Woven Interactive » Flash Event Tracking http://woveninteractive.net Flash, Flex, Papervision, Interactive Agency Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:36:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Look Mom No Javascript : Google Analytics Flash Event Tracking http://woveninteractive.net/2009/02/look-mom-no-javascript-google-analytics-flash-event-tracking/ http://woveninteractive.net/2009/02/look-mom-no-javascript-google-analytics-flash-event-tracking/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:27:34 +0000 admin http://woveninteractive.net/?p=30 google-analytics-screenshot


If you have not heard already, Google has a new tool for tracking Flash Analytics. Unlike the first version we tested a year ago, this new code base requires no javascript to implement. Why is this important?

Here is the scenario:

I create a killer Flash widget and would like to track how users interact with it. If the widget is only on my site then a javascript / flash tracking solution works great. But, if I want to spread it virally and still track my results I can't rely on a javascript solution.

This is where google event tracking enters the picture: gaforflash

While you can use this to track page views button clicks etc you can also get creative and track much much more.

Our Interactive Agency decided to track Flash page load times. This would allow us to determine if the average user was waiting too long to view a page. Example code below:

google-analytics-event-tracking

PLAIN TEXT
Actionscript:
  1. _controller.mainLoadTimer  = new Date().time;

PLAIN TEXT
Actionscript:
  1. public function set pageReady(val:Number):void
  2. {
  3.     _pageReadyTime = val;
  4.     var currentPage:String = Gaia.api.getCurrentBranch();
  5.     var timeToLoad:Number = (_pageReadyTime - _mainLoadTimer)
  6.    
  7.     if (initalPageLoad)
  8.     {
  9.         initalPageLoad = false;
  10.         tracker.trackEvent("Page Load Times", "Initial Load", currentPage, timeToLoad);
  11.     }
  12.     else
  13.     {
  14.         tracker.trackEvent("Page Load Times", "Site Browsing", currentPage,timeToLoad);
  15.     }
  16. }

This can also be done to track video start times as seen in the example by Matthew McNeely.

Before you can view the event tracking data in your Google Analytics account you will need your profile to be white-listed by Google. Get started today even if you are not yet white-listed as your account will retroactively display the results from when you first implemented the code.

If you or your clients need any help getting started feel free to contact our interactive agency.

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