Return value of all SharePoint fieldtypes with Javascript

This post is old… you will find other ways to do all this in newer posts – Alexander

As promised, here are the post on returning the value of any SharePoint-field with the use of Javascript.
As for now this script is IE only! – as stated earlier, i personally do not use Firefox, and i have not had the time to try to adapt it to Firefox. The main thing that has to be done is to handle the node-issue where Firefox counts line breaks in the code as a node.

I first learned to manipulate list items with javascript here: Microsoft SharePoint Designer Team Blog, and the piece on returning radio button values is a product of this guy here: Markuso.

About the script
This script returns the value of the following SharePoint-fieldTypes

  • Single line text
  • Multiple line text (Plain text)
  • Number
  • Currency
  • Multiple choice check box
  • Date
  • Radio Button
  • Drop down
  • Yes/No
  • Hyperlink
  • Picture
  • Lookup – Single
  • Lookup – Multiple
  • Person (DisplayName or LoginName)

I always use the fields “FieldInternalName” when addressing it in code, it never changes no matter how many times you change the “DisplayName”.

The script:

<script type="text/javascript">
/*************************************************************
Type:
Singelline tekst and multiline tekst (Plain text), Number, Currency = text
Multichoice checkbox = checkbox (returns commaseparated values)
Date (returns date only, but works with both DateOnly and DateAndTime) = date
RadioButton = radio
Dropdown = dropdown
Yes/No = bool
Hyperlink or picture (returns commaseparated: description,url) = url
Lookup – single (below and over 20 items), MultiLookup (returns array) = lookup
Lookup Multiple – you can use plain ‘lookup’, but if you want only "multi" = lookupMulti
Person – DisplayName = personDisplay
Person – LoginName = personLogin
Use: var value = returnValue(‘checkbox’,’FieldInternalNameOfYourField’);
*************************************************************/
function returnValue(type, fieldInternalName) {
var arr = document.getElementsByTagName(‘!’);//get all comments
for (var i=0;i < arr.length; i++ ) {
// Date
if (type==’date’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
var fieldTitle = arr[i].innerHTML.substring(arr[i].innerHTML.indexOf(‘FieldName=’)+11,arr[i].innerHTML.indexOf(‘n’)-2);
var tags = document.getElementsByTagName(‘input’);
for (var i=0; i < tags.length; i++) {
if (tags[i].title == fieldTitle && tags[i].parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.innerHTML.indexOf(‘FieldName="’+fieldTitle+’"’) > -1)
{
return tags[i].value;
}
}
// RadioButton – Credit to http://blog.markuso.com/ – slightly modified by me to use FieldInternalName
}else if(type==’radio’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
var tags = document.getElementsByTagName("input");
for (var i=0; i < tags.length; i++) {
var nameString = tags[i].name;
// get selected radio button value only
if (tags[i].type == "radio") {
var tagParentHTML = tags[i].parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.innerHTML;
if (tagParentHTML.indexOf(‘FieldInternalName="’+fieldInternalName+’"’) > -1) {
var radioButtons = document.getElementsByName(nameString);
var radioValue = "";
for (var x=0; x < radioButtons.length; x++) {
if (radioButtons[x].checked) {
radioValue = radioButtons[x].parentElement.title;
break;
}
}
var o = document.createElement("INPUT");
o.type = "hidden";
o.value = radioValue;
return o.value;
}
}
}
return null;
// Checkbox
}else if(type==’checkbox’) {
var arr = [];
var arrValue = [];
var tags = document.getElementsByTagName("input");
for (var i=0; i < tags.length; i++) {
if (tags[i].type == "checkbox") {
var tagParentHTML = tags[i].parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.innerHTML;
if (tagParentHTML.indexOf(‘FieldInternalName="’+fieldInternalName+’"’) > -1) {
arr.push(tags[i].id);
}
}
}
for (var x=0; x < arr.length; x++) {
var chkBox = document.getElementById(arr[x]);
if (chkBox.checked) {
arrValue.push(chkBox.parentElement.title);
}
}
return arrValue.toString();
// Text or Dropdown
}else if((type==’text’ || type==’dropdown’) && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
return arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].value;
// Hyperlink or Picture
}else if(type==’url’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
// returns commaseparated (description,url) so it can be split later
var hyperlink = [];
hyperlink.push(arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[4].value);
hyperlink.push(arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[1].value);
return hyperlink;
// Bool
}else if(type==’bool’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
return arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].checked;
// Lookup
}else if(type==’lookup’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
// Under 20 items
var opt = arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].options;
if(opt!=null) {
for (var x=0;x<opt.length;x++) {
if(opt[x].selected == true) {
return (opt[x].innerHTML);
}
}
}else if(opt==null){
if(arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].childNodes[0]!= null) {
// Over 20 items
return arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].childNodes[0].value;
}else{
// MultiLookup – optionally you can call the script with type=’lookupMulti’
var arrSelected = [];
var fieldId = arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].id;
var selectResultId = fieldId.substr(0,fieldId.indexOf(‘MultiLookupPicker’)) + ‘SelectResult’;
var selectResultField = document.getElementById(selectResultId);
for(var x=0;x < selectResultField.length; x++){
arrSelected.push (selectResultField[x].innerHTML);
}
return arrSelected.toString();
}
}
}
// Lookup Multi (can also use plain ‘lookup’ as spacified above
else if(type==’lookupMulti’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
var arrSelected = [];
var fieldId = arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].id;
var selectResultId = fieldId.substr(0,fieldId.indexOf(‘MultiLookupPicker’)) + ‘SelectResult’;
var selectResultField = document.getElementById(selectResultId);
for(var x=0;x < selectResultField.length; x++){
arrSelected.push (selectResultField[x].innerHTML);
}
return arrSelected.toString();
// Person
}else if(type==’personDisplay’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
var rawString = arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].innerHTML;
if(rawString.indexOf(‘isresolved="True"’)>0){
// user resolved OK
// Use these for DisplayName
var displayName = rawString.indexOf(‘displaytext="’);
var start = displayName + 13;
var stopp = displayName + rawString.substring(rawString.indexOf(‘displaytext="’)).indexOf(‘key="’)-2;
var user = rawString.substring(start, stopp);
return user;
}else{
// user not resolved
return "";
}
}else if(type==’personLogin’ && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName="’ + fieldInternalName + ‘"’)) {
var rawString = arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].innerHTML;
if(rawString.indexOf(‘isresolved="True"’)>0){
// Use these for Loginname
var loginName = rawString.indexOf(‘isresolved="True"’);
var start = loginName + rawString.substring(rawString.indexOf(‘isresolved="True"’)).indexOf(‘key="’)+5;
var stopp = loginName + rawString.substring(rawString.indexOf(‘isresolved="True"’)).indexOf(‘">’);
var user = rawString.substring(start, stopp);
return user;
}else{
// user not resolved
return "";
}
}

