Manually Configuring the Integration with Adobe Target

Last update: December 5, 2024

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You can either modify the opt-in wizard configurations that you made when using the wizard, or you can manually integrate with Adobe Target without using the wizard.

Modifying the Opt-In Wizard Configurations

The Opt-in wizard that integrates AEM with Adobe Target automatically creates a Target cloud configuration named Provisioned Target Configuration. The wizard also creates a Target framework for the cloud configuration named Provisioned Target Framework. You can modify the properties of the cloud configuration and framework, if necessary.

You can also configure Adobe Target to use Adobe Target as the reporting source when targeting content by configuring the A4T Analytics Cloud Configuration.

To locate the cloud configuration and the framework, Navigate to Cloud Services via Tools > Deployment > Cloud. (http://localhost:4502/libs/cq/core/content/tools/cloudservices.html)
Below Adobe Target, click Show Configurations.

Provisioned Target Configuration Properties

The following property values are used in the Provisioned Target Configuration cloud configuration that the Opt-in wizard creates:

  • Client Code: As entered in the Opt-in wizard.

  • E-Mail: As entered in the Opt-in wizard.

  • Password: As entered in the Opt-in wizard.

  • API Type: REST

  • Synchronize Segments From Adobe Target: Selected.

  • Client library: mbox.js.

  • Use DTM to deliver client library: Not selected. Select this option if you use DTM or another tag management system to host the mbox.js or AT.js file. Adobe recommends that you use DTM rather than AEM to deliver the library.

  • Custom mbox.js: None specified so that the default mbox.js file is used. Specify a custom mbox.js file that you want to use, as necessary. Only appears if you have selected mbox.js.

  • Custom AT.js: None specified so that the default AT.js file is used. Specify a custom AT.js file that you want to use, as needed. Only appears if you have selected AT.js.

NOTE
In AEM 6.3, you can select the Target Library file, AT.JS, which is a new implementation library for Adobe Target that is designed for both typical web implementations and single-page applications.
AT.js offers several improvements over the mbox.js library:
  • Improved page load times for web implementations
  • Improved security
  • Better implementation options for single-page applications
  • AT.js contains the components that were included in target.js, so there is no longer a call to target.

Provisioned Target Framework Properties

The Provisioned Target Framework that the Opt-in wizard creates is configured to send context data from the Profile Data store. The age and the gender data items of the store is sent to Target by default. Your solution likely requires additional parameters to be sent.

Provisioned Target Framework

You can configure the framework to send additional context information to Target as described in Adding a Target Framework.

Configuring A4T Analytics Cloud Configuration

You can configure Adobe Target to use Adobe Analytics as the reporting source when targeting content.

NOTE
User-Credential Authentication (Legacy) does not work with A4T (for both Target and Analytics). As such, customers should use IMS authentication instead of User-Credential authentication.

To do so, you specify which A4T cloud configuration to connect your Adobe Target cloud configuration with:

  1. Navigate to Cloud Services via the AEM logo > Tools > Deployment > Cloud Services.

  2. In the Adobe Target section, click Configure Now.

  3. Reconnect to your Adobe Target configuration.

  4. In the A4T Analytics Cloud Configuration drop-down menu, select the framework.

    NOTE
    Only analytics configurations that are enabled for A4T are available.
    When configuring A4T with AEM, you may see a Configuration reference missing entry. To be able to select the analytics framework, do the following:
    1. Navigate to Tools > General > CRXDE Lite.
    2. Navigate to the A4T Analytics Configuration Dialog (see below)
    3. Set the property disable to false.
    4. Click Save All.

A4T Analytics Configuration Dialog 

/libs/cq/analytics/components/testandtargetpage/dialog/items/tabs/items/tab1_general/items/a4tAnalyticsConfig

AdobeTargetSettings

Click OK. When you target content with Adobe Target, you are able to select your report source.

Manually Integrating with Adobe Target

Manually integrate with Adobe Target instead of using the opt-in wizard.

