@microsoft/applicationinsights-clickanalytics-js

Microsoft Application Insights JavaScript SDK - Click Analytics Plugin

Click Analytics Plugin for the Application Insights Javascript SDK, enables automatic tracking of the click events on web pages based on data-* meta tags. This plugin uses the data-* global attributes to capture the click events and populate telemetry data.

How to effectively use the plugin

1. Telemetry data generated from the click events are stored as customEvents in the Application Insights section of the Azure portal.

2. The name of the customEvent is populated based on the following rules:

   1. The id provided in the data-*-id will be used as the customEvent name. For example, if the clicked HTML element has the attribute "data-sample-id"="button1", then "button1" will be the customEvent name.

   2. If no such attribute exists and if the useDefaultContentNameOrId is set to true in the configuration, then the clicked element's HTML attribute id or content name of the element will be used as the customEvent name. If both id and content name are present, precedence is given to id.

   3. If useDefaultContentNameOrId is false, then the customEvent name will be "not_specified".

   [!TIP] Our recommendations is to set useDefaultContentNameOrId to true for generating meaningful data.

3. parentDataTag does two things:

   1. If this tag is present, the plugin will fetch the data-* attributes and values from all the parent HTML elements of the clicked element.

   2. To improve efficiency, the plugin uses this tag as a flag, when encountered it will stop itself from further processing the DOM (Document Object Model) upwards.

   [!CAUTION] Once parentDataTag is used, the SDK will begin looking for parent tags across your entire application and not just the HTML element where you used it.

4. customDataPrefix provided by the user should always start with data-, for example data-sample-. In HTML the data-* global attributes form a class of attributes called custom data attributes, that allow proprietary information to be exchanged between the HTML and its DOM representation by scripts. Older browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari) will drop attributes that it doesn't understand, unless they start with data-.

   The * in data-* may be replaced by any name following the production rule of XML names with the following restrictions:

   • The name must not start with "xml", whatever case is used for these letters.
   • The name must not contain any semicolon (U+003A).
   • The name must not contain capital letters.

What data does the plugin collect

The following are some of the key properties captured by default when the plugin is enabled:

Custom Event Properties

Name	Description	Sample
name	The name of the customEvent. More info on how this is populated is shown here.	About
itemType	Type of event.	customEvent
sdkVersion	version of Application Insights SDK along with click plugin	javascript:2.6.2_ClickPlugin2.6.2

Custom Dimensions

Name	Description	Sample
actionType	Action type that caused the click event. Can be left-click or right-click.	CL
baseTypeSource	Base Type source of the custom event.	ClickEvent
clickCoordinates	Coordinates where the click event is triggered.	659X47
content	Placeholder to store additional data-* attributes and values.	[{sample1:value1, sample2:value2}]
pageName	Title of the page where the click event is triggered.	Sample Title
parentId	Id or name of the parent element	navbarContainer

Custom Measurements

Name	Description	Sample
timeToAction	Time taken in millisecs for the user to click the element since initial page load	87407

Getting Started

NPM Setup (ignore if using Snippet Setup)

Install npm package:

npm install --save @microsoft/applicationinsights-clickanalytics-js @microsoft/applicationinsights-web

import { ApplicationInsights } from '@microsoft/applicationinsights-web';
import { ClickAnalyticsPlugin } from '@microsoft/applicationinsights-clickanalytics-js';

const clickPluginInstance = new ClickAnalyticsPlugin();
// Click Analytics configuration
const clickPluginConfig = {
  autoCapture: true
};
// Application Insights Configuration
const configObj = {
  connectionString: 'YOUR_CONNECTION_STRING',
  extensions: [clickPluginInstance],
  extensionConfig: {
    [clickPluginInstance.identifier]: clickPluginConfig
  },
};

const appInsights = new ApplicationInsights({ config: configObj });
appInsights.loadAppInsights();

Snippet Setup (ignore if using NPM setup)

