Events

Batch allows you to track events that happen in your application. They automatically keep track of their count, the last time it happened and their value.

Important
- Please read our guide on custom data before tagging your app.
- Newly tracked events are hidden by default. You will need to manually display them from the dashboard settings > "Custom data" tab.

Tracking events

Events are easy to use, but have some rules:

• Event names are strings. They should be made of letters, numbers or underscores ([a-z0-9_]) and can't be longer than 30 characters.
• A custom data object can be attached. See the section "Event Attributes", right under this one.
• Custom attributes have some reserved keys. See the section "Reserved event attributes" under "Event Attributes" for more info.

Here's are some examples:

  // Simple event without attributes
  BatchProfile.instance.trackEvent(name: "ad_seen");
  
  // Event with custom attributes
  BatchProfile.instance.trackEvent(name: "tab_clicked", attributes: BatchEventAttributes()
      // Custom attributes
      .putString("sub_category", "bags")
      // Compatibility reserved key
      .putString("\$label", "activity")
  );

Important
Please test your implementation using our debug tool or profile view before releasing your app on the store.

Event attributes

Custom attributes can be attached to events using BatchEventAttributes. You will then use this event when calling BatchProfile.instance.trackEvent(). It is very similar to BatchProfileAttributeEditor.

Attribute names are strings. They should be made of letters, numbers or underscores ([a-z0-9_]) and can't be longer than 30 characters (e.g. has_premium). They will be automatically lowercased, so trying to use the same key with different casing will overwrite the previously set value.

Values must be any of the following types:

• String must not be longer than 200 characters and can't be empty. For better results, you should make them upper/lowercase and trim the whitespaces.
• Number.
• Boolean
• Date
• URL (using Dart's Uri type) not longer than 2048 characters and must follow the format scheme://[authority][path][?query][#fragment]
• List<String | BatchEventAttributes>, You can set array of strings (max 200chars) and array of objects. Max 25 items. You cannot mix several attribute types in one array. Arrays can't be nested.
• Object (using BatchEventAttributes, Objects cannot have more than 3 levels of nesting.

Note: Setting a value for an existing key will overwrite it. Any attempt to add an invalid attribute will fail and the event will NOT be tracked.

Reserved event attributes

Some event attributes have reserved keys, and are all prefixed by a $ sign. This is the list of currently reserved event attributes. You cannot set a custom event attribute starting by a $ sign.

Id	Description
$label	String - Optional Event label. Must be a string, will automatically be bridged as label for application event compatibility. Max 200 chars.
$tags	List - Optional Event tags. Must be a list of string, will automatically be bridged as tags for application event compatibility. Max 10 items of type string, each no longer than 64chars. The SDK will automatically lowercase them, so two same strings with different casing do not count as two different tags

In Batch Flutter Plugin v1 you were able to set a label and tags at the root of an event, with the limit of 1 label and 10 tags.

Batch Flutter Plugin v2 introduced Object and Array types in event attributes. You can set more than one array on profiles events. This is only supported for profiles, and not on the install-centric data model, which currently powers push notification and In-App messages.

However, it's still possible to set a label and tags on events in the install-centric data model by using $label and $tags, and activate compatibility flows. This way, you will be able to use this data for your push and in-app communications.

Example:

BatchEventAttributes eventAttributes = BatchEventAttributes()
  .putObject('delivery_address', BatchEventAttributes()
    .putInteger('number', 43)
    .putString('street', 'Rue Beaubourg')
    .putInteger('zip_code', 75003)
    .putString('city', 'Paris')
    .putString('country', 'France'),
   )
  .putDate('date', DateTime.now())
  .putObjectList('items_list', [
    BatchEventAttributes()
      .putString('name', 'Basic Tee')
      .putString('size', 'M')
      .putDouble('price', 23.99)
      .putUrl(
          'item_url', Uri.parse("https://batch-store.com/basic-tee"))
      .putUrl(
          'item_image',
          Uri.parse(
              "https://batch-store.com/basic-tee/black/image.png"))
      .putBoolean('in_sales', true),
    BatchEventAttributes()
        .putString('name', 'Short socks pack x3')
        .putString('size', '38-40')
        .putDouble('price', 15.99)
        .putUrl('item_url',
            Uri.parse("https://batch-store.com/short-socks-pack-x3"))
        .putUrl(
            'item_image',
            Uri.parse(
                "https://batch-store.com/short-socks-pack-x3/image.png"))
        .putBoolean('in_sales', false),
  ])
  .putStringList('metadata', ['first_purchase', 'apple_pay'])
  .putString('\$label', 'accessories')
  .putStringList('\$tags', ['first_purchase', 'in_promo']);
BatchProfile.instance.trackEvent(name: "validated_purchase", attributes: eventAttributes);

Tracking user location

User location can be tracked in Batch. Batch will NOT automatically collect geolocation permission or track user location. You will need to fetch the user location by your own means.

Once that is done, give the latitude/longitude to Batch:

BatchProfile.instance.trackLocation(latitude: 0.4, longitude: 0.523232);

This data will allow you to send geo-targeted push notifications from the dashboard or the Campaigns API.

The SDK will throttle location tracking to optimize network and battery usage. You can track one location event every 30 seconds, any attempt at updating the location sooner will be ignored by the SDK.