SharePoint Document Issues

Fix SharePoint Person Column Error: Cannot Get Value for Projected Field Email

Aamir Naveed Akram Sep 29, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve a PnPjs or REST API error that occurs when querying a SharePoint multi-select Person or Group column where at least one selected user lacks an email address.

How to Fix SharePoint Person Column Error When a User Has No Email Address

Product: Microsoft SharePoint / PnPjs
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Querying a SharePoint list with a multi-select Person or Group column using REST projection.
Observed behavior: The system throws a 'Cannot get value for projected field TeamMember_EMail' error when attempting to retrieve the email property for a user who does not have one.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to the application source code making the PnPjs or REST API queries, and verify which specific Person column is triggering the projection error.

Solution 1Recommended

Exclude the Nullable Email Property from Your Initial Query Projection

Prevent the error entirely by removing the email field from your REST query's select clause, querying only guaranteed fields like ID and Title.

The SharePoint REST API fails the entire projection if it attempts to expand a nullable property (like EMail) for a user account that does not have that data populated. Modifying the query is the most robust way to prevent this crash.

Locate the API Query

Open the source code file where your PnPjs or SharePoint REST API call is defined for fetching list items.

Modify the Select Clause

Find the `$select` string or `.select()` method in your query. Remove the `[ColumnName]/EMail` reference (e.g., `TeamMember/EMail`).

Request Guaranteed Properties

Replace the removed email field with guaranteed non-null properties by adding `[ColumnName]/Id` and `[ColumnName]/Title` to your `$select` and `$expand` clauses.

Test the Query

Run the application or execute the query again to confirm that the 'Cannot get value for projected field' error is resolved.

Exclude the Nullable Email Property from Your Initial Query Projection

Best Practice: Relying on user IDs and Titles for initial list queries improves performance and prevents unexpected API failures caused by incomplete user profiles in Active Directory.

Solution 2

Fetch User Details in a Separate Request

If you require the user's email address for your application, retrieve the user IDs first and make a secondary request to handle missing emails gracefully.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the projected field error occur only sometimes in SharePoint?

The error triggers only when a queried multi-select Person column contains at least one user account that lacks a populated email address. If all selected users in the specific list item have valid email addresses, the REST projection succeeds normally.

Can I use PnPjs to filter out users without emails directly in the query?

No, standard REST projection in SharePoint does not allow conditional filtering inside the `$expand` clause to skip users without emails. You must retrieve the non-nullable properties first and handle the data filtering in your application logic.

Is it safe to use the User Principal Name (UPN) instead of the email address?

Yes, using UPN as a fallback is a common practice in SharePoint development. However, be aware that a UPN is primarily used for login purposes and may not always route to a valid inbox if the user doesn't have an active Exchange mailbox.

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