Launch + AppMeasurement Clean Implementation Guide

Complete implementation reference for Adobe Analytics via Launch with AppMeasurement.

1. Extension Configuration

Adobe Analytics Extension

Full extension reference →

Link Tracking Settings

2. Activity Map

Activity Map is built into AppMeasurement. When enabled, it automatically fires an s.tl() server call on every click — it's not just a visual heatmap overlay. Every click sends real data to your report suite.

What Activity Map sends on every click

Each click fires s.tl() with these context data variables:

c.a.activitymap.page       = "Home Page"      // s.pageName value
c.a.activitymap.link       = "Sign Up Now"    // link text / aria-label
c.a.activitymap.region     = "hero-section"   // parent container ID
c.a.activitymap.pageIDType = "1"              // page ID type

You can see these in the Adobe Debugger network tab on every click.

Extension settings that must be ON

Code settings (no checkbox in the UI)

s.trackInlineStats is NOT a checkbox in the Launch extension UI. It's a code-level setting. Two ways to set it depending on your access level:

Option A: Extension Custom Code (requires extension configuration access)

AA Extension > Configure Tracker Using Custom Code:

s.trackInlineStats = true;
s.linkInternalFilters = location.hostname; // distinguishes internal vs exit links

Option B: Rule-based config (when extension configuration access is unavailable)

When the AA extension settings cannot be edited directly, create a dedicated config rule instead:

s.trackInlineStats = true;
s.linkInternalFilters = location.hostname;

What Activity Map tracks vs doesn't

Why clicks might not appear

1. s.trackInlineStats is false — the main toggle. Must be true.
2. Link tracking globally disabled — check "Enable Link Tracking" in extension settings.
3. The element isn't an <a> tag — Activity Map only auto-fires on elements AppMeasurement identifies as links. Use Rule 4 for everything else.
4. s.pageName isn't set — Activity Map needs a page name to associate the click. If your page view rule isn't firing first, Activity Map has no context.
5. The link text is empty — icon-only links with no text content, no aria-label, and no title won't produce a useful Activity Map entry.

Activity Map in Adobe Analytics reporting

Once enabled, these dimensions are available in Analysis Workspace:

You can also use the Activity Map browser overlay (separate browser extension from Adobe) to see a visual heatmap of clicks directly on the live page.

Activity Map + custom s.tl() rule = full coverage

3. Data Elements

Every data element has ONE job. No data layer needed — everything comes from the URL, DOM, or cookies that already exist on the page.

Name format: lowercase.dot.notation

Data elements in Tags reference → | Core extension data element types →

Page-Level

User-Level

Campaign

Search

Environment

4. Page Type Detection

Custom Code data element: page.type

Infers page type from URL patterns and DOM elements. No data layer needed.

var path = location.pathname.toLowerCase();

if (path === '/' || path === '/index') return 'home';
if (path.includes('/product')) return 'product';
if (path.includes('/cart') || path.includes('/basket')) return 'cart';
if (path.includes('/checkout')) return 'checkout';
if (path.includes('/confirm') || path.includes('/thank')) return 'confirmation';
if (path.includes('/search')) return 'search';
if (path.includes('/login') || path.includes('/signin')) return 'login';
if (path.includes('/account') || path.includes('/profile')) return 'account';
if (path.includes('/blog') || path.includes('/article') || path.includes('/news')) return 'content';
if (path.includes('/faq') || path.includes('/help') || path.includes('/support')) return 'support';
if (path.includes('/contact')) return 'contact';
if (path.includes('/category') || path.includes('/collection')) return 'category';
if (document.querySelector('.error-page, .page-404, [data-error]')) return 'error';

return 'general';

5. User State Detection

Custom Code data element: user.authState

Looks for common DOM patterns indicating logged-in state.

if (document.querySelector(
  '.logged-in, .authenticated, [data-logged-in], ' +
  '.user-menu, .account-nav, .my-account'
)) return 'authenticated';

var meta = document.querySelector('meta[name="user-status"]');
if (meta) return meta.content;

if (document.cookie.includes('loggedIn=') ||
    document.cookie.includes('session=') ||
    document.cookie.includes('auth='))
  return 'authenticated';

return 'anonymous';

6. Search Term Detection

Custom Code data element: search.term

var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);

return params.get('q')
  || params.get('query')
  || params.get('search')
  || params.get('s')
  || params.get('keyword')
  || (document.querySelector(
      'input[type="search"], input[name="q"], .search-input'
    ) || {}).value
  || '';

7. Common Data Elements — Best Practices

Reference patterns for frequently tracked values. Each example shows the recommended approach with fallback chains, proper return statements, and inline documentation.

