Adobe Experience Platform Debugger jumps environments between pages

[MitchellTe1]

I am attempting to debug recent updates to my Adobe Experience Platform "Tags" (Adobe Launch) setup. I am able to get the debugger to inject the Dev library on a single page but when I navigate to another page on the same site, the environment jumps to Production. If I enter the first URL in the browser or navigate to the original URL, the environment jumps back to Dev.    What's a good way to force the Dev environment to "stick" no matter what page I navigate to as long as it's on the same domain I'm debugging?

Thanks -- 

[Vinay_Chauhan]

Hi @MitchellTe1 

Yes, this is a common issue.

When you force the Dev environment using the Adobe Debugger, it only applies to the page you’re on. If you navigate to another page, the site loads the default (usually Production) library again.

To keep the Dev environment active across pages, the best way is to use a browser extension like Adobe Experience Platform Debugger and persist the Dev environment by enabling the "Override environment" setting for the domain.

This way, the Dev library stays active as you browse through different pages on the same site.

Hope that helps!

[Vinay_Chauhan]

Also, There is another extension on Chrome Browser that I myself use -
Adobe Launch Switch (Chrome extension) –
This is another handy tool where you can pick the environment (Dev, Staging, Prod), and it will persist as you move from page to page. 

[MitchellTe1]

Hi Vinay - the Adobe Launch Switch plugin seems to be out of date? When I click the link to switch environments, it goes to a 404. Since Search Discovery changed to something else, this one may not work anymore unless you know some hints!?

[Vinay_Chauhan]

The Adobe Launch Switch extension was originally developed by Search Discovery, but since their rebranding, it hasn’t been actively maintained and parts of it (like the environment switch links) have broken or are now redirecting to 404s.

Unfortunately, unless someone forks and updates the extension, it might not be reliable anymore. At this point, the AEP Debugger's "Apply Across Domain" is probably the best native option, even though it can be a bit flaky on some setups.

If you’re consistently running into issues, a fallback could be to manually override the adobeDynamicTagManager.loadLibrary() call in the browser console or via a snippet to force-load the Dev library, not the most elegant, but it works during debugging.

[MitchellTe1]

Hi again Vinay, I did click that Override Environment (now called "apply across domain") because it led me to believe it would work before I posted. 😞

[Vinay_Chauhan]

Sometimes browser cache or existing service workers can prevent the Dev library from persisting across navigations. Try clearing cache or using incognito mode.

[MitchellTe1]

I believe I've found the root cause of my struggle!

On one page of the site I'm updating the Launch/AEP Tags URL is fully coded out with the protocol "https..." and on most every other page of the site the Tags url is in short form starting with the slashes only.  Apparently these redirector tools are very literal because after realizing this detail I tried to enter the Dev script url in short form and it threw an error.

I may contact the developers and see if this use case can be covered in future releases. 😕

[Jennifer_Dungan]

This is why I don't use the debugger for this purpose... I used to use a separate Chrome extension called "resource override" but that just recently stopped working due to Chrome disabling extensions that "don't comply" with something or other...

However, someone released a newer version of Resource Override (there are two that work technically)... one is also called Resource Override (cause that's not confusing) (https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/resource-override/ohpilhbphbbkfkmjgnjjmnbeeiipkkko ) and the other is called Resource Override (MV3) (https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/resource-override-mv3/pfepcehfolngpmjnkclobnhejfbnbdno )

Put in your production URL in the Source URL value, and your dev / staging / whatever URL in the Destination URL... test to make sure its working (that you didn't have any extra characters or variances that make for a mismatch).

Now, this will work forever, or until you disable it...  

I used to use Adobe Launch Switch years ago, but it broke often and I didn't have the patience to wait for it to resolve...  and the best part about Resource Override is that I can use it for anything... testing Adobe, GA, etc... any resource that is loaded into your site can be overwritten.... 

[MitchellTe1]

Thanks @Vinay_Chauhan  and @Jennifer_Dungan  for posting some ideas and options for me to try!  I'll come back with my results later.

[gautham_madala]

Use the “Override Environment” Feature in AEP Debugger

Open the Adobe Experience Platform Debugger extension in your browser.

Navigate to your site’s page.

In the Debugger:

Go to the “Tags” section (under the left-hand navigation).

You’ll see the current environment (e.g., Production or Dev).

Click “Override Environment”.

In the pop-up:

Choose the Property.

Select the Dev environment from the list.

Click “Apply Override”.

The Dev environment is now injected across all pages on the same domain, even as you navigate

This override sets a cookie or localStorage key that instructs Launch to load the Dev library regardless of what is published live.

[MitchellTe1]

Thanks @gautham_madala  everything is going great until we get to the Override Environment step. Where is that?

[Jennifer_Dungan]

I think there may have been a few steps missed there...

Still, I don't use this myself...  I don't want to constantly set this up each time... which is why I use a different, more robust solution...  but this should work for you.