Hierarchy Models: Manager Lookup and ID + Parent ID
Zenpo Org Chart supports two ways to describe who reports to whom. A SharePoint list can use either model. A CSV file always uses ID + Parent ID. Set Structure in the property pane, then map the matching columns.
Manager (lookup)
The Manager role accepts a person or lookup column.
The hierarchy is resolved against rows in the same people list. A person's manager must point at another row in that list. A lookup that points somewhere else, for example at site users rather than at the list's own rows, will not resolve. The Data issues panel explains that case.
A root person is anyone whose Manager cell is empty. That is normal. It is never an error.
If a manager reference cannot be found, for example because the manager's row is filtered out of the selected view, that person becomes an additional root and keeps their whole branch. Nobody disappears. Data issues reports manager {key} not found — branch kept as a separate root.
A multi-value manager column gives one primary manager (the first value) plus additional reporting lines.
ID + Parent ID
ID is this person's key. Parent ID is their manager's key.
Matching is exact and case-sensitive on the trimmed values. Write keys the same way in both columns.
A root is a row whose Parent ID is blank, or holds NO_MANAGER or -1. All three mean "no manager" and produce no warning. HR exports commonly use those two filled values.
Keys should be unique. If the same ID appears on more than one row, the first row is the person. Later rows with that ID do not render as separate people. Their parent values are added as additional reporting lines. Their other column values are ignored.
A Parent ID that matches no ID makes that person an additional root with their branch intact. Data issues reports it as a manager not found, not as a missing-ID error.
A row that reports to itself is skipped (reports to self). Circular relationships (A reports to B, B reports to A) are detected. People in the loop are skipped (circular reference). The chart always finishes drawing.
CSV sources always use this model. The Manager (lookup) option does not apply to files. A saved list-mode setting switches over automatically when you move to a CSV. See Use an HR System (HRIS) CSV Export with Zenpo Web Parts.
Multiple roots and Unassigned
An organization's data often produces more than one top-level person. The chart draws one tree at a time.
- With Root person left on Auto-detect top, the web part charts the top-level person with the most people beneath them.
- Every other top-level person is listed by name in the Unassigned: {names} strip beneath the chart. They are not drawn as nodes. This is the most common reason people look "missing."
- Choosing an explicit Root person charts that person's branch and moves every other top-level person to the Unassigned strip.
- The Root person dropdown offers only people who have at least one report, plus Auto-detect top.
Unassigned people are also counted as Unassigned: {N}.
Additional (dual) reporting lines
Create a second line in any of these ways:
- A multi-value manager column
- Several keys in one Parent ID cell, separated by commas or semicolons
- A repeated ID row
The person renders in both places. The first manager is the primary position, where that person's own reports hang. The additional position renders the person as a leaf marked ⇄.
Node captions read primary: {manager}, or same ID · primary: {manager} when the extra line came from a repeated ID row. The ⇄ marker shows at the fuller node density.
The focus card shows also reports to {manager} · primary: {manager}. Reports that hold two positions are suffixed ** (dual-hat)**.
The canvas legend reads dashed outline = external · ⇄ = additional reporting line · drag to pan.
Counts of people beneath a manager follow primary lines only, so nobody is counted twice.
External people
A person is external when the optional External marker role is mapped and their value is a Yes. External people render with a dashed card outline. The word EXTERNAL appears on the focus card.
They are not excluded from anything. They appear in the tree, in search, in counts, and in the exported image. The marker is a visual treatment only.
On a CSV, External marker is never detected automatically. Map it by hand if you want it.