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Second Life Creation

llGetDisplayName

string llGetDisplayName(key AvatarID)

Returns the display name of an avatar, if the avatar is connected to the current region, or if the name has been cached. Otherwise, returns an empty string. Use llRequestDisplayName if the avatar may be absent from the region.

Parameters
AvatarID (key)
Avatar UUID that is in the same region, or is otherwise known to the region.
Technical Details
  • Return Type: string
  • Energy: 10

Security

Section titled “Security”

It is a terrible idea to tie any security measures to display names; they are not unique and can easily be changed.

Data Execution

Section titled “Data Execution”

Display names can contain quotes and some punctuation. While this is not a problem for LSL, remember to escape strings being passed to command line scripts, SQL queries, etc.

See: XKCD: Exploits of a Mom

Caveats

Section titled “Caveats”
  • To get around the “avatar must be present” limitation, you can use the llRequestDisplayName function and the dataserver event to obtain the avatar’s display name from a key (this is slower).
  • There is no opposite function (llDisplayName2Key) available since display names are non-unique.
  • Either of ??? or empty string "" is returned if the region is unable to return display names. This can happen even if display names are enabled on the region, especially the first time a given key is checked. At least one retry may be advisable. Do not rely on this function to verify avatar presence.
  • It is possible for Loading... to be returned if called before the region has had a chance to resolve the agent’s display name.
    • Do not retry failed attempts indefinitely in a loop. In a few cases, a display name or username will not be returned for as long as the avatar is in the region.
  • If you merely wish to show the agent display name in the viewer window, it may be more straightforward to use Viewer URI Name Space, for example:
llSay(0, "secondlife:///app/agent/" + (string)id + "/displayname");

Examples

Section titled “Examples”
// Best viewed in Chat History (ctrl-h)
default
{
    collision_start(integer a) //Announce who collided
    {
        llSay(0, "llGetDisplayName: " + llGetDisplayName(llDetectedKey(0)) +
                 "\nllDetectedName: " + llDetectedName(0));
    }
    touch_start(integer a)
    {
        llSay(0, "llGetDisplayName: " + llGetDisplayName(llDetectedKey(0)) +
                 "\nllDetectedName: " + llDetectedName(0));
    }
}

See Also

Section titled “See Also”