Through the Import and Export tabs, you can export a set of selected event definitions and all supporting data objects from your current system and import a set that has been exported. Import/export controls enable the easy migration of event definitions from a development environment to testing and staging environments.
Exported data objects
When an export of event definitions is generated, definitions for each instance of the following Event Manager objects are included in the export:
- Events
Note: Event icons are not currently supported for import.
- Hit attributes
- Dimensions
Note: When a dimension that contains specified values is exported, only whitelisted values are included in the export. Blacklisted values and other values are dropped.
- Top Movers (stored as an attribute in the event definition)
Note: Export and import of alert definitions is not supported.
Import formats
The following commands can be used to export event objects that you can import later into another Tealeaf system.
Note: Exported data objects are stored in an internal Tealeaf format (.tle), which is not readable through standard applications.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Selected objects | When this command is selected, the event objects that were selected for export in each Event Manager tab are bundled for export. |
| All objects | When selected, this option generates an export of all event definitions and event-related objects that are supported for export.
Note: When the exported file is imported into another system, all event definitions in the destination system are overwritten.
|
XML formats
These readable export formats can be used for debugging purposes.
Note: XML formats that you export cannot be imported into a Tealeaf system.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Event XML |
This command exports event definitions in readable XML format. Use this command to review your event definitions through your preferred XML editor.
Note: If issues occur with your event definitions, provide this format when you open a support ticket. |
Processing Server Event XML |
This command exports the event XML that is used by the Processing Server to process event traffic. This format is slightly different from the formats above. It is compatible for use with the command-line version of the Event Tester. |
Export events and event objects
The selected object export method allows you to export specific events and event objects, as well as all dependent objects required to make the selected items to work. This exported set of definitions can then be imported into another system for use.
In this manner, you can develop event-related objects in a Development environment, export them, and then import them into a Testing or Production environment for use. To export selected items, complete the following steps.
Note: You must commit any unsaved changes to an object to the server to include the changes in the exported object. If the object is a new object and was not saved, it is not included in the export, and references to the object are reported as errors.
- In each tab of the Event Manager, right-click the objects that you want to export and select Export Item. The item is queued in the Export tab for export.
Note: You do not need to select dependent items. For example, if an event references a report group that contains a set of dimensions, you do not need to select the dimensions for export. The Event Manager automatically includes all required dependent items for each selected event object.
- When you have selected all items you want to export, click the Export tab.
- To export the selected items, click Selected Objects.
- Save the generated file to your local desktop.
The exported file can be imported into another system through the Import tab, as needed.
Import events and event objects
Through the Import tab, you can import the contents of an exported .tle file into another system.
Complete the following steps to import a set of event definitions that you exported from another system.
- In the Import tab, click Browse.
- Navigate your local system to select the
.tlefile that contains the exported event definitions. Click Open. - In the Import tab, click Upload. The list of objects and their dependent objects for import is displayed.
- To import the selected objects, click Import.
If you want to overwrite any existing objects in the target system with the definitions contained in the .tle file, considering the following scenarios:
- If you do not overwrite existing objects, imported objects may be broken after import. For example, if a session attribute in the destination system is sourced from a different event than the one referenced in the import file, then the event in the import file does not populate the session attribute.
- If you do overwrite existing objects, then reports including scorecards and dashboards may be broken in the destination system. For example, if the event definition in the import file is different from the one in the destination system, then any report in the destination system that uses that event is now reporting a different set of data.
For events, you should also consider the effects of the following conflicts when choosing to overwrite or not overwrite:
- If the value type of the imported event differs from the event in the destination system, overwriting the event may break the event conditions, which in turn breaks the event.
- If the trigger in which the imported event fires is different, then the behavior of the event in the destination system is changed when it is overwritten.
If you selected to overwrite objects, labels for the events in the .tle are applied to any overwritten event, while the labels for the event in the destination system are preserved.