Query Parameters

Full query string capture

// Data element: page.queryParams
// Captures everything after ? as key:value pairs
// Change '|' to ',' or ';' to match reporting preferences
var qs = location.search.substring(1);
if (!qs) return '';
return decodeURIComponent(qs).replace(/&/g, '|').replace(/=/g, ':');

?q=shoes&category=mens&sort=price → q:shoes|category:mens|sort:price

Use this for full visibility into what's on the URL. Campaign-specific extraction (below) filters for known campaign params only.

Search

Search results count

// Data element: search.resultsCount
var el = document.querySelector(
  '[data-results-count], [data-total-results], ' +
  '.results-count, .search-results-count, .hits-count'
);
if (el) {
  return el.getAttribute('data-results-count')
    || el.getAttribute('data-total-results')
    || el.textContent.replace(/[^0-9]/g, '')
    || '0';
}
return '';

Site Sections (hierarchical)

The site section is the first logical content grouping — it answers "what part of the site is this?" It typically maps to s.channel.

The typical hierarchy in reporting:

s.channel  = "products"                    // site section (level 1)
s.prop1    = "shoes"                        // sub-section (level 2)
s.prop2    = "running"                      // sub-sub-section (level 3)
s.hier1    = "products|shoes|running"       // full hierarchy, pipe-delimited

Locale from URL (standalone utility)

// Data element: site.locale
var LOCALES = [
  'en', 'en-us', 'en-gb', 'en-au', 'en-ca',
  'fr', 'fr-ca', 'fr-fr',
  'de', 'de-de', 'de-at',
  'es', 'es-mx', 'es-es',
  'pt', 'pt-br',
  'ja', 'ko', 'zh', 'zh-cn', 'zh-tw',
  'it', 'nl', 'ru', 'sv', 'nb', 'da', 'fi'
];

var first = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || '';
return LOCALES.indexOf(first.toLowerCase()) !== -1 ? first.toLowerCase() : '';

Language code

// Data element: site.language
var LOCALES = [
  'en', 'en-us', 'en-gb', 'en-au', 'en-ca',
  'fr', 'fr-ca', 'fr-fr',
  'de', 'de-de', 'de-at',
  'es', 'es-mx', 'es-es',
  'pt', 'pt-br',
  'ja', 'ko', 'zh', 'zh-cn', 'zh-tw',
  'it', 'nl', 'ru', 'sv', 'nb', 'da', 'fi'
];

var first = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || '';
if (LOCALES.indexOf(first.toLowerCase()) !== -1) {
  return first.toLowerCase().substring(0, 2);
}

var htmlLang = document.documentElement.getAttribute('lang');
if (htmlLang) return htmlLang.substring(0, 2).toLowerCase();

return '';

Primary section (level 1)

// Data element: site.section
var LOCALES = ['en','en-us','en-gb','en-au','en-ca','fr','fr-ca','fr-fr','de','de-de','de-at','es','es-mx','es-es','pt','pt-br','ja','ko','zh','zh-cn','zh-tw','it','nl','ru','sv','nb','da','fi'];
var segments = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
var hasLocale = segments.length > 0 && LOCALES.indexOf(segments[0].toLowerCase()) !== -1;
return (hasLocale ? segments[1] : segments[0]) || 'home';

Sub-section (level 2)

// Data element: site.subSection
var LOCALES = ['en','en-us','en-gb','en-au','en-ca','fr','fr-ca','fr-fr','de','de-de','de-at','es','es-mx','es-es','pt','pt-br','ja','ko','zh','zh-cn','zh-tw','it','nl','ru','sv','nb','da','fi'];
var segments = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
var hasLocale = segments.length > 0 && LOCALES.indexOf(segments[0].toLowerCase()) !== -1;
return (hasLocale ? segments[2] : segments[1]) || '';

