This article explains how the average and count unique functions behave inside DR.GET, and how their results can differ when combined with DR.INCLUDE.

Function Overview

DR.GET Function

The `DR.GET` function is a special function in our Excel add-in designed to perform operations on data fields from a database. The function allows filtering based on specific parameters and can include multiple parameters for a single field using the `DR.include` feature.

Syntax

=DR.GET(Value, "[Field1]", "Value1", "[Field2]", "Value2", ..., "[FieldN]", DR.Include("Param1", "Param2", ...))
Value: The function operation (e.g., average, count unique) to perform on a specific field (e.g., "Amount").
[FieldX]: Database fields to filter the query.
ValueX: Values within the database fields to filter by.
DR.Include: Allows multiple parameters for a single field in the query.

Example Formula

=DR.GET(Value,"[Reporting Month]","12/31/24","[Scenario]","Actuals","[Animal Group]",DR.Include ("Cats","Dogs","Birds"))

In this example:
Value: Represents the function to perform, such as average.
[Reporting Month]: Field in the database to filter by "12/31/24".
[Scenario]: Field in the database to filter by "Actuals".
[Animal Group]: Field in the database to filter by "Cats", "Dogs", and "Birds" using `DR.Include`.

The examples below all use this shape, where Value is the operation being tested, either average or count unique.

Average

Standard average

The average function returns the mean of the values in the set.

• Data: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14]
• Calculation: (2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 + 12 + 14) / 7 = 8

Average with DR.INCLUDE

With DR.INCLUDE, the server calculates the average for each group, then averages those group averages.

Grouped by Animal Group:

• Cats: (2 + 4) / 2 = 3
• Dogs: (6 + 8) / 2 = 7
• Birds: (10 + 12 + 14) / 3 = 12
• Result: (3 + 7 + 12) / 3 = 7.33

Compare:

This is a case where the average of averages is not equal to the overall average.

Count unique

Standard count unique

The count unique function returns how many distinct values are in the set.

• Data: [2, 4, 6, 6]
• Unique values: [2, 4, 6]
• Result: 3

Count unique with DR.INCLUDE

With DR.INCLUDE, the server counts unique values within each group, then sums those counts.

Example 1: the results match

• Cats: 2 unique, [2, 4]
• Dogs: 2 unique, [6, 8]
• Birds: 2 unique, [10, 12]
• Result: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6

Example 2: the results differ

• Cats: 3 unique, [2, 4, 6]
• Dogs: 3 unique, [4, 8, 10]
• Birds: 3 unique, [6, 10, 12]
• Result: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9

This is a case where the sum of the group counts differs from the overall count unique, because the same value appears in more than one group and is counted once per group.

Updated September 15, 2026 07:14