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.monitor.azure.com/scripts/b/ext/ai.clck.2.6.2.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
  var clickPluginInstance = new Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.ClickAnalyticsPlugin();
  // Click Analytics configuration
  var clickPluginConfig = {
    autoCapture : true,
    dataTags: {
      useDefaultContentNameOrId: true
    }
  }
  // Application Insights Configuration
  var configObj = {
    connectionString: 'YOUR CONNECTION STRING",
    extensions: [
      clickPluginInstance
    ],
    extensionConfig: {
      [clickPluginInstance.identifier] : clickPluginConfig
    },
  };
  // Application Insights Snippet code
  !function(T,l,y){<!-- Removed the Snippet code for brevity -->}(window,document,{
    src: "https://js.monitor.azure.com/scripts/b/ai.3.gbl.min.js",
    crossOrigin: "anonymous",
    cfg: configObj
  });
</script>

Configuration

Name	Type	Default	Description
autoCapture	boolean	true	Automatic capture configuration.
callback	IValueCallback	null	Callbacks configuration.
pageTags	string	null	Page tags.
dataTags	ICustomDataTags	null	Custom Data Tags provided to override default tags used to capture click data.
urlCollectHash	boolean	false	Enables the logging of values after a "#" character of the URL.
urlCollectQuery	boolean	false	Enables the logging of the query string of the URL.
behaviorValidator	Function	null	Callback function to use for the data-*-bhvr value validation. For more information, go to behaviorValidator section.
defaultRightClickBhvr	string (or) number	''	Default Behavior value when Right Click event has occurred. This value will be overridden if the element has the data-*-bhvr attribute.
dropInvalidEvents	boolean	false	Flag to drop events that do not have useful click data.

IValueCallback

Name	Type	Default	Description
pageName	Function	null	Function to override the default pageName capturing behavior.
pageActionPageTags	Function	null	A callback function to augment the default pageTags collected during pageAction event.
contentName	Function	null	A callback function to populate customized contentName.

ICustomDataTags

Name	Type	Default	Default Tag to Use in HTML	Description
useDefaultContentNameOrId	boolean	false	N/A	Collects standard HTML attribute for contentName when a particular element is not tagged with default customDataPrefix or when customDataPrefix is not provided by user.
customDataPrefix	string	data-	data-*	Automatic capture content name and value of elements that are tagged with provided prefix. For example, data-*-id, data-<yourcustomattribute> can be used in the HTML tags.
aiBlobAttributeTag	string	ai-blob	data-ai-blob	Plugin supports a JSON blob attribute instead of individual data-* attributes.
metaDataPrefix	string	null	N/A	Automatic capture HTML Head's meta element name and content with provided prefix when capture. For example, custom- can be used in the HTML meta tag.
captureAllMetaDataContent	boolean	false	N/A	Automatic capture all HTML Head's meta element names and content. Default is false. If enabled this will override provided metaDataPrefix.
parentDataTag	string	null	N/A	Stops traversing up the DOM to capture content name and value of elements when encountered with this tag. For example, data-<yourparentDataTag> can be used in the HTML tags.
dntDataTag	string	ai-dnt	data-ai-dnt	HTML elements with this attribute will be ignored by the plugin for capturing telemetry data.

behaviorValidator

The behaviorValidator functions automatically checks that tagged behaviors in code conform to a pre-defined list. This ensures tagged behaviors are consistent with your enterprise's established taxonomy. It is not required or expected that most Azure Monitor customers will use this, but it's available for advanced scenarios. There are three different behaviorValidator callback functions exposed as part of this extension. However, users can use their own callback functions if the exposed functions do not solve your requirement. The intent is to bring your own behaviors data structure, the plugin uses this validator function while extracting the behaviors from the data tags.

Name	Description
BehaviorValueValidator	Use this callback function if your behaviors data structure is an array of strings.
BehaviorMapValidator	Use this callback function if your behaviors data structure is a dictionary.
BehaviorEnumValidator	Use this callback function if your behaviors data structure is an Enum.