Full breadcrumb path

// Data element: site.hierarchy
var LOCALES = ['en','en-us','en-gb','en-au','en-ca','fr','fr-ca','fr-fr','de','de-de','de-at','es','es-mx','es-es','pt','pt-br','ja','ko','zh','zh-cn','zh-tw','it','nl','ru','sv','nb','da','fi'];
var segments = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
var hasLocale = segments.length > 0 && LOCALES.indexOf(segments[0].toLowerCase()) !== -1;
if (hasLocale) segments = segments.slice(1);
return segments.join('|') || 'home';

Section from DOM (breadcrumb or nav)

// Data element: site.sectionFromDOM
var breadcrumb = document.querySelector(
  'nav[aria-label="breadcrumb"] a, .breadcrumb a, ' +
  '.breadcrumbs a, [data-breadcrumb] a'
);
if (breadcrumb) return breadcrumb.textContent.trim();

var activeNav = document.querySelector(
  'nav .active, nav [aria-current="page"], ' +
  '.nav-item.active, .navigation .current'
);
if (activeNav) return activeNav.textContent.trim();

return location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || 'home';

Customer Status

Customer type / tier

// Data element: customer.type
var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var user = dl.user || dl.customer || {};

if (user.type) return user.type;
if (user.segment) return user.segment;
if (user.tier) return user.tier;
if (user.customerType) return user.customerType;

var body = document.body;
if (body.classList.contains('vip') || body.classList.contains('premium')) return 'premium';
if (body.classList.contains('member')) return 'member';
if (body.getAttribute('data-customer-type')) return body.getAttribute('data-customer-type');

var cookies = document.cookie.split('; ');
for (var i = 0; i < cookies.length; i++) {
  if (cookies[i].startsWith('customer_type=')) return cookies[i].split('=')[1];
  if (cookies[i].startsWith('user_segment=')) return cookies[i].split('=')[1];
}

return 'unknown';

Login Status

Authentication state

// Data element: user.loginStatus
var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var user = dl.user || {};

if (user.authState) return user.authState;
if (user.loginStatus) return user.loginStatus;
if (user.isLoggedIn === true) return 'logged in';
if (user.isLoggedIn === false) return 'logged out';

if (document.querySelector(
  '.logged-in, .authenticated, [data-logged-in], ' +
  '.user-menu, .account-nav, .my-account, ' +
  '[data-auth-state="authenticated"], .user-avatar'
)) return 'logged in';

var meta = document.querySelector(
  'meta[name="user-status"], meta[name="login-status"], meta[name="auth-state"]'
);
if (meta && meta.content) return meta.content;

var c = document.cookie;
if (c.includes('loggedIn=true') || c.includes('auth=1') ||
    c.includes('is_authenticated=1')) return 'logged in';

return 'logged out';

ECID (Experience Cloud ID)

ECID, MCID, and MID all refer to the same identifier. Adobe rebranded "Marketing Cloud" to "Experience Cloud" in 2017. The ID itself never changed — only the name.

Retrieve the ECID from the Visitor API

// Data element: visitor.ecid
if (typeof Visitor !== 'undefined') {
  var visitor = Visitor.getInstance('INSERT-ORG-ID-HERE@AdobeOrg');
  if (visitor && visitor.getMarketingCloudVisitorID) {
    var ecid = visitor.getMarketingCloudVisitorID();
    if (ecid) return ecid;
  }
}

// Fallback: extract from AMCV cookie (pipe-delimited, MCMID key)
var cookies = document.cookie.split('; ');
for (var i = 0; i < cookies.length; i++) {
  if (cookies[i].startsWith('AMCV_')) {
    var val = decodeURIComponent(cookies[i].split('=').slice(1).join('='));
    var match = val.match(/MCMID\|(\d+)/);
    if (match) return match[1];
  }
}

return '';

Campaign / Traffic Source

Campaign codes arrive through different parameters depending on the channel, can be lost on redirects, and need to persist in SPAs where navigation strips the URL.

