Custom Tealium IQ Tools
After years of working with different tag management systems (TMS), I’m now spending more time with Tealium IQ (TiQ). As I get more involved, I’m finding things that I wish the tool did for me, but either doesn’t, or does, but not how I would do them. When I run into these scenarios, I will often try to build something that does what I want.
Nearly everything I build is built with simple JavaScript. Most of what I build is intended to be converted into a bookmarklet for quick and easy use, without the need to install anything. (No browser extensions or external apps… yet.) If I like what I’ve built, I try to share it with others who might get some use out of it. And that’s where this article comes in…
TiQ — Toggle Debug
It’s easy enough to set or delete Tealium’s “utagdb” cookie to enable (or disable) logging as your profile’s various load rules, extensions, and tags execute, but I wanted to accomplish it in one click. That’s what this tool does. I suggest installing it as a bookmarklet and using it any time you need to toggle “utagdb”. From there, sweet logging bliss is only a page reload away…
TiQ — Asset Scraper
Some people may find this unnecessary, but some tag managers let you export tags, conditions (load rules), data layer variables, etc. I love this and feel that having a quick and easy way to manage your tag (and other assets) inventory outside of the tag manager is often a life saver*. I honestly don’t know that I could live without it.
TiQ doesn’t offer this ability out of the box. I’ve come across other custom tools, but what I’ve found hasn’t really meet my needs. So, I built what I wanted. It’s a simple JavaScript library that scrapes your TiQ window for all Data Layer variables, Load Rules, Tags, and Extensions, along with important information about each asset found. The data is written to the console using either console.table() or as a copy/paste-ready comma-delimited string.
To use it, you just have to be logged into your TiQ account and on the Data Layer page. From there, run the code and collect the output from the console. (I recommend using the Crunchinator to convert the code into a bookmarklet.)
This is what you can expect:
Get the v1 Code! (DOM scraping version)
Get the v2 Code! (No DOM scraping version; more data)
*The first time someone suggested maintaining a tag inventory outside of the TMS, I thought they were crazy. Who wants more spreadsheets, more documents, and more lists to maintain? I do! At least, I do now. Keeping a list of tags, what they represent, who requested them and when, any associated JIRAs, and sample output (ie// expected beacons) has become a must for me. If you’re not doing it, I recommend giving it a shot.
I’d love to hear how these tools work for you!
2/7/2020 Update: Update asset scraper “get the code!” links, add v2 link