NOTE
The Target Library file, AT.JS, is a new implementation library for Adobe Target that is designed for both typical web implementations and single-page applications. Adobe recommends that you use AT.js instead of mbox.js as the client library.
AT.js offers several improvements over the mbox.js library:
  • Improved page load times for web implementations
  • Improved security
  • Better implementation options for single-page applications
  • AT.js contains the components that were included in target.js, so there is no longer a call to target.js
You can select AT.js or mbox.js in the Client library drop-down menu.

Creating a Target Cloud Configuration

To enable AEM to interact with Adobe Target, create a Target cloud configuration. To create the configuration, you provide the Adobe Target client code and user credentials.

You create the Target cloud configuration only once because you can associate the configuration with multiple AEM campaigns. If you have several Adobe Target client codes, create one configuration for each client code.

You can configure the cloud configuration to synchronize segments from Adobe Target. If you enable synchronization, segments are imported from Target in the background when the cloud configuration is saved.

Use the following procedure to create a Target cloud configuration in AEM:

  1. Navigate to Cloud Services via the AEM logo > Tools > Cloud Services > Legacy Cloud Services. (http://localhost:4502/libs/cq/core/content/tools/cloudservices.html)

    The Cloud Services overview page opens.

  2. In the Adobe Target section, click Configure Now.

  3. In the Create Configuration dialog:

    1. Give the configuration a Title.

    2. Select the Adobe Target Configuration template.

      Adobe Target Configuration

  4. Click Create.

    The edit dialog opens.

    AdobeTargetSettings

    NOTE
    When configuring A4T with AEM, you may see a Configuration reference missing entry. To be able to select the analytics framework, do the following:
    1. Navigate to Tools > General > CRXDE Lite.
    2. Navigate to /libs/cq/analytics/components/testandtargetpage/dialog/items/tabs/items/tab1_general/items/a4tAnalyticsConfig
    3. Set the property disable to false.
    4. Click Save All.

  5. In the dialog, provide values for these properties.

    • Client Code: the Target account Client Code

    • E-Mail: the Target account email.

    • Password: the Target account password.

    • API Type: either REST or XML

    • A4T Analytics Cloud Configuration: Select the Analytics Cloud configuration that is used for target activity goals and metrics. You need this configuration if you are using Adobe Analytics as the reporting source when targeting content. If you do not see your cloud configuration, see note in Configuring A4T Analytics Cloud Configuration.

    • Use accurate targeting: By default this check box is selected. If selected, the cloud service configuration waits for the context to load before loading content. See note that follows.

    • Synchronize Segments from Adobe Target: Select this option so you can download segments that are defined in Target to use them in AEM. Select this option when the API Type property is REST, because inline segments are not supported and you must use segments from Target. (The AEM term of ‘segment’ is equivalent to the Target ‘audience’.)

    • Client library: Select whether you want the mbox.js or AT.js client library.

    • Use DTM to deliver client library - Select this option to use either AT.js or mbox.js from DTM or another tag management system. Configure the DTM integration to use this option. Adobe recommends that you use DTM rather than AEM to deliver the library.

    • Custom mbox.js: Leave blank if you checked the DTM box or to use the default mbox.js. Alternatively upload your custom mbox.js. Only appears if you have selected mbox.js.

    • Custom AT.js: Leave blank if you checked the DTM box or to use the default AT.js. Alternatively upload your custom AT.js. Only appears if you have selected AT.js.

    NOTE
    By default when you opt into the Adobe Target configuration wizard, Accurate Targeting is enabled.
    Accurate targeting means that the cloud service configuration waits for the context to load before loading content. As a result, in terms of performance, accurate targeting may create a few millisecond delay before loading content.
    Accurate targeting is always enabled on the author instance. However, on the publish instance you can opt to turn accurate targeting off globally by clearing the check mark next to Accurate Targeting in the cloud service configuration (http://localhost:4502/etc/cloudservices.html). You can also still turn accurate targeting on and off for individual components regardless of your setting in the cloud service configuration.
    If you have already created targeted components and you change this setting, your changes do not affect those components. Change those components directly.