Campaign tracking code

// Data element: campaign.code
// Only captures known campaign parameters — ignores unrelated query params
// like page, sort, filter, etc. that would pollute s.campaign.
var CAMPAIGN_PARAMS = [
  'cid',           // Adobe standard
  's_cid',         // Adobe alternate
  'utm_campaign',  // Google campaign name
  'utm_source',    // Google traffic source
  'utm_medium',    // Google channel
  'utm_term',      // Google paid keyword
  'utm_content',   // Google ad variation
  'gclid',         // Google Ads click ID
  'fbclid',        // Meta/Facebook click ID
  'msclkid',       // Microsoft Ads click ID
  'ttclid',        // TikTok click ID
  'campaign',      // Generic
  'promo',         // Promotional
  'icid'           // Internal campaign
];

var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
var found = [];
CAMPAIGN_PARAMS.forEach(function(key) {
  var val = params.get(key);
  if (val) found.push(key + ':' + val);
});

if (found.length) {
  // Change '|' to match reporting preferences
  var code = found.join('|');
  try { sessionStorage.setItem('_campaign', code); } catch(e) {}
  return code;
}

// No campaign params in URL — check sessionStorage (survives redirects, clears on tab close)
try {
  var stored = sessionStorage.getItem('_campaign');
  if (stored) return stored;
} catch(e) {}

return '';

Campaign channel breakdown

// Data element: campaign.channel
var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
if (params.get('gclid'))                                   return 'paid search';
if (params.get('fbclid'))                                   return 'paid social';
if (params.get('msclkid'))                                  return 'paid search';
if (params.get('ttclid'))                                   return 'paid social';
if (params.get('utm_medium'))                               return params.get('utm_medium');
if (params.get('cid') || params.get('s_cid'))               return 'email';
if (params.get('icid'))                                    return 'internal';
return '';

Full UTM parameter capture

// Data element: campaign.utmFull
// Format: "source|medium|campaign|term|content"
var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
var parts = [
  params.get('utm_source')  || '',
  params.get('utm_medium')  || '',
  params.get('utm_campaign') || '',
  params.get('utm_term')    || '',
  params.get('utm_content') || ''
];
var hasUtm = parts.some(function(p) { return p !== ''; });
return hasUtm ? parts.join('|') : '';

Wiring campaign data elements to Adobe Analytics variables

Defining the data element captures the value. The rule must consume it. Add these to the Page View rule (Rule 1) Set Variables action:

// In Rule 1 (Page View) — Adobe Analytics > Set Variables
s.campaign = "%campaign.code%";
s.eVar6    = "%campaign.channel%";
s.eVar7    = "%campaign.utmFull%";

Or if using Custom Code in Rule 1 instead of Set Variables UI fields:

s.campaign = _satellite.getVar('campaign.code');
s.eVar6    = _satellite.getVar('campaign.channel');
s.eVar7    = _satellite.getVar('campaign.utmFull');

Traffic source / medium

// Data element: traffic.source
var params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
var ref = document.referrer;

if (params.get('utm_medium')) return params.get('utm_medium');
if (params.get('cid') || params.get('gclid') || params.get('fbclid')) return 'paid';
if (!ref) return 'direct';
if (/google\.|bing\.|yahoo\.|duckduckgo\.|baidu\./.test(ref)) return 'organic';
if (/facebook\.|twitter\.|linkedin\.|instagram\.|tiktok\.|youtube\./.test(ref)) return 'social';
if (/mail\.|outlook\.|gmail\./.test(ref)) return 'email';
if (ref.includes(location.hostname)) return 'internal';
return 'referral';

Additional useful elements

Page load time (performance)

// Data element: performance.pageLoadTime
// Use with Window Loaded event (not Library Loaded) so timing is complete
var nav = performance.getEntriesByType('navigation')[0];
if (nav) return Math.round(nav.loadEventEnd - nav.startTime).toString();
return '';

Viewport / device category

// Data element: device.category
var w = window.innerWidth;
if (w < 768) return 'mobile';
if (w < 1024) return 'tablet';
return 'desktop';

Content group (for editorial/blog sites)

// Data element: content.category
var meta = document.querySelector(
  'meta[property="article:section"], meta[name="category"], ' +
  'meta[name="content-type"], [data-content-category]'
);
if (meta) return meta.content || meta.getAttribute('data-content-category');

var schema = document.querySelector('[itemtype*="BreadcrumbList"] [itemprop="name"]');
if (schema) return schema.textContent.trim();

var segments = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
return segments[0] || '';

Writing to the Data Layer from Custom Code (Stopgap)

When the data layer doesn't exist or is incomplete, values can be written from Launch as a bridge until proper site-level implementation is in place.

Pattern: Initialize and populate at Order 1

// TEMPORARY — remove once site code populates the data layer properly.
// The if(!value) guards preserve server-rendered values when they arrive.
window.digitalData = window.digitalData || {};
window.digitalData.page = window.digitalData.page || {};
window.digitalData.user = window.digitalData.user || {};

if (!window.digitalData.page.name) {
  window.digitalData.page.name = document.title.replace(/\s*[\|–—]\s*[^|–—]+$/, '').trim();
}

if (!window.digitalData.page.section) {
  window.digitalData.page.section = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || 'home';
}

if (!window.digitalData.page.type) {
  var path = location.pathname.toLowerCase();
  if (path === '/') window.digitalData.page.type = 'home';
  else if (path.includes('/product')) window.digitalData.page.type = 'product';
  else if (path.includes('/cart')) window.digitalData.page.type = 'cart';
  else if (path.includes('/search')) window.digitalData.page.type = 'search';
  else window.digitalData.page.type = 'general';
}

if (!window.digitalData.user.loginStatus) {
  window.digitalData.user.loginStatus = document.querySelector(
    '.logged-in, .authenticated, .user-menu'
  ) ? 'logged in' : 'logged out';
}

Key principles

For SPA (route changes)

// SPA route change — re-scrape and fire beacon
window.digitalData.page.name = document.title.replace(/\s*[\|–—]\s*[^|–—]+$/, '').trim();
window.digitalData.page.section = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || 'home';
s.pageName = window.digitalData.page.name;
s.channel = window.digitalData.page.section;
s.t();

Cleanup plan

1. Verify site-populated values match what the custom code was scraping
2. Confirm data elements still resolve (same object path — should be seamless)
3. Delete the custom code writes from the Global Config rule
4. The if (!value) guards allow gradual removal — one value at a time

8. Hybrid Data Layer + DOM Fallback

The most resilient implementation uses a layered approach: read from the data layer when available, fall back to DOM scraping when it's not. This eliminates the dependency on a perfectly populated data layer while still using it when present.

The Pattern

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var page = dl.page || {};
if (page.name && page.name.trim()) return page.name.trim();
return document.title.replace(' | SiteName', '').trim();

Applied to Each Data Element

page.name (hybrid)

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var page = dl.page || {};
// Regex strips common title suffixes like " | Site Name" or " — Brand"
return (page.name && page.name.trim())
  || (page.pageName && page.pageName.trim())
  || document.title.replace(/\s*[\|–—]\s*[^|–—]+$/, '').trim();

page.section (hybrid)

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var page = dl.page || {};
return (page.section && page.section.trim())
  || (page.siteSection && page.siteSection.trim())
  || (page.category && page.category.trim())
  || location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean)[0] || 'home';

page.type (hybrid)

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var page = dl.page || {};
if (page.type && page.type.trim()) return page.type.trim();
if (page.pageType && page.pageType.trim()) return page.pageType.trim();

var path = location.pathname.toLowerCase();
if (path === '/' || path === '/index') return 'home';
if (path.includes('/product')) return 'product';
if (path.includes('/cart') || path.includes('/basket')) return 'cart';
if (path.includes('/checkout')) return 'checkout';
if (path.includes('/confirm') || path.includes('/thank')) return 'confirmation';
if (path.includes('/search')) return 'search';
if (path.includes('/login') || path.includes('/signin')) return 'login';
if (path.includes('/account') || path.includes('/profile')) return 'account';
if (path.includes('/blog') || path.includes('/article') || path.includes('/news')) return 'content';
if (path.includes('/faq') || path.includes('/help') || path.includes('/support')) return 'support';
if (path.includes('/contact')) return 'contact';
if (path.includes('/category') || path.includes('/collection')) return 'category';
if (document.querySelector('.error-page, .page-404, [data-error]')) return 'error';
return 'general';

user.authState (hybrid)

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
var user = dl.user || {};
if (user.authState) return user.authState;
if (user.loginStatus) return user.loginStatus;
if (user.authenticated !== undefined) return user.authenticated ? 'authenticated' : 'anonymous';

if (document.querySelector(
  '.logged-in, .authenticated, [data-logged-in], ' +
  '.user-menu, .account-nav, .my-account'
)) return 'authenticated';

var meta = document.querySelector('meta[name="user-status"]');
if (meta) return meta.content;

if (document.cookie.includes('loggedIn=') ||
    document.cookie.includes('session=') ||
    document.cookie.includes('auth='))
  return 'authenticated';

return 'anonymous';

page.queryParams (hybrid)

var dl = window.digitalData || {};
if (dl.search && dl.search.term) return dl.search.term;
if (dl.page && dl.page.searchTerm) return dl.page.searchTerm;

// Fallback: grab all query params as key:value pairs
var qs = location.search.substring(1);
if (!qs) return '';
return decodeURIComponent(qs).replace(/&/g, '|').replace(/=/g, ':');

When to use which approach

9. Rules

Rule 1: Page View — All Pages

s.pageName  = %page.name%
s.channel   = %page.section%
s.pageType  = %page.type%
s.server    = %page.domain%
s.prop1     = %page.type%
s.prop2     = %page.heading%
s.campaign  = %campaign.trackingCode%
s.eVar1     = %user.authState%

Rule 2: Error Page (Set Variables Only)

// Do NOT add Send Beacon here — Rule 1 fires s.t()
s.pageType = "errorPage"
s.events   = "event20"

Rule 3: Internal Search (Set Variables Only)

// Do NOT add Send Beacon here — Rule 1 fires s.t()
s.eVar5  = %search.term%
s.prop5  = %search.term%
s.events = "event5"

10. Click Tracking

One rule covers every clickable element. Reads whatever data exists on the element automatically.

Rule 4: Universal Click Tracker

// 'this' may be a child element (span/svg inside a button), so walk up
var el = this;
while (el && !el.matches('a, button, [role="button"], input[type="submit"]')) {
  el = el.parentElement;
}
if (!el) el = this;

var label = el.getAttribute('aria-label')
  || el.getAttribute('title')
  || el.getAttribute('data-track-label')
  || el.getAttribute('data-analytics')
  || el.getAttribute('data-name')
  || el.textContent.trim().substring(0, 100)
  || el.getAttribute('alt')
  || el.value
  || 'unlabeled';

var region = '';
var parent = el.closest(
  '[id], [role="navigation"], [role="banner"], [role="main"], ' +
  '[role="contentinfo"], nav, header, footer, aside, main, [data-region]'
);
if (parent) {
  region = parent.getAttribute('data-region')
    || parent.getAttribute('id')
    || parent.getAttribute('role')
    || parent.tagName.toLowerCase();
}

var href = el.getAttribute('href') || '';

s.eVar10 = label;
s.prop10 = label;
s.eVar11 = region || 'unknown';
s.prop11 = region || 'unknown';
s.eVar12 = href;

// linkTrackVars: unlisted variables are silently excluded from the beacon
s.linkTrackVars = 'eVar10,prop10,eVar11,prop11,eVar12,events';
s.linkTrackEvents = 'event10';
s.events = 'event10';

// 'this' as first arg = wait up to 500ms for beacon before navigation
s.tl(this, 'o', label);

11. Form Tracking

Rule 5: Form Submit

// 'this' is the submitted form element
var formName = this.getAttribute('name')
  || this.getAttribute('id')
  || this.getAttribute('action')
  || (this.querySelector('[type="submit"]') || {}).textContent?.trim()
  || 'unknown form';

s.eVar13 = formName;
s.prop13 = formName;
s.linkTrackVars = 'eVar13,prop13,events';
s.linkTrackEvents = 'event11';
s.events = 'event11';
s.tl(this, 'o', formName);

12. Data Attribute Pattern

If developers eventually add data attributes to the HTML, you can target specific elements without changing Launch:

<!-- Any clickable element -->
<a href="/products" data-track-click data-track-label="Nav: Products">Products</a>
<button data-track-click data-track-label="Hero: Learn More">Learn More</button>

<!-- Any form -->
<form data-track-form="Contact Form" action="/submit">...</form>

The smart click rule (Rule 4) already checks for data-track-label and data-analytics attributes in its priority chain. So when devs add them, the tracking automatically gets more specific — no Launch changes needed.

13. CSS Selector Strategy

When targeting a specific element beyond the universal click tracker, use this priority for selectors:

14. Cleanup Checklist

1. Delete every data element that references %garbage% or doesn't exist
2. Delete every rule that references deleted data elements
3. Configure the AA extension settings (Activity Map ON, link tracking ON)
4. Create the clean data elements from the table above
5. Create the rules (5 core rules + 1 global config rule if using Option B)
6. Build to staging
7. Validate with Adobe Debugger (see below)
8. Build to production

15. Console Testing

Launch data elements can be tested directly in the browser console without publishing changes. These methods return the resolved value of any %data_element% in real time.

Method 1: _satellite.getVar()

_satellite.getVar('page.name');
_satellite.getVar('page.type');
_satellite.getVar('user.authState');
_satellite.getVar('campaign.trackingCode');
_satellite.getVar('search.term');

Method 2: Check known data elements (production-safe)

[
  'page.name',
  'page.section',
  'page.type',
  'page.heading',
  'user.loginStatus',
  'customer.type',
  'search.term',
  'campaign.code',
  'campaign.channel',
  'campaign.utmFull',
  'visitor.ecid',
  'traffic.source',
  'env.name'
].forEach(function(name) {
  var val = _satellite.getVar(name);
  console.log(name + ': ' + (val || '(empty)'));
});

Method 3: Dump ALL data elements (debug-only)

// _satellite._container is INTERNAL/UNDOCUMENTED — debug only, not for production
var names = Object.keys(_satellite._container.dataElements || {});
console.log('Data elements found: ' + names.length);
names.sort().forEach(function(name) {
  var val = _satellite.getVar(name);
  console.log(name + ': ' + (val || '(empty)'));
});

Method 4: Test specific custom code logic

(function() {
  var dl = window.digitalData || {};
  var page = dl.page || {};
  var result = (page.name && page.name.trim())
    || document.title.replace(/\s*[\|–—]\s*[^|–—]+$/, '').trim();
  console.log('page.name would resolve to:', result);
  console.log('Source:', (page.name && page.name.trim()) ? 'data layer' : 'DOM fallback');
})();

Method 5: Check the data layer object directly

console.log('digitalData:', window.digitalData);
console.log('dataLayer:', window.dataLayer);
console.log('utag_data:', window.utag_data);
console.table(window.digitalData && window.digitalData.page);

Method 6: Validate the s object after a page view fires

console.log('pageName:', s.pageName);
console.log('channel:', s.channel);
console.log('campaign:', s.campaign);
console.log('eVar1:', s.eVar1);
console.log('events:', s.events);

for (var i = 1; i <= 75; i++) {
  if (s['prop' + i]) console.log('prop' + i + ': ' + s['prop' + i]);
}
for (var i = 1; i <= 250; i++) {
  if (s['eVar' + i]) console.log('eVar' + i + ': ' + s['eVar' + i]);
}

Method 7: Enable Launch debug logging

_satellite.setDebug(true);
_satellite.setDebug(false);

Method 8: Build and environment info

console.log('Build:', _satellite.buildInfo);
console.log('Property:', _satellite.property);
console.log('Environment:', _satellite.environment);

_satellite.buildInfo returns:

{
  buildDate: "2026-04-15T20:30:00Z",
  environment: "production",
  turbineVersion: "27.5.0",
  turbineBuildDate: "2026-03-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Useful for confirming which build is live, when it was published, and whether the page is running the staging or production library.

Method 9: Test a click tracking rule manually

var el = document.querySelector('#sign-up-btn');
var label = el.getAttribute('aria-label')
  || el.getAttribute('title')
  || el.getAttribute('data-track-label')
  || el.getAttribute('data-analytics')
  || el.getAttribute('data-name')
  || el.textContent.trim().substring(0, 100)
  || el.getAttribute('alt')
  || el.value
  || 'unlabeled';

var parent = el.closest(
  '[id], [role="navigation"], [role="banner"], [role="main"], ' +
  '[role="contentinfo"], nav, header, footer, aside, main'
);
var region = parent
  ? (parent.getAttribute('id') || parent.getAttribute('role') || parent.tagName.toLowerCase())
  : 'unknown';

console.log('Label (eVar10):', label);
console.log('Region (eVar11):', region);
console.log('Href (eVar12):', el.getAttribute('href') || 'none');

16. Validation

Using the AA Debugger or Adobe Experience Platform Debugger extension:

17. Coverage Matrix

18. API Reference

Variable Mapping Summary

Beacon Types

Complete variable reference →