Tagging and viewing Features

Last Updated: September 07, 2023 14:56

Tag Features to uncover usage patterns in your application and to target guides. Features are managed in Product > Features, which you can find in the left-side navigation.

Feature tagging rules

Pendo creates Feature tags (also known as "tagging Features") based on rules. Rules define the HTML and CSS that Pendo interprets to tag your Features.

HTML and CSS are two of the basic building blocks of a Website. HTML is the Markup language used to provide the content and structure for a Website. CSS is the Markup language used to apply styling to HTML elements. CSS syntax is used for Feature tagging and guide positioning in Pendo.

HTML is made up of element tags, which provide the context needed for the Web browser to display the site. Example HTML elements include <button>, <h1>, and <p>. HTML elements can also have attributes, commonly class and id. The contents of these attributes, CSS selectors, identify and style specific elements of a Website. Pendo relies on these selectors to identify feature clicks and to target guides.

Both HTML elements and attributes are used heavily by CSS to provide styling to specific parts of your application. In the example below, the HTML element is <div>, the HTML attribute is class, and the contents of the attribute (the CSS selector) is d-sm-flex align-items-center.

<div class="d-sm-flex align-items-center">

Tag Features

We use the Visual Design Studio to tag Features. The Visual Design Studio is Pendo’s interface for styling guides, and tagging Pages and Features.

To tag Features, you first enter Tag Mode, which tells you what elements you’re selecting for tagging with a red, dotted bounding box that follows your mouse in the application. You can then refine this selection with Feature Element Matching options in the Visual Design Studio.

To tag Features in Pendo, navigate to Product > Features and then select Tag Features in the top-right corner.

Enter the URL of the target page of your application.
Choose a tagging mode: Tag side-by-side or Tag in an overlay. For more information, see Tagging with the Visual Design Studio.
Select Launch Designer. This loads the Visual Design Studio.
In the Features tab of the Visual Design Studio, select Tag Feature.
Hover over and select the area of the page you want to tag. To tag a dropdown menu item, select ALT (for Windows) or Option (for Mac) while opening the dropdown menu to expand it.
Choose Create New Feature at the top of the Visual Design Studio.
Enter a descriptive name that’s in line with your company naming convention so that others will know what you're referring to.
Assign a Product Area to the Feature using the dropdown menu.
Under Feature Element Matching, choose one of the following methods for creating a rule: Suggested Match, Rule Builder, or Custom CSS. For guidance, see Feature Element Matching in this article.
Under Page Location, choose whether you want to track the Feature across the entire application (Sitewide) or on the specific Page (Only on this page).
Select Save to add the Feature to your Features list.

Tip: Choose Sitewide for navigation buttons because it won't bring value to tag a navigation element on every possible Page variation.

Feature Element Matching

When tagging a Feature in the Visual Design Studio, you have the following options for creating rules under Feature Element Matching:

Suggested Match. This is the automatic rule created by Pendo, which is based on the element you select on the page. You can use the up and down arrows to adjust your selection to include a larger or smaller area in the Feature rule. If this doesn’t ideally capture what you need it to, isn’t a unique match on the page, or isn’t static, you have the following additional options.
Rule Builder. This shows you the HTML elements and attributes available in the area that you’ve selected for tagging. You can use these items to create a specific Feature rule that works for your selected area of the application.
Custom CSS. If you’re comfortable with using Inspect in Google Chrome to investigate the HTML and CSS of your application, this option allows you to add a custom Feature rule based on the elements and attributes available in the area you selected.

For more information about CSS selectors, see Using CSS selectors in Feature tagging.

Tip: You can use Suggested Match as a starting point and then select either Rule Builder or Custom CSS to refine the rule further. You can also use the Rule Builder as a starting point for defining the CSS syntax that Pendo uses to tag your Features, and switch over to Custom CSS for more control over editing the rule.

Suggested Match

When you select an element on a page, Pendo provides a rule and data to help you tag the appropriate element.

Use the arrows in the top-right to adjust your selection by navigating up and down the HTML Document Object Model (DOM) of the page. The DOM tree is a hierarchical representation of the page's HTML, created by the browser to define all elements, attributes, and text on a page as objects in a hierarchy.

