Using Attributes

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Attributes are the foundation of your implementation and are used to help you understand your customers' behavior and interaction with your brand. Attributes define data associated to the properties of a visitor, the characteristics of a visitor's session, and any event data collected in real-time. Common examples of attributes include Email Address, Member ID, Product Category, Date of Last Visit, and Active Browser.

This article provides an overview of how attributes are used and steps to add, duplicate, or remove an attribute.

In this article:

• Attribute Properties
• Scope
• Event
• Visit
• Visitor
• Omnichannel
• Session Length
• Data Types
• Scope and Data Type Matrix
• Storage Capacity Limits
• Event Attributes
• Visit/Visitor Attributes
• Enrichment
• Rule
• Restricted Data
• Managing Attributes
• Adding an Attribute
• Adding an Enrichment
• Imported Attributes from iQ Tag Management
• Editing an Attribute
• Duplicating an Attribute
• Deleting or Removing an Attribute

Attribute Properties

Attributes are the building blocks of your solution. They define the data that flows from your sources of data through to your vendor integrations. They are used in rule definitions, audience creation, and connector settings. Attributes have the following properties, which are set when you define them: Scope, Data Type, Enrichment, and Rule.

Scope

Scope refers to how long an attribute persists in real-time.

The following table lists supported scopes:

Scope	Description / Examples	Uses
Event	Attributes associated with individual events that describe the page, content, and real-time actions being taken by a customer. Examples: Page Name, Product Price, Event Name, Order Total, etc.	Attribute Sources Event attributes are sourced from the following values: Universal Variable Universal Data Object Javascript Page Variable Global JavaScript variable (browser) HTML Metadata Metadata tag (browser) First-Party Cookie Browser cookie Querystring Parameter Current page's URL querystring (browser)
Visit	Attributes about a particular visit (or session). Data persists for the length of the visit. Examples: Visit Duration, Browser Used, Referring URL, and Carted Products.	These attributes represent visitor activity from the current session on a single device. Visit attributes persist for the length of the session. See Session Length for more detail.
Visitor	Attributes about a particular visitor across all visits. Examples: Email Address, Member ID, Lifetime Order Total, and Category Views.	This data follows a visitor from session to session and across different devices. Visitor data persists even after the current visit ends.
Omnichannel	For importing offline data via the Omnichannel service. This scope does not require a data type.	Omnichannel attributes are defined when you define your file imports.

Session Length

In AudienceStream, session length is set based on the platform of the events:

• Web - 30 min (10 min if one event and no follow-up events)
• Mobile App - 2 min
• Omnichannel - 1 min
• File Import - 1 min
• Collect API - 30 min

The platform is based on the reserved attribute named platform according to the following values:

• Web - platform is set to web or not set.
• Mobile - platforn is set one of android|ios|win|bb10|native_mobile.

To customize the session length set the data layer variable _dc_ttl_ to a value in milliseconds on the first event of a session. The session length cannot be changed once the session has commenced.  The following example sets the session length to 30 minutes (180000 milliseconds):

 "_dc_ttl_": 1800000

Data Types

Attributes come in a variety of types, from a basic number to the more powerful tally and badge. The data type determines the format in which the attribute value is stored.

The following data types are supported:

Data Type	Description
Number	Stores numerical values such as order total, lifetime event count, or number of days since last visit.
String	Stores text values such as first/last name, address, favorite product, and page name.
Boolean	Stores only one of two values: 'true' and 'false'. Boolean can be used for indicating the status of a visitor action or visit.
Array of Numbers	Stores multiple numeric values as an array. The array may contain unique or duplicate numeric values.
Array of Strings	Stores multiple string values as an array. The array may contain unique or duplicate string values.
Array of Booleans	Stores multiple Boolean (true/false) values as an array. The array may contain unique or duplicate Boolean values.
Tally	Stores one or more key-value pairs.
Set of Strings	Stores a collection of unique string values as a Set.
Date	Stores the date of an event, a visitor event, or particular visit.
Funnel	Tracks the status of every step in a multi-step event, such as payment funnel and registration.
Timeline	Records all occurrences of a visitor action within a time range.
Badge	Assigns a visual mark or symbol to visitors who meet certain criteria or browsing behavior.
Visitor ID	Stores visitor's unique traits as their secondary identifier.

Scope and Data Type Matrix

This matrix shows which data types are available for each scope.

Data Type	Event Scope	Visit Scope	Visitor Scope
Number	✔	✔	✔
String	✔	✔	✔
Boolean	✔	✔	✔
Array of Numbers	✔	✔	✔
Array of Strings	✔	✔	✔
Array of Booleans	✔	✔	✔
Tally		✔	✔
Set of Strings		✔	✔
Date	✔	✔	✔
Funnel		✔	✔
Timeline		✔	✔
Badge			✔
Visitor ID			✔

Storage Capacity Limits

Most attributes for EventStream and AudienceStream have storage capacity limits and specific behaviors for when those limits are exceeded. Note that the entire visitor profile has a limit of 400K compressed.

