Access information in hidden columns with JSON formatting
Question
I am trying to format a document library in our SharePoint Online platform.
The goal is to have a row with a video thumbnail, title and short description. The title is not the same as the video file and the thumbnail is also a separate png image. Therefore I have created additional columns that contain this information, but I don't want these columns to be shown.
Problem: When I hide the columns with the title or thumbnail, I cannot access the information using JSON formatting. The field where the title and thumbnail were before are empty when I hide the two columns.
How can I access the information within the hidden columns?
La solution
This is a known behavior in SharePoint.
In order to format a column or view using JSON, the column you are referencing in JSON code must be included in the list view.
According to official documentation,
You construct a JSON object that describes the elements that are displayed when a field is included in a list view, and the styles to be applied to those elements.