Use the up arrow to choose a larger clickable area (the relative parent element) and the down arrow to choose a smaller clickable area (the relative child element). For example, you might select the text in a button and want to include the container that the text comes in. You can use the up arrow to navigate up the DOM tree to select the next largest item in the DOM for tagging.

Rule Builder

Use the Rule Builder to create feature rules based on your application's code without navigating away from the Visual Design Studio. The Rule Builder allows you to view, add, and remove rule options, with automatic rule formatting to ensure accuracy.

As you build your rule with the Rule Builder, the Visual Design Studio shows you the number of matches and highlights the tagged area. The Visual Design Studio also shows you the rule as it would be if you created it with the Custom CSS option. You can find this just under Selection while you’re building your rule.

The colors of items in the Rule Builder represent to following:

Color	HTML elements and attributes	Example
Purple	HTML Classes, usually a good selector, though multiple elements on the page can have the same Class.	`class=“align-center”`
Green	HTML element types	`div`, `p`, `button`, `a`
Yellow	HTML Attributes	`href`, `src`, `alt`
Light blue	HTML ID, usually the most unique selector on the page.	`id=“myHeader”`
Dark blue	HTML Text Contains Statement. This is a Pendo-specific option that allows you to tag elements based on the text contained within them.

Custom CSS

To create a rule using the Custom CSS option for Feature Element Matching:

In Chrome, right-click an element you're trying to tag and select Inspect.
In the Elements tab, inspect the Document Object Model (DOM) tree, which contains the page data.
Look for a specific, human-readable Class for the element you're inspecting.
In the Custom CSS text box, write . instead of class and then copy the string exactly as it appears in the code, with periods instead of spaces, for example, class="sidebar-item js-sidebar-type-d would be written as .sidebar-item.js-sidebar-type-d in the text box.

For more information about the CSS for Feature tagging, see Using CSS selectors in Feature tagging.

Good Feature rules

This section summarizes best practices for creating Feature rules. For more information about CSS selectors, see Using CSS selectors in Feature tagging. For more detailed guidance on creating good rules for Feature tagging, see Advanced Feature Tagging.

Guidance	Example
Tags should consist of a CSS ID (#char) that is specific and static.	`#saveMessageButton`
Tags should be included in a CSS Class that uniquely identifies the object.	`.emailSettingsSubmit`
Tags should include text that contains a string that uniquely identifies the element.	`A:contains("Log Out")`
Tags shouldn’t be too specific or change session-to-session or user-to-user.	Don’t use: `A:contains(You have 16 new messages)` Use: `A:contains(message)`
Tags shouldn’t include dynamically changing elements, often indicated by the inclusion of a seemingly random string of characters in the CSS selector.	Don’t use: `<div class=“sc-element-6gY8Tkk”` Use the ^ symbol to capture only the start: `<div class^=“sc-element”>`

View tagged Features

There are two ways to view tagged Features in Pendo:

In the Pendo UI by navigating to Product > Features.
In the Visual Design Studio Heatmap while tagging another Feature.

The Features list in the Pendo UI

To view a list of tagged Features, navigate to Pendo > Features from the left-side navigation. There are filters above the Features list that you can use to modify list in the table view:

Filter	Description
Segment	The default is Everyone. Use the dropdown to select either a segment or select + Create New Segment at the bottom of the menu.
Date range	Use the dropdown to choose from predefined values, or choose a Custom Range for a specific time period.
Accounts	Use the dropdown to choose to view all your Features regardless of account, or choose to view Features by account.
Apps	Use the dropdown to choose to view all your Features regardless of application, or choose to view Features by application.
Star icon	Use the star icon next to the four main filters to only show Features that you've favorited.
Product Areas	Use the pick list below the four main filters to only show Features that belong to specific product areas in your application.

The Features list provides an overview of your tagged Features in a table view. In this list, you can see all tagged Features and the following information about these Features depending on the columns you choose for the table.

