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Use SharePoint column formatting to show a clean email address while making it a clickable email link. The same approach works in a List Web Part: format the column with JSON, keep the field value as the displayed text, and add mailto: only to the link target.
Choose the formatting for your column type
Column formatting changes how a field appears in a list view; it does not change the value saved in the list item. Microsoft documents it for SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server Subscription Edition from the Version 22H2 feature update onward using the v2 schema. SharePoint 2019 and earlier Subscription Edition versions should use the v1 schema URL specified in Microsoft’s documentation.
Single-line text column with an email address
For a text column, use an anchor whose displayed text is the current field value and whose target prepends mailto:. The address remains visible without the prefix, while clicking it asks the user’s configured mail handler to compose a message.
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"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "a",
"txtContent": "@currentField",
"attributes": {
"href": "=concat('mailto:', @currentField)"
}
}This pattern is for a single-line text column whose value is an email address. Microsoft’s Q&A addresses this specific scenario: making an email address a link in SharePoint.
Person column with the name as the label
A Person field is an object rather than a plain email string. Use @currentField.email for the mail target, while keeping the person’s name as the visible label. Microsoft’s example uses a mail quick-action link alongside the displayed name:
{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "a",
"txtContent": "@currentField.title",
"attributes": {
"href": "=concat('mailto:', @currentField.email)"
}
}See Microsoft’s column-formatting examples and reference for the Person-field properties and supported formatting options.
Apply and save the column format
- In the list, open the email column’s drop-down menu.
- Select Column Settings > Format this column.
- Enter the JSON for your field type in the formatting pane.
- Select Preview and confirm that the visible label is what you want.
- Select Save. The saved display customization is shown to people who view the list.
Microsoft’s column-formatting documentation describes formatting as a JSON object that controls the elements and styles displayed for a field in a list view.
Control the link in a List Web Part
Microsoft notes that an anchor used in a List Web Part navigates to a new tab by default. If you want it to navigate in the same tab, add data-interception with the value on inside the anchor’s attributes object:
"attributes": {
"href": "=concat('mailto:', @currentField)",
"data-interception": "on"
}For a Person column, keep the same-tab attribute and use @currentField.email in the href expression instead. The visible label remains independent of the target.
What the formatting does—and does not do
The JSON creates a clickable display; it does not convert or rewrite the stored field value. Microsoft describes column formatting as changing only how a value is displayed to people browsing the list. It also documents mailto: as a supported link protocol, alongside http://, https://, and tel:. See the official column-formatting guidance for schema and protocol details.
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