Google Apps Script Tracking add on usage with Google Analytics

Originally posted on Google Apps Developers blog

Posted by Romain Vialard, a Google Developer Expert and developer of Yet Another Mail Merge, a Google Sheets add-on.

Google Apps Script makes it easy to create and publish add-ons for Google Sheets, Docs, and Forms. There are now hundreds of add-ons available and many are reaching hundreds of thousands of users. Google Analytics is one of the best tools to learn what keeps those users engaged and what should be improved to make an add-on more successful.

Cookies and User Identification

Add-ons run inside Google Sheets, Docs, and Forms where they can display content in dialogs or sidebars. These custom interfaces are served by the Apps Script HTML service, which offers client-side HTML, CSS, and JS with a few limitations.

Among those limitations, cookies aren’t persistent. The Google Analytics cookie will be recreated each time a user re-opens your dialog or sidebar, with a new client ID every time. So, Analytics will see each new session as if initiated by a new user, meaning the number of sessions and number of users should be very similar.

Fortunately, it’s possible to use localStorage to store the client ID — a better way to persist user information instead of cookies. After this change, your user metrics should be far more accurate.

Add-ons can also run via triggers, executing code at a recurring interval or when a user performs an action like opening a document or responding to a Google Form. In those cases, there’s no dialog or sidebar, so you should use the Google Analytics Measurement Protocol (see policies on the use of this service) to send user interaction data directly to Google Analytics servers via the UrlFetch service in Google Apps Script.

A Client ID is also required in that case, so I recommend using the Apps Script User properties service. Most examples on the web show how to generate a unique Client ID for every call to Analytics but this won’t give you an accurate user count.

You can also send the client ID generated on client side to the server so as to use the same client ID for both client and server calls to Analytics, but at this stage, it is best to rely on the optional User ID in Google Analytics. While the client ID represents a client / device, the User ID is unique to each user and can easily be used in add-ons as users are authenticated. You can generate a User ID on the server side, store it among the user properties, and reuse it for every call to Analytics (both on the client and the server side).

Custom Dimensions & Metrics

In add-ons, we usually rely on event tracking and not page views. It is possible to add different parameters on each event thanks to categories, actions, labels and value, but it’s also possible to add much more info by using custom dimensions & metrics.

For example, the Yet Another Mail Merge add-on is mostly used to send emails, and we have added many custom dimensions to better understand how it is used. For each new campaign (batch of emails sent), we record data linked to the user (e.g. free or paying customer, gmail.com or Google for Work / EDU user) and data linked to the campaign (e.g. email size, email tracking activated or not). You can then reuse those custom dimensions inside custom reports & dashboards.

Once you begin to leverage all that, you can get very insightful data. Until October 2015, Yet Another Mail Merge let you send up to 100 emails per day for free. But we’ve discovered with Analytics that most people sending more than 50 emails in one campaign were actually sending 100 emails - all the free quota they could get - but we failed to motivate them to switch to our paid plan.

As a result of this insight, we have reduced this free plan to 50 emails/day and at the same time introduced a referral program, letting users get more quota for free (they still don’t pay but they invite more users so it’s interesting for us). With this change, we have greatly improved our revenue and scaled user growth.

Or course, we also use Google Analytics to track the efficiency of our referral program.

To help you get started in giving you more insight into your add-ons, below are some relevant pages from our documentation on the tools described in this post. We hope this information will help your apps become more successful!:

• Google Analytics: Using localStorage to store the client ID
• Google Analytics: Measurement Protocol
• Apps Script: UrlFetch service
• Apps Script: Properties service
• Google Analytics: User ID
• Google Analytics: About Events tracking
• Google Analytics: Custom Dimensions & Metrics

Romain Vialard profile | website

Romain Vialard is a Google Developer Expert. After some years spent as a Google Apps consultant, he is now focused on products for Google Apps users, including add-ons such as Yet Another Mail Merge and Form Publisher.

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What’s new with Google Fit Distance Calories Meal data and new apps and wearables

Posted by Angana Ghosh, Lead Product Manager, Google Fit

To help users keep track of their physical activity, we recently updated the Google Fit app with some new features, including an Android Wear watch face that helps users track their progress throughout the day. We also added data types to the Google Fit SDK and have new partners tracking data (e.g. nutrition, sleep, etc.) that developers can now use in their own apps. Find out how to integrate Google Fit into your app and read on to check out some of the cool new stuff you can do.

