# Getting the name of variable as value
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830
**Category:** Dashboard
**Created:** [10 July 2020 07:53 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830 "2020-07-10T07:53:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 07:53 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/1 "2020-07-10T07:53:38Z")
Hello There,
i want to extract the Name of a variable and use it as a string.
For instance i have multiple sets of temperatures. Every set has different names for the temperatures and the names could Change.
So i would like to get the name from the payload to title switches and for names in Charts.
How could i do that?
Greetings
Chorum
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### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:13 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/2 "2020-07-10T08:13:05Z")
If you select the chart node, click the "i" or book button, you will find information on how to set the name of the chart dynamically using the mustache syntax.
> The label can also be set by a message property by setting the field to the name of the property, for example `{{msg.topic}}` .
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:16 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/3 "2020-07-10T08:16:44Z")
Oh thats a missunderstanding.
i would like to know how i get the Name of the variable.
before i can set the names in the Chart, i Need to get them first π
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### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:22 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/4 "2020-07-10T08:22:38Z")
> [@Chorum](#):
>
> i would like to know how i get the Name of the variable.
What variable ? Perhaps you should post an example flow and/or debug output.
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:26 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/5 "2020-07-10T08:26:34Z")
I want the Name of the variable where the value is stored.
if i have temp1= 23 in the payload i want to get the Name "temp1" and put it in the payload as a new value temp1name = "temp1"
i think now its understandable π
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### Author:  [@molesworth](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/molesworth)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/6 "2020-07-10T08:28:58Z")
> [@Chorum](#):
>
> if i have temp1= 23 in the payload i want to get the Name "temp1" and put it in the payload as a new value temp1name = "temp1"
When creating the message, would it be possible to add a field e.g. "varname", and set it to the name of the field you want? You can then extract it as "msg.varname".
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:34 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/7 "2020-07-10T08:34:50Z")
Yea, good idea.
that would be possible and will my solution if i dont find an other way.
The messagesetup will be made by different persons and i want to make it as simple and as less work as possible for them.
There will be around 50 values that have to be changed every some weeks.
If i could make it possible in node red it would be better.
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### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:37 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/8 "2020-07-10T08:37:17Z")
With a function node and `Object.keys` you can get the key value and then set it to a new one
```auto
// input = {payload:{temp1:23}}
m = msg.payload
key = Object.keys(m)[0]
val = m[key]
return {payload:{[key+"_name"]:val, name:key}};
// output = {"payload":{temp1_name":23,"name":"temp1"}}
```
So now there are 2 ways - creating a new key name and the name itself in a new property, whatever suits your needs.
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [10 July 2020 08:44 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/9 "2020-07-10T08:44:04Z")
Oh that Looks good!
i will work on that in around a hour.
I hope i understand that π
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### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [11 July 2020 07:37 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/10 "2020-07-11T07:37:55Z")
> [@Chorum](#):
>
> i have temp1= 23
Do you have control over where that string is generated? If so then it would be better to encode it as a json string. `{temp: 23}` then in node red feed that through a JSON node to convert it to a js object. If there is more than just temp1 then the whole set could be json encoded.
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### Author:  [@dceejay](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dceejay)
#### Post date: [11 July 2020 07:49 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/11 "2020-07-11T07:49:20Z")
It would need to be {βtempβ:23} to be valid Json.
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [11 July 2020 11:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/12 "2020-07-11T11:24:51Z")
Next time i can work on that is on monday.
i will test and report.
Thanks for the help!
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### Author:  [@Chorum](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chorum)
#### Post date: [15 July 2020 06:03 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/13 "2020-07-15T06:03:47Z")
For the Moment i will send the Name of the value with the value .
I will rethink that later.
Thank you for your help!
Chorum
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [14 August 2020 06:18 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/getting-the-name-of-variable-as-value/29830/14 "2020-08-14T06:18:22Z")
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