Name. The Feature name. This can be edited in the Feature details when you select the Feature name.
Rules. The rules behind the Feature tag.
Page. The page tag assigned to the feature or ‘All Pages’ if the feature is sitewide.
Created Time. The date and time that the Feature was originally tagged.
Created By. The Pendo user who originally tagged the Feature.
App. The application that the Feature is assigned to.
Product Area. The Product Area that the Feature is assigned to or “No Product Area” if none was assigned.
Last Updated Time. The date and time the Feature rules were last updated. Any modification to the Feature rules revises the last updated time.
Last Updated By. The Pendo user that last updated the Feature.
Number of Visitors. The number of unique visitors that have clicked the Feature within the segment and date range specified at the top of the page.
Number of Accounts. The number of unique Accounts that have clicked the Feature within the segment and date range specified at the top of the page.
Number of Clicks. The total number of clicks of the Feature from all visitors within the segment and date range specified at the top of the page.
% of Feature Clicks. The percentage of visitors within the segment and date range specified at the top of the page that clicked on the Feature.
Average % of Daily Feature Clicks. The average percentage per day of visitors within the segment and date range specified at the top of the page that clicked on the Feature.
Number of Event Properties Setup. The number of Feature Click Event Properties set up for this Feature (the maximum is five). For more information, see Feature Click Event Properties.
Core Event. If the feature has been selected as a Core Event, the label ‘Core’ will display here. To learn more about Core Events, see ‘Set up Core Events’.

To customize your columns, select the Manage Columns icon in the top-right corner of the list. In the window that opens, you can add, remove, and reorder columns in the table.

Tip: Add the Page column to your table view to see if the Features you’ve tagged are page-specific without having to open the details of each tagged Feature.

The Heatmap in Visual Design Studio

The Heatmap in Visual Design Studio generates a color-organized view of Features that have already been tagged while you’re tagging another Feature.

Use the Heatmap to get a view of Feature usage within the last 30 days. The “hotter” (closer to red) the Feature, the more it’s used. To view the Heatmap:

In Pendo, navigate to Product > Features.
Select Tag Features in the top-right corner.
Select Launch Designer. This opens the Visual Design Studio.
Toggle on the Heatmap.
Set the Segment that you’re interested in.

While Heatmap is toggled on, you can also open an individual Feature from the list in the Visual Design Studio to view its mapping along a visual scale, from blue on the left to red on the right. This view provides additional metrics, including Total Clicks, Unique Visitor Clicks, and Accounts.

Favorite Features

You can favorite Features and then use the star icon in the filter section to show a list of your favorite Pages. Your favorite Features list is only visible to you and only you can edit it.

To favorite a Feature, select the star icon next to a Feature in the table view of Features. You can also star a Feature from within the Feature's details page. Open the Feature from the table view and select the star icon at the top of the details page, next to the trash icon.

View Feature details

Select a Feature from the Feature list to open a page of details about that Feature, such as usage statistics. You can minimize and expand the Details section of this page by selecting the Details section header. In this section, you can edit the Feature's name, product area, app, page location, and CSS targeting rules.

Feature Details Page.png

Edit tagged Features

There are two ways to edit existing Features in Pendo.

In the Feature details, found by opening the Feature from the list in Product > Features.
By choosing a Feature from the list in the Visual Design Studio when it launches.

In the Feature details

Navigate to Product > Features.
Find and open the Feature you want to edit.
Change the name, product area, application, and rules as required

In the Visual Design Studio

Navigate to Product > Features > Tag Features.
Enter the URL of the page of your application that the UI element that you want to tag is on.
Choose a tagging mode: Tag side-by-side or Tag in an overlay. For more information, see Tagging with the Visual Design Studio.
Select Launch Designer. This loads the Visual Design Studio.
In the Features tab, select the Feature you want to edit.
Select Edit Feature in the bottom-right corner.
Optionally:
- Edit the name of the Feature.
- Change the product area that the Feature is assigned to.
- Re-target the UI element associated with the Feature.
- Change the Page Location.
- Add Event Properties.
- Toggle Filter Dynamic Elements on Selection on or off.
Select Save Changes in the bottom-right corner.

Delete a tagged Feature

To remove a tagged Feature, hover over the row of the Feature you'd like to delete and select the trash icon at the end of the row.

Delete Feature.png

Download a CSV file of Features

To download a comma-separated values (CSV) file of the data in your table of Pages or Features, navigate to Product > Features, and select the Download icon in the top-right corner of the list, next to the Manage Columns icon. This automatically downloads a CSV file of your Features.