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SCIM: Remove Placeholder Values Such as “N/A” or “-” from Attributes

Requirements: Administrator · SSO / SCIM Add-on

Sometimes, instead of an empty value, a placeholder such as “N/A” or “-” is transferred for an attribute (e.g. phone number) and displayed in the profile. This happens because the exact placeholder value is stored for the affected users in the source system (e.g. Entra ID) and is transferred 1:1 via SCIM like any other value.

Simply deleting the value in Entra ID may not be sufficient. Since this may not be recognized as an attribute change in the usual sense, Entra ID may not send an update to Lemontaps, causing the old placeholder value to remain. To properly clear the attribute, the mapping in Entra ID needs to be temporarily adjusted.

Steps in Entra ID

  1. In Azure, go to Enterprise Applications → [your SCIM app] → Provisioning → Attribute mapping.

    Screenshot 2026-09-10 at 14.53.52 (1)
  2. Find the affected attribute (e.g. phone number) and click the edit icon (pencil).
  3. Change the Mapping type from Direct to Expression.
  4. Enter the following expression, replacing ATTR1 with the respective source attribute (e.g. mobile):

    IIF(IsPresent([ATTR1]), [ATTR1], "$EMPTY$")

    This expression ensures that an actual value is retained, while all other cases – including placeholders such as “N/A” – are set to empty.

    Screenshot 2026-09-10 at 14.56.08 (1)
  5. Click Apply, then click Save on the main page. Clicking “Apply” alone does not save the change.
  6. Trigger provisioning again:
    • For all users: Overview → Restart provisioning
    • For individual users: Provision on demand → search for the user or group → Provision
    Screenshot 2026-09-10 at 14.56.23 (1)
  7. Wait until the provisioning run is complete and check the profile to confirm that the placeholder value is now empty.
  8. Important: Reset the mapping afterwards. Once the values have been cleaned up, the mapping must be changed back to Direct. If it remains set to “Expression” with “$EMPTY$”, an actual value entered in the future could also be overwritten or cleared during subsequent provisioning runs.

Depending on the use case, the expression may need to be adjusted (e.g. if several different placeholder values are used). For more information about the syntax, see the Microsoft documentation on the Expression Builder.