  6. Click Connect to Target to initialize the connection with Target. If the connection is successful, the message Connection successful is displayed. Click OK on the message and then OK on the dialog.

    If you cannot connect to Target, see the troubleshooting section.

Adding a Target Framework

After you configure the Target cloud configuration, add a Target framework. The framework identifies the default parameters that are sent to Adobe Target from the available Client Context or ContextHub components. Target uses the parameters to determine the segments that apply to the current context.

You can create multiple frameworks for a single Target configuration. Multiple frameworks are useful when you must send a different set of parameters to Target for different sections of your website. Create a framework for each set of parameters that you send. Associate each section of your website with the appropriate framework. A web page can use only one framework at a time.

  1. On your Target configuration page, click the + (plus sign) next to Available Frameworks.

  2. In the Create Framework dialog, specify a Title, select the Adobe Target Framework, and click Create.

    Create Framework dialog

    The framework page opens. Sidekick provides components that represent information from the Client Context or ContextHub that you can map.

    Components for framework

  3. Drag the Client Context component that represents the data that you want to use for mapping to the drop target. Alternatively, drag the ContextHub Store component to the framework.

    NOTE
    When mapping, parameters are passed to an mbox via simple strings. You cannot map arrays from ContextHub.

    For example, to use Profile Data about your site visitors to control your Target campaign, drag the Profile Data component to the page. The profile data variables that are available for mapping to Target parameters appear.

    profile Data

  4. Select the variables that you want to make visible to the Adobe Target system by selecting the Share checkbox in the appropriate columns.

    Share

    NOTE
    Synchronizing parameters is one way only - from AEM to Adobe Target.

Your framework is created. To replicate the framework to the publish instance, use the Activate Framework option from the sidekick.

Associating Activities With the Target Cloud Configuration

Associate your AEM activities with your Target cloud configuration so that you can mirror the activities in Adobe Target.

NOTE
What types of activities are available is determined by the following:

  • If the xt_only option is enabled on the Adobe Target tenant (clientcode) used on the AEM side to connect to Adobe Target, then you can create only XT activities in AEM.

  • If the xt_only option is not enabled on the Adobe Target tenant (clientcode), then you can create both XT and A/B activities in AEM.

Additional note: xt_only option is a setting applied on a certain Target tenant (clientcode) and can only be modified directly in Adobe Target. You cannot enable or disable this option in AEM.

Associating the Target Framework With Your Site

After you create a Target framework in AEM, associate your web pages with the framework. The targeted components on the pages send the framework-defined data to Adobe Target for tracking. (See Content Targeting.)

When you associate a page with the framework, the child pages inherit the association.

  1. In the Sites console, navigate to the site that you want to configure.

  2. Using either quick actions or selection mode, select View Properties.

  3. Select the Cloud Services tab.

  4. Click Edit.

  5. Click Add Configuration under Cloud Service Configurations and select Adobe Target.

    Add Configuration

  6. Select the framework that you want under Configuration Reference.

    NOTE
    Make sure that you select the specific framework that you created and not the Target cloud configuration under which it was created.

  7. Click Done.

  8. Activate the root page of the website so you replicate it to the publish server. (See How To Publish Pages.)

    NOTE
    If the framework you attached to the page was not activated yet, a wizard opens which lets you publish it as well.

Troubleshooting Target Connection Problems

To troubleshoot problems that occur when connecting to Target, you can perform the following tasks:

  • Make sure that the user credentials that you provide are correct.
  • Make sure that the AEM instance can connect to the Target server. For example, make sure that firewall rules are not blocking outbound AEM connections, or that AEM is configured to use necessary proxies.
  • Look for helpful messages in the AEM error log. The error.log file is in the crx-quickstart/logs directory where AEM is installed.
  • When editing the activity in Adobe Target, the URL is pointing to localhost. Work around this understanding by setting the AEM Externalizer to the correct URL.

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