Reliable Targets

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This identifier is heavily reliant on the structure of the widget tree. Consequently, changes to the widget tree, such as moving, nesting, or removing a widget, may result in the loss of tracking data.

For instance, consider the widget tree of a Flutter app as illustrated below:

main.dart
Widget _buildMyAwesomeContent() {
return Column(
children: const [
Text('Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything'),
Text('is'),
Text('42'),
],
);
}

In many cases, maintaining a Reliable Target, despite changes in its position within the tree, is essential. This consistency ensures reliable analysis of data across different Snapshots, dates, and versions, including variations in layouts or A/B testing.

Having a Reliable Target for a widget enables the analysis of data across various Snapshots from different dates and versions, including layouts or different A/B testing variations.

Here are some scenarios where the Reliable Targets feature proves beneficial:

  • Tracking elements capable of dynamically shifting on a page (e.g., customizable profile page).
  • Monitoring elements across various app versions, even if their positions change (e.g., carousel transitioning from top to bottom).
  • Tracking elements amidst A/B testing (e.g., testing old and new product pages within the same version).
  • Monitoring elements used across multiple pages (e.g., search bar).
  • Ensuring a unique identifier for a call to action regardless of its location on the screen (e.g., “Add to Cart” button).

To facilitate this, the Contentsquare Flutter SDK offers a ReliableTarget widget, designed to encapsulate the widget intended for reliable tracking.

The ReliableTarget widget requires a mandatory name argument for identifying the component to track. Below is an example of implementing it with the provided code:

main.dart
Widget _buildMyAwesomeContent() {
return ReliableTarget(
name: '42_is_the_answer',
child: Column(
children: const [
Text('Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything'),
Text('is'),
Text('42'),
],˝
),
);
}
  • name MUST be unique
  • name should NOT be empty
  • name for the same ReliableTarget must be the same across different versions of the app