Get City, State, Country from Latitude and Longitude in Google Sheets - google-sheets

Question

In Google Sheets, I have a column with latitude and longitude coordinates. The list goes from A2:A1000. I also have columns for City, State, and Country in B1, C1, and D1, respectively. Is there a formula or script I can run that reads the coordinates and provides the city, state, and country in their respective column? I do not know how to use JavaScript, XML, JSON, serialized PHP, etc. so if your suggestion includes one of those, please provide some instructions. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Well, I have a psuedo-solution. Go into Google Spreadsheets > Tools > Script Editor and paste the following code into a blank project:
function reverse_geocode(lat,lng) {
Utilities.sleep(1500);
var response = Maps.newGeocoder().reverseGeocode(lat,lng);
for (var i = 0; i < response.results.length; i++) {
var result = response.results[i];
Logger.log('%s: %s, %s', result.formatted_address, result.geometry.location.lat,
result.geometry.location.lng);
return result.formatted_address;
}
}
Then in the spreadsheet, use this formula:
=reverse_geocode(latitude_goes_here,longitude_goes_here)
For example, if I have the latitude in A2 and longitude in B2:
=reverse_geocode(A2,B2)
This will provide the full address. I'm now trying to figure out how to parse the country from the address.

Answer 2

Based on #gabriel-rotman solution.
Go into Google Spreadsheets > Tools > Script Editor and paste the following code into a blank project:
/**
* Return the closest, human-readable address type based on the the latitude and longitude values specified.
*
* #param {"locality"} addressType Address type. Examples of address types include
* a street address, a country, or a political entity.
* For more info check: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/intro#Types
* #param {"52.379219"} lat Latitude
* #param {"4.900174"} lng Longitude
* #customfunction
*/
function reverseGeocode(addressType, lat, lng) {
Utilities.sleep(1500);
if (typeof addressType != 'string') {
throw new Error("addressType should be a string.");
}
if (typeof lat != 'number') {
throw new Error("lat should be a number");
}
if (typeof lng != 'number') {
throw new Error("lng should be a number");
}
var response = Maps.newGeocoder().reverseGeocode(lat, lng),
key = '';
response.results.some(function (result) {
result.address_components.some(function (address_component) {
return address_component.types.some(function (type) {
if (type == addressType) {
key = address_component.long_name;
return true;
}
});
});
});
return key;
}
Then in the spreadsheet, use this formula:
=reverseGeocode(address_type; latitude_goes_here; longitude_goes_here)
For example, if I have the latitude in A2 and longitude in B2 and that I want to get the city then I can use:
=reverseGeocode("locality"; A2; B2)
If you want the country you can use:
=reverseGeocode("country"; A2; B2)
Bonus function to extract part of an address:
/**
* Return the closest, human-readable address type based on the the address passed.
*
* #param {"locality"} addressType Address type. Examples of address types include
* a street address, a country, or a political entity.
* For more info check: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/intro#Types
* #param {"Amsterdam"} address The street address that you want to geocode,
* in the format used by the national postal service
* of the country concerned. Additional address elements
* such as business names and unit, suite or floor
* numbers should be avoided.
* #customfunction
*/
function geocode(addressType, address) {
if (typeof addressType != 'string') {
throw new Error("addressType should be a string.");
}
if (typeof address != 'string') {
throw new Error("address should be a string.");
}
var response = Maps.newGeocoder().geocode(address),
key = "";
response.results.some(function (result) {
return result.address_components.some(function (address_component) {
return address_component.types.some(function (type) {
if (type === addressType) {
key = address_component.long_name;
}
});
});
});
return key;
}