}
}
</script>
[/javascript]

You should now be able to return all fieldvalues from SharePoint forms.

Here’s an example of how to use it in the PreSaveAction (add this script and it will always execute between you pressing th “OK-button” and the actual save of the item:

<script type="text/javascript">
function PreSaveAction() {
var checkBoxValue = returnValue(‘checkbox’,’CheckboxesChoice’);
if(checkBoxValue.match(‘Yellow’)==null) {
alert("You did not select Yellow!nnIf you do not select Yellow, you will not be able to save this list item!");
// aborts the save process
return false;
}
// Nothing above has returned false – go through with the save process
return true;
}
</script>
[/javascript]

I will return with more on validating input with both the SharePoint function PreSaveAction and on “events” in the fields themselves.

That’s all for now.

Alexander

5 thoughts on “Return value of all SharePoint fieldtypes with Javascript”

  1. Hello people
    i would like to ask a question..i have a list that has a Column named “Choices” that is multiple line of text and users make a selection from this lines.I have another list that i want to get the values from “choices” column ,but i cant with lookup function.Could you advice?

  2. This was very helpful. I added this to get values of Rich Text fields (with HTML tags, which I then stripped out)

    }else if((type==’richtext’) && arr[i].innerHTML.match(‘FieldInternalName=”‘ + fieldInternalName + ‘”‘)) {
    return arr[i].parentNode.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].childNodes[0].value;

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