Sample usage with behaviorValidator

var clickPlugin = Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.ClickAnalyticsPlugin;
var clickPluginInstance = new clickPlugin();

// Behavior enum values
var behaviorMap = {
  UNDEFINED: 0, // default, Undefined

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Page Experience [1-19]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  NAVIGATIONBACK: 1, // Advancing to the previous index position within a webpage
  NAVIGATION: 2, // Advancing to a specific index position within a webpage
  NAVIGATIONFORWARD: 3, // Advancing to the next index position within a webpage
  APPLY: 4, // Applying filter(s) or making selections
  REMOVE: 5, // Applying filter(s) or removing selections
  SORT: 6, // Sorting content
  EXPAND: 7, // Expanding content or content container
  REDUCE: 8, // Sorting content
  CONTEXTMENU: 9, // Context Menu
  TAB: 10, // Tab control
  COPY: 11, // Copy the contents of a page
  EXPERIMENTATION: 12, // Used to identify a third party experimentation event
  PRINT: 13, // User printed page
  SHOW: 14, //  Displaying an overlay
  HIDE: 15, //  Hiding an overlay
  MAXIMIZE: 16, //  Maximizing an overlay
  MINIMIZE: 17, // Minimizing an overlay
  BACKBUTTON: 18, //  Clicking the back button

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Scenario Process [20-39]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  STARTPROCESS: 20, // Initiate a web process unique to adopter
  PROCESSCHECKPOINT: 21, // Represents a checkpoint in a web process unique to adopter
  COMPLETEPROCESS: 22, // Page Actions that complete a web process unique to adopter
  SCENARIOCANCEL: 23, // Actions resulting from cancelling a process/scenario

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Download [40-59]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  DOWNLOADCOMMIT: 40, // Initiating an unmeasurable off-network download
  DOWNLOAD: 41, // Initiating a download

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Search [60-79]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  SEARCHAUTOCOMPLETE: 60, // Auto-completing a search query during user input
  SEARCH: 61, // Submitting a search query
  SEARCHINITIATE: 62, // Initiating a search query
  TEXTBOXINPUT: 63, // Typing or entering text in the text box

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Commerce [80-99]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  VIEWCART: 82, // Viewing the cart
  ADDWISHLIST: 83, // Adding a physical or digital good or services to a wishlist
  FINDSTORE: 84, // Finding a physical store
  CHECKOUT: 85, // Before you fill in credit card info
  REMOVEFROMCART: 86, // Remove an item from the cart
  PURCHASECOMPLETE: 87, // Used to track the pageView event that happens when the CongratsPage or Thank You page loads after a successful purchase
  VIEWCHECKOUTPAGE: 88, // View the checkout page
  VIEWCARTPAGE: 89, // View the cart page
  VIEWPDP: 90, // View a PDP
  UPDATEITEMQUANTITY: 91, // Update an item's quantity
  INTENTTOBUY: 92, // User has the intent to buy an item
  PUSHTOINSTALL: 93, // User has selected the push to install option

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Authentication [100-119]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  SIGNIN: 100, // User sign-in
  SIGNOUT: 101, // User sign-out

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Social [120-139]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  SOCIALSHARE: 120, // "Sharing" content for a specific social channel
  SOCIALLIKE: 121, // "Liking" content for a specific social channel
  SOCIALREPLY: 122, // "Replying" content for a specific social channel
  CALL: 123, // Click on a "call" link
  EMAIL: 124, // Click on an "email" link
  COMMUNITY: 125, // Click on a "community" link

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Feedback [140-159]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  VOTE: 140, // Rating content or voting for content
  SURVEYCHECKPOINT: 145, // reaching the survey page/form

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Registration, Contact [160-179]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  REGISTRATIONINITIATE: 161, // Initiating a registration process
  REGISTRATIONCOMPLETE: 162, // Completing a registration process
  CANCELSUBSCRIPTION: 163, // Canceling a subscription
  RENEWSUBSCRIPTION: 164, // Renewing a subscription
  CHANGESUBSCRIPTION: 165, // Changing a subscription
  REGISTRATIONCHECKPOINT: 166, // Reaching the registration page/form

