How do each of the “When To Collect Data” options affect the report?

Products

Webtrends Analytics 9.x
Webtrends Analytics 8.x

Cause

When creating a custom dimension or measure, there are multiple settings on when the dimension/measure should collect the data defined under the “When To Collect Data” tab. These options include:

All Hits
First Occurrence in Visit
Last Occurrence in Visit
Most Recent Value
Hits That Match Specified URL

The impact of these various options may be unclear when creating the report.

Resolution

The examples below will focus on an imaginary parameter WT.parameter and present the potential impact these various settings have on the final result of the an example 2D report when WT.parameter is chosen as a dimension.

Let’s say that during a visit there are 5 hits by a single user

The example report will show the first dimension of the WT.parameter, and the second dimension of URL.

1. All Hits
This option looks at every hit within the visit and reports on any and all values taking into account any filters on the profile or report. A report may therefore show data similar to the following based on the example visit above:

Value1

Value2

None

2. First Occurence in Visit

This option looks for the parameter, and when it finds it will associate all traffic for the visit to the first occurrence to the initial value, even if the value changes later in the same visit as it does above. This is important to keep in mind if a user can change values throughout their visit. This will result in all traffic resulting from the second value being tied to the first.

Value1

3. Last Occurrence in Visit

This option is similar to number 2 but applies all traffic to the last value to occur and ignores the initial value.

Value2

4. Most Recent Value

This option should not be confused with the built in “Most Recent” dimensions that use Visitor History. The Visitor History dimensions will associate multiple visits to the value while the custom dimension “Most Recent Value” is associated for the current visit only. The “Most Recent” option will split the visit up so that each hit is associated the value last seen. If the value changes mid visit, then the new hits are split off and associated with the new value.

Value1

Value2

5. Hits That Match Specified URL

This option is like a filter for the dimension or measure. It specifies that the parameter is only read when the hit it is found on meets certain criteria. This criteria can be limited to just the URL, or may even require that other parameters also appear on the same hit. If we imagine in this case, that the specified URL is looking for “/folder/page3.html”, then the report would appears follows. All other hits would be ignored:

Value2

The measure options will work similarly except that they will increment appropriately for each of the options and may not be as visible as dimensions on when they increase.