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This document describes the Google client ID and various Google Analytics related cookies. Sending client ID to Collect Tag and iFrame Google client ID and various Google Analytics related cookies When using GA’s Universal Analytics, both the analytics.js and the gtag.js library set cookies to identify and throttle requests: _ga is used to distinguish users and has an expiration of 2-years. _gid is used to distinguish users and has an expiration of 24-hours. _gat is used to throttle requests and has an expiration of 10-minutes. In all cases, the value format is: Version.Depth.UniqueID.CreationTimeStamp where:             Version = GA version             Depth = 2 for Top Level Domain, 3+ for Subs, etc.             UniqueID = Random Number             CreationTimeStamp = Epoch Time When Cookie Was Created UniqueID + CreationTimeStamp is what is used to create client ID. Capturing client ID When capturing the client ID and sending back to GA, Google suggests to not use the cookie content to determine the client ID. https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookies-user-id: You should not directly access the cookie analytics.js sets as the cookie format might change in the future. Instead, developers should use the  readyCallback  to wait until analytics.js is loaded, and then get the  clientId  value stored on the tracker. In order to obtain the client ID, especially on the visitor's first page view, you can do the following which takes advantage of the readyCallback. In a JavaScript extension, scoped to your Google Analytics tag, add this code: ga( function ( tracker ) {   // There can be different trackers on the page   // Also, reference the Google Analytics Object rather than the default 'ga'   var trackers = ( window [window.GoogleAnalyticsObject]).getAll() ;    var client_id, tracker_nm ;   trackers.forEach( function ( tracker ) {     if ( tracker ) {       client_id = tracker.get('clientId') ;       tracker_nm = tracker.get('name') + '.set' ;       ga( tracker_nm , 'dimension##', client_id) ;     }   }) ; In the code,  replace the 'XX' in dimensionXX  with the number of the Custom Dimension to contain the client ID. Send client ID to Collect Tag and iFrame To send the   client id   to either the Tealium Collect tag or to an iframe for session syncing. Google's code takes some time to run, so depending on the tag the   client id   may not be available when the tag fires. To get around this, create an extension that runs a   setInterval(), checks for the client ID, and fires a manual utag.view() call. Once available, client ID will be added to the data layer and will trigger a   utag.view()   directly to the tag that needs to fire. In the case of the iframe, it sends a   postMessage()   to the iframe where the iframe receives the message, pulls the   client ID   from the event data and then fires the necessary tags. Step 1 - Cancel tag fire if client ID   doesn't exist - iframe AND collect Apply this extension code to any tag that needs the client ID and fires BEFORE it is available from Google Extension: JS Code Scope: Specific Tags: Any tag(s) that needs the client_id if (! utag . data . client_id ) { return false ; } Step 2 - Set the interval to check for the client ID - iframe AND collect This code checks for the client ID. When a client ID is captured it will either send a postMessage to the iframe (iframe only) or send a utag.view() to the collect tag or other tags that need the client ID (collect only) Extension: JS Code Scope: DOM Ready Load Conditions: Exclude the iframe URL (iframe ONLY) iframe version Ensure that the reference to the frame window is updated and correct, otherwise, it will not work. var captured = false ; var getClientId = setInterval ( checkPage , 500 ); function checkPage () { if ( captured === true ) { clearInterval ( getClientId ); } else { var tracker = ga . getAll ()[ 0 ]; var clientId = tracker . get ( 'clientId' ); if ( clientId ) { captured = true ; console . log ( '***************CLIENT ID CAPTURED******************' ); // Gets a reference to the window object of the destionation iframe. var frameWindow = document . getElementById ( 'reg_form' ). contentWindow ; // Sends the client ID to the window inside the destination frame. frameWindow . postMessage ( clientId , '*' ); } } } collect version The UID of the tag(s) that need to fire will need to be updated in the utag.view()   below. var captured = false ; var getClientId = setInterval ( checkPage , 500 ); function checkPage () { if ( captured === true ) { clearInterval ( getClientId ); } else { var tracker = ga . getAll ()[ 0 ]; var clientId = tracker . get ( 'clientId' ); if ( clientId ) { captured = true ; console . log ( '***************CLIENT ID CAPTURED******************' ); utag . data . client_id = clientId ; utag . view ( utag . data , null , [*/insert Tag UID #*/ ]); } } } Step 3 - Retrieve the   client_id   in the iframe - iframe only The iframe needs to retrieve the message from the parent window, grab the   client_id   and then send a view event to whatever tag needs the   client_id   (usually Google Analytics). The tag UID(s) in the   utag.view()   will need to be updated with the applicable tag(s) that need to fire from the iframe. Extension: JS Code Scope: Preloader //Restrict the code to run only for the iframe if ( window . location . href . indexOf ( 'go.hornblower.com' ) > - 1 ) { window . addEventListener ( 'message' , function ( event ) { var url = ( window . location != window . referrer ) ? document . referrer : document . location . href ; var parentDomain = url . split ( '/' )[ 2 ]; // Ignores messages from untrusted domains. if ( event . origin . indexOf ( parentDomain ) < 0 ) return ; utag . data . client_id = event . data ; utag_data . client_id = event . data ; utag . view ( utag . data , null , [ */insert UID #*/ ]); }); } Step 4 - Testing - iframe and collect You should be able to set a breakpoint on the   this.track() "view" event. If it is working correctly, a view event will be fired with the   client_id   in the payload. You should also be able to check the   utag.data   object to ensure that   client_id   has been added and populated. ... View more

This article describes the methods available to switch the publish environment of the Universal Tag (utag.js) file loaded on your site. In this article: How it Works When you want to test changes on your site, but do not have access to edit the installed Tealium files, use a method called environment switching to load a different version of the Tealium files (utag.js, utag.sync.js) on your site. Environment switching is a safe way to test changes on your production site without publishing to the Prod environment. There are three (3) methods that can be used to switch environments: Tealium Tool: Environment Switcher Web Companion Set a Cookie Tealium Tool: Environment Switcher The Environment Switcher is a Tealium Tool that runs in the Chrome browser and is the recommended method for testing different environment version of utag.js on your site. Learn more about how to use the Environment Switcher to load different versions of the Tealium files. Web Companion Web Companion provides a way to load the Tealium files from any of the standard environments: Dev, QA, or Prod. This feature is disabled by default. To enable this feature, turn on the Web Companion setting in your publish settings. Use the following steps to change environments using Web Companion: Launch Web Companion. The Target Environment section displays the current environment in blue and the coded environment with the orange border. Example: On your production site, it will look like this: To change which environment gets loaded on the page, click Dev or QA and then click  Refresh Page . and the page will refresh with the newly selected environment. Example: If you click QA, refresh the page, and then reopen Web Companion, you will see the following: The switched environment is only valid for your local session. Your production site is not affected. Set a Cookie You can also change the environment by setting a cookie. For this method to work, you must turn on the Web Companion setting in your publish settings. Use the following steps to place an environment cookie: Open your browser console. Use the following command to place a cookie: document.cookie = "utag_env_ACCOUNT_PROFILE=//tags.tiqcdn.com/utag/ACCOUNT/PROFILE/ENV/utag.js; path=/; domain=YOURSITE.com"; In the command line example, replace the variables as follows: ACCOUNT – Replace with your Tealium iQ account name PROFILE – Replace with your Tealium iQ profile name ENV – Replace with the environment to load (dev, qa, or "custom") YOURSITE – Replace with the domain name for your site After creating the cookie, refresh your browser to load the new environment. ... View more