Target page methods by mbox.js library version

The way Target makes and responds to calls from your page depends on the version of the Target library you are using, whether the Experience Cloud Visitor ID implementation is present, and whether the visitor ID exists.

IMPORTANT

mbox.js end-of-life: As of March 31, 2021, Adobe Target no longer supports the mbox.js library. Post March 31, 2021, all calls made from mbox.js will gracefully fail and impact your pages that have Target activities running by serving default content.

We recommend that all customers migrate to the most recent version of the new Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK or the at.js JavaScript library before this date to avoid any potential issues with your sites. For more information, see Overview: implement Target for client-side web.

NOTE

If you use at.js, all calls are made using JSON. This page provides details about mbox.js library versions. The behaviors described in the scenarios below do not apply to at.js.

This section provides information about how each version of the Target library responds to the Target call from your page in each of the following scenarios.

There are several types or endpoints, depending on your implementation and library version. You should be familiar with each type to understand how Target responds to calls in each scenario.

Type/Endpoint	Call Method	Response Content
autocreate global mbox - synchronous	document.write to make call	JavaScript without document.write()
autocreate global mbox - asynchronous	createElement() to append call to body	JavaScript without document.write()
standard	document.write to make call	JavaScript with document.write()
ajax	createElement() to append call to body	JavaScript without document.write()
json	XMLHTTPrequest() to make call	returns JSON response

IMPORTANT

For any type but standard, all custom code and offers should be written to support an ajax environment. For example, if you use a JavaScript that includes document.write(), the script will not work as expected.

No Visitor ID Implementation

If you are using Target Standard or Premium with mbox.js, and you have enabled Create Global Mbox for your account, the autocreate global mbox synchronous type of call and response is made, regardless of mbox.js version.

If you write your own custom code rather than using the Visual Experience Composer actions, make sure your code is appropriate for an ajax environment. For example, if you use a JavaScript that includes document.write(), the script will not work as expected.

NOTE

Multiple ajax mbox calls with the same mbox name but different parameters will not work on the same page. Only the first call will be made.

If you use “auto-create global mbox” but also have mboxCreate calls on your page, for example, if you are implementing Target Standard or Premium on a page that previously used in a legacy implementation, the global mbox calls are made using the** autocreate global mbox - standard** endpoint and the mboxCreate calls are made using the standard endpoint. The standard endpoint uses document.write() to make the call and to respond. This blocks the page load, including content delivered in the ajax response, until all information is downloaded.

If you use only mboxCreate, for example on pages created using Target Classic, the page works as it always has.

Creation Method	mbox.js v57	mbox.js v58	mbox.js v59	mbox.js v60
autocreate global mbox	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - synchronous
mboxCreate	standard	standard	standard	standard

Visitor ID Implementation Present, but No Visitor ID Set

If no visitor ID has been set, there is no Experience Cloud visitor cookie for the user. The page calls out to the Visitor ID service to get the visitor ID. Target waits for the response with the ID making the call to Target.

NOTE

Mbox.js v58 is strongly recommended to ensure that the visitor ID returns before the Target call is made.

If you are using mbox.js version 57 in this scenario, everything works as it does if there is no visitor ID implementation, as described in the previous scenario. Beginning with mbox.js version 58, the Experience Cloud Visitor ID service returns with a visitor ID before Target calls are made. This ensures that audience data shared through the Profiles and Audiences core service are available for the first Target call in the visitor’s session. To avoid flickering of default content before test content returns, Target hides the <BODY> until the visitor ID service returns. In version 58, display:none is used to hide the page. This creates some problems with responsive sites, so beginning with version 59, opacity:0 is used to hide the content.

Creation Method	mbox.js v57	mbox.js v58	mbox.js v59	mbox.js v60
autocreate global mbox	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - asynchronous	autocreate global mbox - asynchronous	autocreate global mbox - asynchronous
mboxCreate	standard	ajax	ajax	ajax

Visitor ID Implementation Present, and Visitor ID Exists

If the visitor ID cookie exists, Target does not need to make a call to the Visitor ID service. In this case, there is no need to wait for the Visitor ID service before displaying content. For versions 57 to 59, the autocreate global mbox - synchronous type is used, so the page waits for the call to Target to return before continuing to load. This ensures no flicker of default content is seen. For v60, the global mbox-asynchronous type is used to ensure Target waits for the Experience Cloud opt-out service to respond. The opt-out service is part of the Data Co-op releasing in the fall of 2016. Because all calls are returned using ajax , document.write() should not be used with mbox.js version 60.

Creation Method	mbox.js v57	mbox.js v58	mbox.js v59	mbox.js v60
autocreate global mbox	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - synchronous	autocreate global mbox - asynchronous (to support development of the Data Co-op, which will be released later in 2016)
mboxCreate	standard	standard	standard	ajax