Track Events

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A Track Event is a specific type of event that you can configure to gain insights into user interactions within your app. Track Events programmatically notify Pendo that a particular action occurred at a specific time and associate this event to a designated visitor and account.

Understand Track Events

Track Events can take the form of both server and client side, and they capture interactions that aren't automatically captured as Click Events or Page View Events.

  Client side Server side
Examples

Browser errors, download completions, or other events that aren't automatically captured as Click Events or Page View Events.

Actions like API calls or emails sent to users.
Sending method Sent through Javascript in the front-end code of your application. Sent as REST API calls.
User associations Visitor and Account IDs are automatically associated with these Track Events through the Pendo agent. The API call must include the relevant Visitor and Account IDs, which must match the web events for those users.
Authentication Handled through the install script automatically. Required to use shared secret key.

You can also send Track Events through a Segment.com integration or through Pendo for Mobile. To learn more, see Segment.com integration overview and React Native Track Events solution for Pendo Mobile.

Configure Track Events in your app

Before you can view Track Event data in Pendo, you must first configure Track Events within your app, which requires assistance from your development team.

While historical data is readily available for Pages and Features, Track Events differ in this regard. Configuration is a prerequisite to accessing data on Track Events. Once configured, Track Events promptly appear in Pendo as they are received, eliminating the need for manual tagging, unlike the process for Pages and Features.

To learn how to set up Track Events, see Configure Track Events.

View and manage Track Events in Pendo

You can view Track Event data in Data Explorer reports, paths, funnels, retention reports, visitor reports, account reports, and the visitor timeline.

You can also view Track Event data by opening Product > Track Events in the left-side navigation menu.

Track Events page

This opens the Track Events page, which lists all Track Events that Pendo has received and provides data based on the filters set at the top of the page.

You can add or remove columns to the table by selecting the Manage columns icon that's located in the top-right corner of the table.

TrackEvents_ManageColumns.png

Track Event details

Select a Track Event from the Track Events page to open the details page for that specific Track Event and view additional data. In the top-right corner of the page, you can choose to delete the Track Event, star it as a favorite, or create a usage goal.

When deleting a Track Event, it's important to note that you can't create a new Track Event with the deleted name. If you accidentally delete an event and want it re-enabled, contact Pendo Technical Support.

Expand the Details dropdown component to access options for renaming the Track Event, viewing and editing the assigned Product Area, and viewing the associated app. If you choose to edit the event name, the updated name is only reflected in the Pendo UI. You must still send the event to us using the same name that was initially configured.

TrackEvents_Details.png

Below the Details dropdown, you can find three basic metrics on the Track Event Details page. These metrics take your selected segment, date range, and account at the top of the page into account and include the following:

  • Number of visitors. Indicates the total number of visitors who generated the Track Event.
  • Number of accounts. Indicates the total number of accounts that generated the Track Event.
  • Number of Track EventsIndicates the total number of instances in which the Track Event was generated.

Below these metrics is an area chart that displays all Daily Track Events over the selected date range by default. Select the dropdown arrows in the chart title to modify the date range and data displayed, such as Weekly Visitors, and hover over a data point in the chart to view the associated number of events, visitors, or accounts.

TrackEvents_Details_ChartHover.png

You can also view the Top Visitors and Top Accounts that generated the Track Event in the lists below the area chart. Select View All Visitors or View All Accounts at the bottom of these lists to view a report that lists all associated visitors or accounts, which you can then export to a CSV file.

TrackEvents_Details_TopVisitorsAccounts.png

At the bottom of the page, you can find the Event Breakdown table, which lists each unique combination of event properties associated with the visitors who generated the Track Event. This means that if the same event properties are sent by the same visitor 10 times, only one row of data populates with a Total Events count of 10. The quantity specified next to the table header represents the total number of unique event property combinations, rather than the total number of Track Event generations.

This table contains up to 5,000 rows, and you can export the full dataset to CSV by selecting Download CSV icon.

TrackEvents_Details_DownloadCSV.png

You can modify the table columns to your preference by using the Manage columns icon located in the top-right corner of the table.

Use Track Event rules in segments

You can build segments based on Track Event usage in Pendo, such as visitors who have never generated a specific Track Event or generated an event more than 10 times within a certain timeframe.

To do this, open the segment builder, add a rule, select Track Events at the bottom of the Product Usage section, and then update the additional dropdown options to your preference.

Segments_CreateSegment_TrackEventRule.png

You can also select Use Event Property to add an event property filter to the segment rule. Options include global event properties, any configured custom event properties, and metadata that's enabled as historical metadata.

Note: If you intend to use the segment for guide eligibility, you can't use event properties and are limited to the “used” or “not used” options. To learn more, see Ineligible segments for guide targeting.

Additional resources

Visit the Pendo Academy for a high-level explanation of when to use Track Events and how to configure them. 

After you've configured Track Events, you can watch another video to learn how to use them for Pendo analytics and guides.

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