label (for models)

This page refers to the label parameter that is part of a model.

label can also be used as part of an Explore, as described on the label (for Explores) parameter documentation page.

label can also be used as part of a view, as described on the label (for views) parameter documentation page.

label can also be used as part of a field, as described on the label (for fields) parameter documentation page.

label can also be used as part of a reference line, described on the Dashboard reference line parameters documentation page.

Usage

label: "desired label"

Definition

label helps make Explores more user-friendly by allowing you to set the model names that appear in the Explore menu.

If you do not explicitly add a label to a model definition, the label defaults to the name of the model, but nicely formatted. Underscores are changed to spaces, and each word is capitalized.

Examples

If your model file is called user_data.model, by default the Explore menu will use the filename, capitalized and with spaces instead of underscores. So the model's entry in the Explore would be rendered as User Data.

You can use the label parameter to change the model's entry in the Explore menu to Market Research:

label: "Market Research"

The label parameter goes at the top level of the model file. For example:

connection: "faa"
label: "Market Research"

include: "/views/states.view.lkml"
include: "/views/users.view.lkml"


explore: states {}
explore: users {}

In this example, Looker would now display the model in the Explore menu as Market Research.

Common challenges

label doesn't change the model name everywhere

Changing the label of a model affects the Explore menu and the way the model is displayed in listings of Looks and dashboards. Explore URLs, the Looker IDE, and SQL Runner still show the actual model name. Consequently, you should still use the model's filename to reference the model in LookML and Admin settings.

Things to know

Avoid label when possible by naming models thoughtfully

A model does not need a label parameter if the name already appears and is formatted the way you want your users to see it in the Explore menu. If you know how you want a model to appear to your users, you can often consider this when naming it, allowing you to avoid the need to use label.

You can use the label parameter to change the way a model name is formatted. For example, you can make the model name "abc_info" appear as "ABC Info" instead of "Abc Info".