DocumentationExperience PlatformAdobe Experience Platform Debugger Guide

Test an Adobe Target implementation with Adobe Experience Platform Debugger

Last update: Thu May 16 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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Adobe Experience Platform Debugger provides a suite of useful tools for testing and debugging a website that has been tooled with an Adobe Target implementation. This guide covers some common workflows and best practices for using Platform Debugger on a Target-enabled website.

Prerequisites

To use Platform Debugger for Target, the website must be using the at.js library version 1.x or higher. Previous versions are not supported.

Initializing Platform Debugger

Open the website you want to test in a browser, and then open the Platform Debugger extension.

Select Target in the left navigation. If Platform Debugger detects that a compatible version of at.js is running on the site, Adobe Target implementation details are shown.

The Target view selected in Platform Debugger, indicating that Adobe Target is active on the currently viewed browser page

Global configuration information

Information about the implementation’s global configuration is displayed at the top of the Target view in Platform Debugger.

Global configuration information for Target highlighted within Platform Debugger

Name
Description
Client Code
A unique ID that identifies your organization.
Version
The version of the Adobe Target library currently installed on the website.
Global Request Name
The name of the global mbox for the Target implementation, the default name being target-global-mbox.
Page Load Event
A boolean value indicating whether a page load event has taken place. Page load events are only supported for at.js 2.x. For non-compatible versions, this value defaults to None.

Network Requests network

Select Network Requests to view summary information on each network request made on the page.

The Network Requests section for Target selected within Platform Debugger

As you perform actions on the page (including reloading the page), new columns are automatically added to the table, allowing you to view the sequence of actions and how values are altered between each request.

The Network Requests section for Target selected within Platform Debugger

The following values are captured:

Name
Description
Page Title
The title of the page that initiated this request.
Page URL
The URL of the page that initiated the request.
URL
The raw URL of the request.
Method
The HTTP method for the request.
Query String
The query string of the request, taken from the URL.
POST Body
The body of the request (only set for POST requests).
Pathname
The pathname of the request URL.
Hostname
The hostname of the request URL.
Domain
The domain of the request URL.
Timestamp
A timestamp of when the request (or event) took place, within the browser’s timezone.
Time Since Page Load
The elapsed time since the page initially loaded at the time of the request.
Initiator
The initiator of the request. In other words, who made the request?
clientCode
The identifier for your organization’s account as recognized by Target.
requestType
The API that was used for the request. If using at.js 1.x, the value is /json. If using at.js 2.x, the value is delivery.
Audience Manager Blob
Provides information on encrypted Audience Manager metadata referred to as the “blob”.
Audience Location Hint
The data collection region ID. This is a numeric identifier for the geographic location of a particular ID service data center. For more information, see the Audience Manager documentation on DCS Region IDs, Locations, and Host Names and the Experience Cloud Identity Service guide on getLocationHint.
Browser Height
The browser height in pixels.
Browser Time Offset
The browser’s time offset associated with its timezone.
Browser Width
The browser width in pixels.
Color Depth
The color depth of the screen.
context
An object that contains contextual information about the browser used to make the request, including screen dimensions and client platform.
prefetch
The parameters that are used in during prefetch processing.
execute
The parameters that are used during execute processing.
Experience Cloud Visitor ID
If one is detected, provides information on the Experience Cloud ID (ECID) that is assigned to the current site visitor.
experienceCloud
Holds the Experience Cloud IDs for this specific user session: an A4T supplemental data ID, and a visitor ID (ECID).
id
The Target ID for the visitor.
Mbox Host
The host that the Target request was made to.
Mbox PC
A string that encapsulates the mbox session ID and the Adobe Target Edge location hint. This value is used by at.js to ensure that the session and Edge location remain sticky.
Mbox Referrer
The URL referrer for the specific mbox request.
Mbox URL
The URL for the mbox server.
Mbox Version
The version of mbox being used.
mbox3rdPartyId
The mbox3rdPartyId assigned to the current visitor.
mboxRid
The mbox request ID.
requestId
A unique ID for the request.
Screen Height
The height of the screen in pixels.
Screen Width
The width of the screen in pixels.
Supplemental Data ID
A system-generated ID used to match visitors with corresponding Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics calls. See the A4T troubleshooting guide for more information.
vst
The Experience Cloud Identity Service API configuration.
webGLRenderer
Provides information on the WebGL renderer used on the page, if applicable.

To view the details for a parameter on a particular network event, select the table cell in question. A popover appears providing further information on the parameter, including a description and its value. If the value is a JSON object, the dialog includes a fully navigable view of the object’s structure.

The Network Requests section for Target selected within Platform Debugger

Configuration

Select Configuration to enable or disable a selection of additional debugging tools for Target.

The Configuration Requests section for Target selected within Platform Debugger

Debugging tool
Description
Target Console Logging
When enabled, allows you access at.js logs in the browser’s console tab. This feature can also be enabled by adding an mboxDebug query param (with any value) to the browser URL.
Target Disable
When enabled, all Target functionalities are disabled on the page. This can be used to determine if a Target-specific offer is what is causing the issue on the page.
Target Trace

Note: You must be logged in to enable this feature.

When enabled, tracking tokens are sent with every quest, and a trace object is returned in each response. at.js parses the response window.__targetTraces. Each trace object contains the same information as the [Network Requests tab], with the following additions:

  • A profile snapshot, allowing you to see attributes before and after requests.

  • Matched and unmatched activities, showing why the current profile did or did not qualify for specific activities.

    • This can help identify which audiences a profile is qualifying for at a given point, and why.
    • Target docs contain more info on different activity types
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