*No limits, but the attribute is still limited by the maximum size of the profile after encryption and compression.

Event Attributes

Attribute	Storage Capacity Limits	Exceeded Limit Behavior
Strings	1,500 characters	Strings are truncated to 1,500 characters if they are longer than the limit.
Arrays of any type	No limits*
Dates	Min: “-292275055-05-16T16:47:04.192Z” Max: “+292278994-08-17T07:12:55.807Z”
Numbers	Represented with java.lang.Number, which has dynamic precision.

Visit/Visitor Attributes

Attribute	Storage Capacity Limits	Exceeded Limit Behavior
Strings	1,000 characters	If an enrichment results in a string larger than 1,000 characters, the value wil not be saved.
Timelines	100 entries	Earliest entries are discarded when the limit is reached (First-In, First-Out). For example, the 101th entry will be added to the timeline and the 1st entry will be deleted when a timeline has 100 entries.
Tallies	No limits*
Arrays of any type	No limits*
Set of Strings	No limits*
Dates	Min: “-292275055-05-16T16:47:04.192Z” Max: “+292278994-08-17T07:12:55.807Z”
Numbers	No limits*
Funnel	No limits*

Enrichment

An enrichment is the use of custom logic to transform an attribute from a static value to a dynamic one. This is used to create new data values or modify incoming data. Pre-built enrichments are available for each data type. For example, the ability to increment or decrement a numeric value is available to number attributes. (Learn more)

Rule

A rule provides additional logic for the purpose of triggering an enrichment.

• To apply a predefined rule, make a selection from the drop-down list and click Add Rule.
  

  Creating a new rule through the enrichments dialog box automatically applies it to the enrichment.

• To apply a new rule, click Create Rule.
  

Restricted Data

This property is used to identify attributes that contain data that should not be sent out of the system, such as third-party Connectors or DataAccess. Learn more about Restricted Data.

Managing Attributes

From the left navigation bar, go to AudienceStream > Visitor / Visit Attributes to view your attributes. You can optionally filter your view by clicking on any the available options on the left. Click the desired attribute to view the details.

Adding an Attribute

Use the following steps to add an attribute:

1. In the sidebar, select AudienceStream > Visitor / Visit Attributes.
   You can optionally use the filters on the left to narrow your view.
2. In the upper right, click + Add Attribute.
3. In the Choose a scope dialog, select Visit or Visitor.
   
4. Click Continue.
5. In the Choose a data type dialog, select the desired data type.
6. Click Continue.
7. Required. In the Title field, enter a descriptive name.
   
   

   In AudienceDB, you can use any ASCII character for an attribute name other than double quotes. For EventDB, you are limited to ASCII characters 0 through 127, excluding double quotes.
   The name of an event attribute must match the name of the variable implemented.

8. In the Notes field, enter helpful notes that describe the purpose and/or mechanics of the attribute.
9. (Optional) Check the Restricted Data checkbox if the data will include the visitor's personal information.
10. (Optional) Check the AudienceDB checkbox to include the attribute as a column in AudienceDB.
    This feature requires AudienceDB to be enabled in the profile. (Learn more)
11. Continue to the next section to add an enrichment.

Adding an Enrichment

Use the following steps to add an enrichment:

1. From the Add Attribute dialog, click Add Enrichment.
   A pop-up list displays a list of available enrichments based on the data type selected in previous steps. The settings or fields in the dialog box vary depending on the kind of enrichment possible for the attribute.
2. Select the enrichment to add.
   
3. Select WHEN to trigger the enrichment.
   This controls the timing of the enrichment.
   
4. Under ANY EVENT, select an event from the drop-down list or keep the default value of ANY EVENT,
5. (Optional) Select an existing Rule condition or create a new rule.
6. Click Finish.
7. Save and publish your profile to apply the changes.

Imported Attributes from iQ Tag Management

An imported attribute is a variable that was originally created in the corresponding Tealium iQ profile. These variables are automatically detected and pulled in as event-scoped attributes. When you modify a variable in Tealium iQ (and publish), the changes are instantly applied to the matching attribute in EventStream.

Imported attributes are not editable. You must use Tealium iQ to manage them.

Editing an Attribute

Use the following steps to edit an attribute:

1. Click the attribute you want to edit and click the pencil icon in the upper right corner.
   
2. Make your changes and click Save.
3. Save and publish your profile to apply the changes.

Duplicating an Attribute

Use the following steps to duplicate an attribute:

1. Click the attribute you want to duplicate and then click the duplicate icon in the upper right corner.
   
2. Edit if needed and then click Save.
3. Save and publish your profile to apply the changes.

Deleting or Removing an Attribute

Use the following steps to delete (or remove) an attribute:

1. Click the attribute you want to delete.
2. Click the trash icon in the upper right corner of the box.
   
   

   If the attribute you attempt to delete is currently in use by a rule, enrichment, or an audience, the action will be prevented by not displaying the trash icon. A message displays that instructing you to remove the dependent element and retry.

3. In the confirmation dialog, confirm whether or not you wish to delete the attribute.
4. Save and publish your profile to apply the changes.