Returning the Names Associated with a DCID
The =DCGETNAME(dcids)
formula returns the names associated with given DCIDs to a cell or a column range of cells.
Note: Be sure to follow the instructions for Installing and Enabling the Sheets Add-On before using this formula.
Formula
=DCGETNAME(dcids)
Required Arguments
dcids
- A list of node DCIDs to query.
Returns
The names associated with given node DCIDs to a cell or a range of cells.
Note: It’s best to minimize the number of function calls to
=DCGETNAME(dcids)
by using a single call to get the names for a column of nodes. This is because a spreadsheet will make one call to a Google server per custom function call. If your sheet contains thousands of separate calls to=DCGETNAME(dcids)
you can expect it to be slow and return with errors.
Examples
This section contains examples of returning the names associated with given DCIDs.
Example 1: Retrieve the Name of a Place by its DCID
To retrieve the name of a place by its DCID, perform the following steps:
- Place your cursor in the cell where you want to add a DCID. In this case, cell A1.
- Move to the cell where you want to retrieve the place name.
- Enter the formula
=DCGETNAME(A1)
to retrieve the name. California populates the cell.
Example 2: Retrieve the Names of a Collection of Power Plants
To retrieve the names of a collection of power plants, perform the following steps:
- Enter into column A the DCIDs that are shown in the following image.
- In cell B2, enter the formula
=DCGETNAME(A2:A4)
. The names of the countries for each DCID populates in column B.
Example 3: Retrieve the names of a list of statistical variables
Statistical Variables are also nodes in the Data Commons Graph with a DCID. To retrieve the names of a list of statistical variables, perform the following steps:
- Enter into column A the DCIDs that are shown in the following image.
- In cell B2, enter the formula
=DCGETNAME(A2:A4)
. The names of the countries for each DCID populates in column B.
Error Responses
If a DCID does not exist, the =DCGETNAME(dcids)
formula does not return a value. For example, because the “geoId/123123123” DCID does not exist, no value is returned to cell B1 in the following sheet:
If you provide an empty cell for a DCID, the =DCGETNAME(dcids)
formula returns a value of #ERROR!, as shown show in the following image: