Customizing a Full SAS Page Tag
Overview
All data elements to be tracked are stored
in the browser’s memory before they are sent to the clickstream
collection server. These data elements contain a key name, a value,
and an enabled status. Only enabled keys have their values sent to
the clickstream collection server. Tracking can be customized for
each of the types of data that the page tag code is able to collect.
This topic documents the procedure for the following elements:
Debug Mode
When you set up the initial tagging
code, you can see the data that is sent to the clickstream collection
server for a given page. This debug mode automatically scrolls to
the top of the page. You can enable debug mode by simply inserting
the line that includes SASTagDebug.js into the page tag code. For
more information about this line, see Inserting a Full SAS Page Tag.
When
accessed, pages containing this line invoke a pop-up window that displays
the configuration settings for the tag, data elements as they are
being captured, and the exact data request sent to the clickstream
collection server. The debug mode window continues to update as actions
such as link clicks and form-submit-button clicks are performed on
the page. Note that there can be only one debug mode window open for
a given browser.
Page Load Tracking
A page load event occurs anytime
a page is loaded, refreshed, or returned to through the browser’s
navigational buttons (forward or back). The occurrence of any of these
actions always results in data collection. The data that is collected
can be configured.
Page load
events are tracked using the load instance identifier (LID), which
must first be generated and collected by the JavaScript page tag code.
The LID element is added to the set of data elements that is sent
to the clickstream collection server as a column in Clickstream Page
Tag Data Elements User Columns table: It is set to a random number
between 1 and 100,000 and collected on load, click, and submit events,
as follows:
The LID
element is added to the set of data elements that is sent to the clickstream
collection server as a column in Clickstream Page Tag Data Elements
User Columns table: You can find this table in the Folders pane using the following path: Products
SAS Data Surveyor for Clickstream Data2.2Template Column MetadataClickstream Page Tag Data Elements User Columns.
SAS Data Surveyor for Clickstream Data2.2Template Column MetadataClickstream Page Tag Data Elements User Columns.
Predefined Data Elements
Most of the predefined data elements have a value populated
and are enabled for collection by default. Generally, predefined data
element values should not be changed, unless an exception is documented.
See SAS Page Tag Predefined Data Elements Reference.
User-Defined Data Elements
In cases where the predefined
data elements do not provide enough information, user-defined data
elements can be tracked. Code that tracks these data elements is added
to either the st_siteDats() method in SASSiteConfig.js, or the st_pageDats()
method in the full page tag code. Add the code to the former to track
across multiple pages in your site or to the latter to track a data
value for a specific page. For example, a content group value might
be desired when several pages need to be classified as part of the
same group of content. This value, if accessible from JavaScript,
can easily be added to the set of data elements to track, as shown
in the following code:
function st_siteDats()
{
// Track a data value for all pages in this
// site as "MarketingPages" since we
// are dealing with our Marketing site.
st_rq.dats.add("CONTENT_GROUP","MarketingPages",true,0x4
/*capture on page load only*/);
}
This example
collects a new data value for all pages that include SASSiteConfig.js.
Using an externally included configuration file such as SASSiteConfig.js
enables you to avoid editing the tagging code on each page to make
global changes across multiple pages. If, however, you would like
to collect a data element for a specific page, such as the total on
a shopping cart page, you can use the following page code:
function st_pageDats()
{
// Track the shopping cart total for this page only
st_rq.dats.add("CART_TOTAL",nTotal,true,0x1); /*capture on form submit only*/);
}
More information
about the add() call can be found in the SAS Data Surveyor
for Clickstream Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22. Look up “add”
in the “Method Detail” section in the documentation
for the ST_Dats class.
Meta Tag Tracking
By default,
all meta tags on the page being accessed are tracked. Meta tag values
are tracked by assigning an M_ prefix to the name of the meta tag.
For example, a meta tag value of CATEGORY with a value of BOOK is
tracked as the name/value pair M_CATEGORY=BOOK.
Meta tag
tracking is configured by using the st_cfg.cap[‘M’]
array element. For example, you can turn off meta tag tracking with
the following code in either the st_siteCfg() or st_pageCfg() methods:
st_cfg.cap['M']="0";. You can also capture only the
meta tag named Author with the following code: st_cfg.cap['M']="0:Author";. For details about configuring meta tracking, see the documentation
for the st_cfg.cap array element in the SAS Data Surveyor
for Clickstream Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22.
Cookie Tracking
By default, all cookies for the page
being accessed are tracked. Cookie values are tracked by assigning
a C_ prefix to the name of the cookie. For example, a cookie named
CART_ID with a value of 32567 is tracked as the name/value pair C_CART_ID=32567.
Cookie
tracking is configured by using the st_cfg.cap[‘C’]
array element. For example, you can turn off cookie capture with the
following code in either st_siteCfg() or st_pageCfg():
st_cfg.cap['C']="0";. You can capture only chocolate,
macadamia, and fudge cookies with the following code: st_cfg.cap['C']="0:chocolate,macadamia,fudge";. For
details about configuring cookies tracking, see the documentation
for the st_cfg.cap array element in the SAS Data Surveyor
for Clickstream Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22.
Link Tracking
A link on a page is tracked if the
SAS page tag configuration results in the collection of data when
the link is clicked. Links are tracked based on the file type of the
target of the link. By default, links to all file types are instrumented
with the exception of the following: htm, html, asp, aspx, cfm, do,
and php. These link types are exceptions because these pages can be
tagged. Therefore, their content can be directly tracked.
Link instrumentation
is configured by using the st_cfg.cap[‘L’] array element.
The default setting of
st_cfg.cap['L']=""; tracks every link on a page. However, you can change the link configuration
in either st_siteCfg() or st_pageCfg()). For example, you can enter st_cfg.cap['L']="0"; to prevent the tracking of any
links.
If you
enable link tracking with
st_cfg.cap['L']="";, you can also track specific types of links by configuring the st_trk
element. See Configuring Link Tracking in Tagged Pages for detailed information. For
details about configuring link tracking, see the documentation for
the cap array element in the SAS Data Surveyor for Clickstream
Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22.
You can
also add code to enable and disable the stop-and-re-click behavior
that stops the user's initial click, collects data, and then re-clicks.
Use the
st_trk() method to determine whether
an item is tracked and instrumented for data collection, as follows:
function st_trk(o)
{
switch(o.nodeName.toLowerCase())
{
case 'a': // Link elements
return true;
break;
default:
return true;
}
}
If you
do enable tracking with
st_trk(), you can
use the st_sar() method to control how data
is collected. This method enables you to use your own programming
logic to control the stop-and-re-click behavior on and off, as follows:
function st_sar(o) {
switch(o.nodeName.toLowerCase())
{
case 'a': // Link elements
if ( o.href.indexOf('action=watch')>0 // MediaWiki watch/unwatch
button handling
|| o.href.indexOf('action=unwatch')>0)
return false;
else
return true;
break;
default:
return true;
}
For details
about configuring stop and re-click behavior, see the documentation
for st_trk() and st_sar() in the “SASSiteConfig.js”
section in the SAS Data Surveyor for Clickstream Data 2.2
Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22.
Form Tracking
A form on a page is tracked if the
SAS page tag configuration results in the collection of data when
the user clicks a submit button on the form. Form element values are
tracked by assigning an F prefix to the name of the form element.
For example, a form element named FIRST_NAME with a value of John
would be tracked as the name/value pair F_FIRST_NAME=John.
Form instrumentation
is configured by using the st_cfg.cap[‘F’] array element.
For example, you can turn off tracking for every form on a page by
changing the form configuration in either st_siteCfg() or st_pageCfg()
as follows:
st_cfg.cap['F']="0"; In addition,
you can enter the following code: st_cfg.cap['F']="1:1:formA,ccard,expdate:0:formB,fname,lname". This code tracks all of the forms on the page, but it (1) skips
the elements named ccard and expdate in a form named formA and (2)
captures only the elements named fname and lname in a form named formB.
For details about configuring form tracking, see the documentation
for the cap array element in the SAS Data Surveyor for
Clickstream Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/clk22.
Note: Form content
(other than password fields) is not captured by default. If forms
on your site do collect sensitive information, then this data is collected
from the form. Then it is transmitted using the protocol of the collection
server (http or https) and stored in the collection server's log file.
Make sure that form tracking is configured with this in mind and store
only what is appropriate. This sensitive information includes, but
is not limited to, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and
personally identifiable information. Also, access to the clickstream
collection server's Web log file should be restricted to authorized
users only.
For more
information about the security aspects of form data capture, see Evaluating Security Issues for Form Capture.
The tracking
of form data requires the page that contains the forms to be tagged.
Data collection is performed on the following form elements:
Rich Internet Application Tracking
A rich Internet application is an embedded object within
a Web page that typically has its own self-contained functionality
that is separate from the main HTML in the page. An example of this
is an embedded Flash object.
When these
criteria are met, user actions within the rich Internet application
can be tracked with the following JavaScript calls:
st_rq.dats.add("Name1","Value1",true,0x2 /* capture for click events only */);
st_rq.dats.add("Name2","Value2",true,0x2 /* capture for click events only */);
st_rq.dats.add("Name3","Value3",true,0x2 /* capture for click events only */);
st_rq.send(st_rq.RQST_CLK,”click”);
These
calls are documented in detail in the SAS Data Surveyor
for Clickstream Data 2.2 Page Tagging JavaScript Reference at http://support.sas.com/rnd/gendoc/clickstream/22M1/en/. In particular, the call for add() is covered in the
section for the ST_Val() class and the eFlags field name.
For example,
you can track user clicks from ActionScript within a Flash object
by creating a trackEvent function in the coding language of the rich
Internet application. The following code was created in Flash: