Passing extra data to IBM Digital Analytics with the extraparms parameter
extraparms
parameter in the HCL Commerce analytics tag when you place the tag in your store page. You can also use
the extraparms
parameter to override the category ID that the HCL Commerce analytics tag generates. Many of the HCL Commerce analytics tags support the
extraparms
parameter. orderExtraparms
and
extraparmsMap
parameters that are supported by some HCL Commerce
analytics tags. For more information about passing values with the
orderExtraparms parameter, see the section 3. Format for setting extraparms values for other HCL Commerce analytics tags. How the extraparms
parameter passes data to IBM Digital Analytics
At run time, the HCL Commerce analytics tags generate IBM Digital Analytics
data tags. If you include the extraparms
parameter in the HCL Commerce
analytics tag, its values are passed as a string to one or more of the following IBM Digital Analytics data tag parameters, depending on how you specify the values:
Parameter in the generated IBM Digital Analytics data tag | Description |
---|---|
catIDoverride |
Use this parameter to explicitly override the category ID generated by the
following HCL Commerce analytics tags: <cm:cart /> ,
<cm:order /> , and <cm:product /> tag. |
attributes |
This parameter provides Explore attributes to IBM Digital Analytics Explore, an ad hoc reporting solution that you can use to build custom reports. |
extraFields |
This parameter provides more data for custom reports in IBM Digital Analytics. |
cm_vc |
This parameter is the "virtual category" parameter, used only for the
<cm:product /> tag. Use this parameter to categorize product views that
originate from special links, such as cross-sell recommendations, rather than from the normal
category navigation. |
extraparms
values differs depending on
the HCL Commerce analytics tag. Format rules are provided in the following three sections:- 1. Format for setting extraparms values for the <cm:cart /> and <cm:order /> tags
- 2. Format for setting extraparms values for the <cm:product /> tag
- 3. Format for setting extraparms values for other HCL Commerce analytics tags
extraparms
values. You must specify the values using properly
escaped JavaScript: - Simplified syntax example
extraparms="value1-_-value2,value3-_-value4"
- Properly escaped JavaScript example
extraparms="\"value1-_-value2\",\"value3-_-value4\""
If any of your extraparms
values are JavaScript variables, see the
syntax rules explained in Syntax for passing JavaScript variables as extra parameters.
1. Format for setting extraparms
values for
the <cm:cart />
and <cm:order />
tags
When you set
the extraparms
values for either of these tags, you must follow a specific format
to control which values are passed to the catIDoverride
parameter, the
attributes
parameter, and the extraFields
parameter. The following
example illustrates the correct format:
- Specify values for the three IBM Digital Analytics parameters in the order that is
shown in the previous example. Specify the
catIDoverride
value in the first position, followed by a comma, then one or moreattributes
values in the second position, followed by a comma, and then one or moreextraFields
values in the third position. - Use the
null
value to indicate when no values are being passed forcatIDoverride
orattributes
. - To pass multiple values for a parameter, separate each value with the following delimiter: -_-
The following examples show how to apply these format rules when you use the
extraparms
parameter. The examples use the <cm:cart tag />
, but
they apply to the <cm:order />
tag as well.
- Example 1:
To pass a value to the
catIDoverride
parameter:<cm:cart orderId="${order_OrderId}" extraparms="categoryID" />
Because no values are being passed to either the
attributes
or theextraFields
parameter, no commas or null values are required. - Example 2:
To pass a single value to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:cart orderId="${order_OrderId}" extraparms="null,attr1"/>
The
null
value to the left of the comma is required to indicate that no values are being passed to thecatIDoverride
parameter. - Example 3:
To pass two values to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:cart orderId="${order_OrderId}" extraparms="null,attr1-_-attr2"/>
- Example 4:
To pass a single value to the
extraFields
parameter:<cm:cart OrderId="${order_OrderId}" extraparms="null,null,exField1"/>
2. Format for setting extraparms
values for the
<cm:product />
tag
When you set the extraparms
values
for the <cm:product />
tag, you must follow a specific format to control which
values are passed to the catIDoverride
parameter, the attributes
parameter, and the cm_vc
parameter. The following example illustrates the correct
format:
- Specify values for the three IBM Digital Analytics parameters in the order that is
shown in the previous example. Specify the
catIDoverride
in the first position, followed by a comma, then one or moreattributes
values in the second position, followed by a comma, and then a virtual category name as thecm_vc
value in the third position. - Use the
null
value to indicate when no values are being passed forcatIDoverride
orattributes
. - To pass multiple values for a parameter, separate each value with the following delimiter: -_-
The following examples show how to apply these format rules when you use the
extraparms
parameter with the <cm:product />
tag:
- Example 1:
To pass a value to the
catIDoverride
parameter:<cm:product catentryId="${product_catentryId}" extraparms="categoryID"/>
Because no values are being passed to either the
attributes
or thecm_vc
parameter, no commas or null values are required. - Example 2:
To pass a single value to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:product catentryId="${product_catentryId}" extraparms="null,attr1"/>
The
null
value to the left of the comma is required to indicate that no values are being passed to thecatIDoverride
parameter. - Example 3:
To pass two values to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:product catentryId="${product_catentryId}" extraparms="null,attr1-_-attr2"/>
- Example 4:
To pass a single value to the
cm_vc
parameter:<cm:product catentryId="${product_catentryId}" extraparms="null, null, virtualCategory"/>
3. Format for setting extraparms
values for other
HCL Commerce analytics tags
The following format rules and examples apply to the <pageview />
tag, and to
any other HCL Commerce analytics tags that pass values to the IBM Digital Analytics
attributes
and extraFields
parameters. When you set the
extraparms
values for these tags, you must follow a specific format to control
which values are passed to the attributes
parameter, the
extraFields
parameter, or both. The following example illustrates the correct
format:
- Specify values for the two parameters in the order that is shown in the previous example.
Specify one or more
attributes
values in the first position, followed by a comma, and then one or moreextraFields
values in the second position. - Use the
null
value to indicate when no values are being passed for theattributes
parameter. - To pass multiple values for a parameter, separate each value with the following delimiter: -_-
The following examples show how to apply these format rules. The examples use the
<cm:pageview />
tag, but they also apply to other tags that pass values to
attributes
and extraFields
.
- Example 1:
To pass a single value to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:pageview extraparms="attr1"/>
Because no values are being passed to the
extraFields
parameter, the comma is not required. - Example 2:
To pass a single value to the
extraFields
parameter:<cm:pageview extraparms="null,exField1"/>
The
null
value to the left of the comma is required to indicate that no values are being passed to theattributes
parameter. - Example 3:
To pass multiple values to the
attributes
parameter:<cm:pageview extraparms="attr1-_-attr2"/>
- Example 4:
To pass multiple values to the
extraFields
parameter:<cm:pageview extraparms="null,exField1-_-exField2"/>
The
null
value to the left of the comma is required to indicate that no values are being passed to theattributes
parameter. - Example 5:
To pass multiple values to both the
attributes
parameter and theextraFields
parameter:<cm:pageview extraparms="attr1-_-attr2,exField1-_-exField2"/>