Distance traveled per day The Google Fit app now computes the distance traveled per day. Subscribe to it using the Recording API and query it using the History API.
Calories burned per day If a user has entered their details into the Google Fit app, the app now computes their calories burned per day. Subscribe to it using the Recording API and query it using the History API.
Nutrition data from LifeSum, Lose It!, and MyFitnessPal LifeSum and Lose It! are now writing nutrition data, like calories consumed, macronutrients (proteins, carbs, fats), and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to Google Fit. MyFitnessPal will start writing this data soon too. Query it from Google Fit using the History API.
Sleep activity from Basis Peak and Sleep as Android Basis Peak and Sleep as Android are now writing sleep activity segments to Google Fit. Query this data using the History API.
New workout sessions and activity data from even more great apps and fitness wearables! Endomondo, Garmin, the Daily Burn, the Basis Peak and the Xiaomi miBand are new Google Fit partners that will allow users to store their workout sessions and activity data. Developers can access this data with permission from the user, which will also be shown in the Google Fit app.
How are developers using the Google Fit platform? Partners like LifeSum, and Lose It! are reading all day activity to help users keep track of their physical activity in their favorite fitness app. Runkeeper now shows a Google Now card to its users encouraging them to “work off” their meals, based on their meals written to Google Fit by other apps. Instaweather has integrated Google Fit into a new Android Wear face that they’re testing in beta. To try out the face, first join this Google+ community and then follow the link to join the beta and download the app.

We hope you enjoy checking out these Google Fit updates. Thanks to all our partners for making it possible! Find out more about integrating the Google Fit SDK into your app.

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Firefox OS Launcher APK Free Download Make Your Android Like Firefox OS

Firefox OS Launcher APK Free Download | Make Your Android Like Firefox OS

Firefox OS Launcher APK Free Download | Make Your Android Like Firefox OS

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Customization :
Make Firefox OS your own with apps and add-ons from the Firefox Marketplace, and keep all your favorite items front and centre with Pin the Web.

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From Do Not Track to Private Browsing with Tracking Protection, Firefox OS is designed keep you in control of your browsing activity.

Size : 89M

Firefox OS Launcher APK Free Download | Make Your Android Like Firefox OS

Click Here to Free Download Firefox OS Launcher APK for Android

Firefox OS Launcher APK Free Download | Make Your Android Like Firefox OS

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HTC diary London Launch Event 2014 by Tom

25.03.2014 - The All New HTC One

It was damp and cold when I got to the station; a 20 minute walk in the drizzle. I didnt care - the excitement I was feeling was a bit silly really - I felt a bit like a Belieber going to their first concert. Where I was actually going was to The Olympia conference centre in Kensington to see the HTC One M8 unveiled. I was one of only 20 HTC Elevate Members chosen to attend this event, so I was feeling privileged, excited, apprehensive about meeting new people, and also not looking forward to the length of the day. The train arrived on time, and I headed to the Parcel Yard pub at Kings Cross - where I met up with most of the other Elevators who were going to the Event. We then got on the Underground and went to the venue; where we were pretty much fast-tracked through a registration process and led to seats at the front of the auditorium.

This was a much bigger venue than last year; massive black cloth drapes and moody lighting were accentuated by a thin fog of fake smoke. As we entered the main room there were a good few hundred seats all full of reporters, VIPs and other guests, and of course Laura Kimball with her trusty intern sidekick Britt. We had seats on the very front row, right by the stage. Kevin, Dan, and myself got logged in on our phones and connected to the Hangout that Mike was hosting, and started filming straight away. There was quite a wait until it started but once it did, Phil Blair, HTCs EMEA President, introduced the show and what HTC were thinking about when they designed this years phone; and then brought on Cher Wang who clearly showed her passion for great devices and great user experiences. Once she had wowed us, she brought on Scott Croyle, HTCs design guru, to tell us about the phone itself, and all its new features.

All this was interspersed with loud music and great graphics on the huge screen behind the stage. The whole atmosphere was one of excitement, and joy, and passion - showing just why HTC make such great devices for the user, whether they be casual users or massive tech geeks.

