PageName(Adobe provided component/Page dimension) vs PageName(eVar custom set variable) using same values but not consistent

[Karlston]

Our team is noticing an issue with PageName(Adobe provided component/Page dimension.) vs PageName(eVar custom set variable).

We are setting each with the same values but we are seeing the PageName(Adobe provided component/Page dimension) not being set sometimes, but on the hit we see all the data that would make up PageName we are trying to set. Additionally on the same hit we are seeing the eVar that we are setting with the same data being correctly populated. Has anyone ever experienced this where PageName is "undefined" but the eVar is populated or something similar? We are setting the values based on a concatenation of three internal values that are set to a data element set to seperate eVars. While debugging we see the three values on every hit.

I have checked the Adobe Analytics extension setting, Adobe Launch beacon rules, Adobe Analytics processing rules, edge settings. I am not seeing anything that would keep PageName(Adobe provided component/Page dimension) from having the correct data.

[Jennifer_Dungan · Accepted solution]

One thing that you have to remember, is that Adobe will remove the PageName from Actions (s.lt calls). Whereas your eVar values set with Page Name will remain.

Adobe calculates the Page View metric on hits that have pageName / pageURL... even though these are set on all hits, they are actively removed from clicks / actions during processing, then the Page View metric is calculated only for the hits that still have these dimensions. This is why you cannot correlate the Page Name dimension to your click actions.

This is actually why many people use the eVar Page Name to begin with, so that it can be correlated to clicks / actions, as well, the standard Page Name has a character limit of 100 (like a standard prop), but the eVar can hold 255 characters, making it less likely to be truncated.

One tip that I suggest, is that you can actually use the Dynamic Variable syntax (D=pageName) or use Processing Rules to set your eVar based on the standard PageName to save yourself trying to keep your concatenation rule logic in multiple places... both of these are processed before the standard PageName is removed.

Odds are, this is the discrepancy you are seeing though... since it's odd to see PageName being send, but then not actually being available in your reports.... 

[Karlston]

@Jennifer_Dungan Thanks that is making sense now because the report we built to look at the data has 0 for all the Page Views and for all link tracking like(Custom Link, Download Link, Exit link) are the only data values populated.