SharePoint Document Issues

How to Display a SharePoint Lookup Value in a Form Footer

Guest Writer Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to display a related lookup field value within the footer section of a customized SharePoint list form.

How to Display a SharePoint Lookup Value in a Form Footer

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Customizing the layout of a SharePoint list form to include specific related lookup data at the bottom of the form.
Observed behavior: Standard SharePoint form layout JSON often fails to directly resolve and display second-level lookup values in the footer without additional configuration.

Before you start

Verify the exact internal name of your lookup field and ensure you have sufficient permissions to customize list forms in your SharePoint environment.

Solution 1Recommended

Format the Form Footer using JSON

Apply JSON configuration to the form footer to display available lookup values, provided the data is exposed in the current list.

SharePoint allows you to customize the header, body, and footer of a list form using JSON. However, it relies on the data being directly available in the form context. You must use the field's internal name in your code.

Open the form editor

Navigate to your SharePoint list, click 'New' to open the item form, and select the 'Edit form' icon at the top right of the panel.

Select footer configuration

Choose 'Configure layout' from the menu, and then select 'Footer' from the 'Apply formatting to' dropdown list.

Apply JSON code

Paste your custom JSON code referencing the lookup field's internal name (e.g., `[$LookupColumnName]`) into the formatting text box and click 'Save'.

JSON Limitation: SharePoint form layout JSON may not resolve second-level lookup values directly. If the value remains blank, you will need to use Power Apps or a populated column.

Solution 2

Customize the Form using Power Apps

Use Power Apps for advanced form customizations when standard JSON formatting cannot retrieve related lookup values.

Solution 3

Add a Populated Source Column

Bring the related lookup value directly into the source list as a new text column so it can be easily referenced in the standard JSON footer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my lookup value showing as blank in the SharePoint JSON footer?

This typically happens if the JSON is referencing the wrong internal column name, or if SharePoint's standard JSON formatting is unable to fetch the second-level data from the related list. In such cases, switching to Power Apps is a better alternative.

Where can I find the correct internal name of my SharePoint lookup field?

Go to your List Settings, click on the lookup column name under the Columns section, and look at the URL in your web browser. The internal name is located at the very end of the URL after 'Field='.

Can I use Power Automate to help display lookup values in forms?

Yes, you can use Power Automate to automatically copy a related lookup value into a standard text column in your list whenever a new item is created or updated. This standard text column can then be easily displayed in your JSON footer.

Where can I get help with complex SharePoint JSON configuration?

For exact syntax and complex JSON troubleshooting, it is highly recommended to post your code and detailed question in the Microsoft Q&A Community under the SharePoint tag.

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