Update Adobe SiteCatalyst s.referrer value selectively

[mitchellt]

Hello All - 

I need to set the s.referrer value to the value stored in a custom cookie when no referrer data is available but our custom referrering url cookie has a value.   Can I override s.referrer in an Extension fired on the condition?  My condition is session start (utag_main__ss=1).  

Thanks for any ideas...

[meng_lim · Accepted solution]

Hi @mitchellt,

It's not as intuitive in the UI, but you can create a new data-source (e.g. "foo") and map it direct to "referrer" as a custom dimension.

Then using a Set Data Value Extension, you can then set the value of "foo" based on the conditions you need it to be.  

For example:

Set "foo" to [CUSTOM COOKIE] when "referrer" is not populated AND when [CUSTOM COOKIE] is populated.

.

[meng_lim · Accepted solution]

[mitchellt]

Thank you @meng_lim for the example and screenshots.  

As you said, it's not intuitive at first glance, but it makes sense now that you've explained it!  I'm confident this will solve my "problem" - I'm grateful for your help, and I know I'll use this technique in a similar fashion again and again in the future.

[mitchellt]

Hi again @meng_lim if I may ask an additional question on the topic of utag_main__ss....  when does it reset to 1?  

Overall I see that the utag_main cookie expires in a year (for my installation anyway).     But surely Session Start must reset after an hour or when the browser closes, etc.?  

(so far in my own testing, utag_main__ss does not reset to 1 simply by closing and reopening the browser)

Thanks for any help on this offshoot question!

[meng_lim]

Hi @mitchellt,

By default, the utag_main__ss cookie will reset back to "1" when the session has expired (usually 30-minutes of inactivity).  You must either wait for the cookie to expire or delete your cookie in order to return a value of "1" on the start of a new session.

Hope this helps.