName: "Your List Name",
  fieldName: "Your Field Name",
  userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com"
});

Getting display name of a user in a People Picker field:

$.SPServices( operation "GetDisplayNameInPeoplePicker", listName: "Your List Name", fieldName: "Your Field Name", userId: "i:0#.f|membership|user@domain.com" );