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Chat [180-199]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  CHATINITIATE: 180, // Initiating a chat experience
  CHATEND: 181, // Ending a chat experience

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Trial [200-209]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  TRIALSIGNUP: 200, // Signing-up for a trial
  TRIALINITIATE: 201, // Initiating a trial

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Signup [210-219]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  SIGNUP: 210, // Signing-up for a notification or service
  FREESIGNUP: 211, // Signing-up for a free service

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Referals [220-229]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  PARTNERREFERRAL: 220, // Navigating to a partner's web property

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Intents [230-239]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  LEARNLOWFUNNEL: 230, // Engaging in learning behavior on a commerce page (ex. "Learn more click")
  LEARNHIGHFUNNEL: 231, // Engaging in learning behavior on a non-commerce page (ex. "Learn more click")
  SHOPPINGINTENT: 232, // Shopping behavior prior to landing on a commerce page

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // Video [240-259]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  VIDEOSTART: 240, // Initiating a video
  VIDEOPAUSE: 241, // Pausing a video
  VIDEOCONTINUE: 242, // Pausing or resuming a video.
  VIDEOCHECKPOINT: 243, // Capturing predetermined video percentage complete.
  VIDEOJUMP: 244, // Jumping to a new video location.
  VIDEOCOMPLETE: 245, // Completing a video (or % proxy)
  VIDEOBUFFERING: 246, // Capturing a video buffer event
  VIDEOERROR: 247, // Capturing a video error
  VIDEOMUTE: 248, // Muting a video
  VIDEOUNMUTE: 249, // Unmuting a video
  VIDEOFULLSCREEN: 250, // Making a video full screen
  VIDEOUNFULLSCREEN: 251, // Making a video return from full screen to original size
  VIDEOREPLAY: 252, // Making a video replay
  VIDEOPLAYERLOAD: 253, // Loading the video player
  VIDEOPLAYERCLICK: 254, //  Click on a button within the interactive player
  VIDEOVOLUMECONTROL: 255, //  Click on video volume control
  VIDEOAUDIOTRACKCONTROL: 256, // Click on audio control within a video
  VIDEOCLOSEDCAPTIONCONTROL: 257, //  Click on the closed caption control
  VIDEOCLOSEDCAPTIONSTYLE: 258, //  Click to change closed caption style
  VIDEORESOLUTIONCONTROL: 259, //  Click to change resolution

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // 	Advertisement Engagement [280-299]
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  ADBUFFERING: 283, // Ad is buffering
  ADERROR: 284, // Ad error
  ADSTART: 285, // Ad start
  ADCOMPLETE: 286, // Ad complete
  ADSKIP: 287, // Ad skipped
  ADTIMEOUT: 288, // Ad timed-out
  OTHER: 300 // Other
};

// Application Insights Configuration
var configObj = {
    connectionString: "YOUR CONNECTION STRING",
  extensions: [clickPluginInstance],
  extensionConfig: {
    [clickPluginInstance.identifier]: {
      behaviorValidator: Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.BehaviorMapValidator(behaviorMap),
      defaultRightClickBhvr: 9
    },
  },
};
var appInsights = new Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.ApplicationInsights({
  config: configObj
});
appInsights.loadAppInsights();

Sample app

Simple web app with Click Analytics Auto-collection Plugin enabled.

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repositories using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [e-mail] with any additional questions or comments.

Data Collection

As this SDK is designed to enable applications to perform data collection which is sent to the Microsoft collection endpoints the following is required to identify our privacy statement.

The software may collect information about you and your use of the software and send it to Microsoft. Microsoft may use this information to provide services and improve our products and services. You may turn off the telemetry as described in the repository. There are also some features in the software that may enable you and Microsoft to collect data from users of your applications. If you use these features, you must comply with applicable law, including providing appropriate notices to users of your applications together with a copy of Microsoft’s privacy statement. Our privacy statement is located at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=824704. You can learn more about data collection and use in the help documentation and our privacy statement. Your use of the software operates as your consent to these practices.

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft’s Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party’s policies.

License

MIT