Key points that I took away about the phone are the massively improved camera which even allows setting apertures and shutter speeds; new features enabled by the second rear camera such as refocussing after the photo is taken; improved boomsound performance; and lots of little doo-daddy bits to make the user experience even better than Sense 5.5 was.

After the main presentation, suddenly the drapes at the side of the main hall were pulled away, revealing an area as big again as the hall, but filled with benches containing  dozens and dozens of demonstration phones. Some were simply set up so you could play with the phone itself, whereas some benches were set up specifically to showcase specific features - one for the camera had models standing and posing for people to use the cameras on; the ones for HTC TV demos had actual televisions lined up in front of them etc. All the time, staff were approaching us with Canapes and drinks. There were more than enough demo phones to go around, the event seemed to have been very slickly organised. Towards the end we saw staff wandering around with signs to assist journos wanting buses to airports and so on.

After the event, we all gathered and walked to a Byrons Burger bar about 15 minutes walk away, where HTC treated us to burgers and beers for a good few hours. We spent all of this time laughing, joking and discussing the new stuff wed seen; this to all of us is an extremely exciting device. It looks fantastic in the hand, its slick, fast and easy to use, and the features under the facade are absolutely brilliant. If you have even half a chance of buying one, do it - you will not be disappointed.

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!

For latest news follow Android Revolution HD on popular social platforms:

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The Impossible Card Trick Apk v21 For Android

You then pull out a deck of cards or borrow a deck of cards and pass them to the spectator, (borrowed is always better)

Now ask the spectator to give the cards a really good shuffle.

When the spectator is happy that the cards have been well and truly shuffled, You then ask the spectator to place 5 cards from anywhere inside the deck face down in front you onto the table and to place the rest of the deck to one side as they wont be needed for the rest of the trick.

You then take those 5 cards from the table, look at them and place 1 card face down back onto the table and then ask the spectator to slide that card under the phone.

You are then left holding 4 cards, Now place each of the 4 cards face up onto the table and ask the spectator to type them into the impossible card app.

When the spectator has entered the 4 cards left into the impossible card app, the phone will then display the back of a playing card.

Ask the spectator to touch the back of that card on the phone and on doing so the card will turn face up revealing a card.

Now ask the spectator to look at the card that is under the phone... When he does so it will be the same card as what was just revealed on the screen.

This truly is the most impossible card effect done with a pack of cards and a mobile phone.

Remember....

*** Totally Impromptu effect
*** No forces
*** No sleight of hand
*** Works with any deck of cards
*** Instantly repeatable and works every time
*** No secret moves
*** The magician hands the phone out before the deck is touched and never touches the phone again.
*** Doesnt have to be a full deck of cards

A great puzzle that will have your spectator scratching their head.

Features
**********
Blue and Red backed bicycle cards.designs.
Password protection screen to hide the secret Instructions from anyone who has access to your phone.


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Download APK:
click here
Additional Server:
click here
Google Play Store:
click here

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Android Developers Blog Preview of Google TV Add on for the Android SDK

Android Developers Blog: Preview of Google TV Add-on for the Android SDK

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A leaner and faster Google Drive API

Originally posted on Google Apps Developer Blog

Posted by Dan McGrath, Product Manager, Google Drive

Today, version 3 (v3) of the Google Drive API is available, providing developers with a leaner, faster by default, and more consistent interface to Google Drive. This latest update is designed to be easier for developers who are integrating with Drive for the first time.

In the time since we launched the original version of the Drive SDK, we’ve learned a lot about how developers are using our API and the pitfalls they’ve encountered. This version simplifies the API in several ways, including:

• Reducing the number of collections developers need to understand
• Removing some duplication
• Cleaning up method and property names to be more consistent
• Setting defaults that are faster and more efficient

For example, our files.list call now only includes the most commonly used fields that we serve efficiently by default, with additional fields able to be added via the fields parameter. This makes the default call nearly 6X faster in v3 than in v2:

While future versions of the API will be more feature-focused, this release provides improved performance and ease of use over the previous version of the API (v2). We will continue to support both versions so that existing apps using v2 can run without changes (developers don’t have to upgrade). For developers with a v2 app who want to take advantage of the new improvements, we’ve got a handy cheat sheet to help with migration.

To get started using the new version of the API, check out the developer docs; and for any questions, find us with the google-drive-sdk tag on StackOverflow. We look forward to seeing what you’ll build with the new API!

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