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diff --git a/doc/development/new_fe_guide/event_tracking.md b/doc/development/new_fe_guide/event_tracking.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..1958f1ce528 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/development/new_fe_guide/event_tracking.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +# Event Tracking + +We use [Snowplow](https://github.com/snowplow/snowplow) for tracking custom events. + +## Generic tracking function + +In addition to Snowplow's built-in method for tracking page views, we use a generic tracking function which enables us to selectively apply listeners to events. + +The generic tracking function can be imported in EE-specific JS files as follows: + +```javascript +import { trackEvent } from `ee/stats`; +``` + +This gives the user access to the `trackEvent` method, which takes the following parameters: + +| parameter | type | description | required | +| ---------------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | +| `category` | string | Describes the page that you're capturing click events on. Unless infeasible, please use the Rails page attribute `document.body.dataset.page` by default. | true | +| `eventName` | string | Describes the action the user is taking. The first word should always describe the action. For example, clicks should be `click` and activations should be `activate`. Use underscores to describe what was acted on. For example, activating a form field would be `activate_form_input`. Clicking on a dropdown is `click_dropdown`. | true | +| `additionalData` | object | Additional data such as `label`, `property`, and `value` as described [in our Feature Instrumentation taxonomy](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/feature-instrumentation/#taxonomy). | false | + +Read more about instrumentation and the taxonomy in the [Product Handbook](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/feature-instrumentation). + +### Tracking in `.js` and `.vue` files + +The most simple use case is to add tracking programmatically to an event of interest in Javascript. + +The following example demonstrates how to track a click on a button in Javascript by calling the `trackEvent` method explicitly: + +```javascript +import { trackEvent } from `ee/stats`; + +trackEvent('dashboard:projects:index', 'click_button', { + label: 'create_from_template', + property: 'template_preview', + value: 'rails', +}); +``` + +### Tracking in HAML templates + +Sometimes we want to track clicks for multiple elements on a page. Creating event handlers for all elements could soon turn into a tedious task. + +There's a more convenient solution to this problem. When working with HAML templates, we can add `data-track-*` attributes to elements of interest. This way, all elements that have both `data-track-label` and `data-track-event` attributes assigned get marked for event tracking. All we have to do is call the `bindTrackableContainer` method on a container which allows for better scoping. + +Below is an example of `data-track-*` attributes assigned to a button in HAML: + +```ruby +%button.btn{ data: { track_label: "create_from_template", track_property: "template_preview", track_event: "click_button", track_value: "my-template" } } +``` + +By calling `bindTrackableContainer('.my-container')`, click handlers get bound to all elements located in `.my-container` provided that they have the necessary `data-track-*` attributes assigned to them. + +```javascript +import Stats from 'ee/stats'; + +document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => { + Stats.bindTrackableContainer('.my-container', 'category'); +}); +``` + +The second parameter in `bindTrackableContainer` is optional. If omitted, the value of `document.body.dataset.page` will be used as category instead. + +Below is a list of supported `data-track-*` attributes: + +| attribute | description | required | +| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | +| `data-track-label` | The `label` in `trackEvent` | true | +| `data-track-event` | The `eventName` in `trackEvent` | true | +| `data-track-property` | The `property` in `trackEvent`. If omitted, an empty string will be used as a default value. | false | +| `data-track-value` | The `value` in `trackEvent`. If omitted, this will be `target.value` or empty string. For checkboxes, the default value being tracked will be the element's checked attribute if `data-track-value` is omitted. | false | + +Since Snowplow is an Enterprise Edition feature, it's necessary to create a CE backport when adding `data-track-*` attributes to HAML templates in most cases. |