check if User field value is a user or a group using CSOM/JSOM

Question

I am able to get a user field and its value from a list using CSOM/JSOM. I cannot figure out how to get if the value is a user or a group.

ExecuteOrDelayUntilScriptLoaded(function()
{
    var context = new SP.ClientContext.get_current()
    var list = context.get_web().get_lists().getByTitle("test");
    var view = list.get_views().getByTitle("All Items");
    context.load(view);

    context.executeQueryAsync(Function.createDelegate(this, function(sender, args)
    {
        var query = new SP.CamlQuery();
        query.set_viewXml("<View><Query>" + view.get_viewQuery() + "</Query></View>");

        var items = list.getItems(query);

        context.load(items);

        context.executeQueryAsync(Function.createDelegate(this, function(sender, args)
        {
            var listEnumerator = items.getEnumerator();
            while(listEnumerator.moveNext())
            {
                var listItem = listEnumerator.get_current();

                // this field is a "Person or Group" field with a group as the value
                var userField = listItem.get_item("n09_02");

                // i can get the value
                alert(userField.get_lookupValue());

                // how can i check if the value is a user or group?
            }
        }), Function.createDelegate(this, function(){}));
    }), Function.createDelegate(this, function(){}));
}, "sp.js");

Answer 1

Did that in SP2016 using the SP Services library. First checked whether the field value is a group, using the GetGroupInfo operation. If it is NOT a group, you get an error (I was not interested in that scenario) - that's the drawback. If it IS a group, you get response with < Group > tag.

$().SPServices({
   operation: "GetGroupInfo",
   async: true,
   groupName: [your group's name],
   completefunc: function (xData, Status) {
      if (Status === 'success') {                                            
         $(xData.responseXML).SPFilterNode("Group").each(function () {
            groupId =  $(this).attr("ID");
         });
      } else {
         console.log([your group's name] + ' is not a group!');
      }
   }
});

Depending on your needs, you can later use the SP Services` GetUserInfo operation as well to check whether the user is actually a Domain Group - you get response with < User > tag and IsDomainGroup property.