Configuring the Web Connector

Configuration settings for the Unica Interact Web Connector are stored in a file called jsconnector.xml that is stored on the system where the Web Connector is deployed (such as the Unica Interact runtime server itself, or a separate system running a web application server). You can edit the jsconnector.xml file directly using any text editor or XML editor; however, an easier way to configure almost all of the available configuration settings is to use the Web Connector Configuration page from your web browser.

Before you begin

Before you can use the web interface to configure the Web Connector, you must install and deploy the web application that provides the Web Connector. On the Unica Interact runtime server, an instance of the Web Connector is installed automatically when you install and deploy Unica Interact. On any other web application server, you must install and deploy the Web Connector web application as described in Installing the Web Connector as a separate web application.

Procedure

  1. Open your supported web browser and open a URL similar to the following:

    http://<host>:<port>/interact/jsp/WebConnector.jsp

    • Replace <host> with the server on which the Web Connector is running, such as the host name of the runtime server or the name of the server on which you deployed a separate instance of the Web Connector.

    • Replace <port> with the port number on which the Web Connector web application is listening for connections, which usually matches the web application server's default port.

  2. On the Configurations page that appears, complete the following sections:
    Table 1. Web Connector Configuration Settings Summary

    For each section of the Web Connector Configuration Settings page, a brief description is provided of how to use that section. More details are available elsewhere.
    Section Settings

    Basic Settings

    Use the Basic Settings page to configure the overall Web Connector behavior for the site on which you'll be rolling out the tagged pages. These settings include the base URL for the site, information that Unica Interact needs to use about the visitors to the site, and similar settings that apply to all of the pages you plan to tag with Web Connector code.

    See WebConnector Configuration Basic Options for details.

    HTML Display Types

    Use the HTML Display Types page to determine the HTML code that will be provided for each interaction point on the page. You can choose from the list of default templates (.flt files) that contain some combination of cascading style sheet (CSS) code, HTML code, and Javascript code to use for each interaction point. You can use the templates as provided, customize them as needed, or create your own.

    Configuration settings on this page correspond to the interactionPoints section of the jsconnector.xml configuration file.

    See WebConnector Configuration HTML Display Types for details.

    Enhanced Pages

    Use the Enhanced Pages page to map page-specific settings to a URL pattern. For example, you might set up a page mapping such that any URL containing the text "index.htm" displays your general welcome page, with specific page load events and interaction points defined for that mapping.

    Configuration settings on this page correspond to the pageMapping section of the jsconnector.xml configuration file.

    See WebConnector Configuration Enhanced Pages for details.
  3. On the Basic Settings page, verify that the site-wide settings are valid for your installation, and optionally specify debug mode (not recommended unless you are troubleshooting a problem), Digital Analytics for On Premises Page Tag integration, and the default settings for most Interaction Points, then click the HTML Display Types link under Configurations.
  4. On the HTML Display types page, follow these steps to add or modify display templates that define the interaction points on the customer web page.

    By default, display templates (.flt files) are stored in <jsconnector_home>/conf/html.

    1. Select the .flt file from the list that you want to examine or use as your starting point, or click Add a Type to create a new, blank Interaction Point template to use.

      Information about the template's contents, if any, appears next to the template list.

    2. Optionally, modify the name of the template in the File name for this display type field. For a new template, update CHANGE_ME.flt to something more meaningful.

      If you rename the template here, the Web Connector creates a new file with that name the next time the template is saved. Templates are saved when you modify the body of the text, and then navigate to any other field.

    3. Modify or complete the HTML Snippet information as needed, including any stylesheet (CSS), JavaScript™, and HTML code you want to include. Note that you can also include variables that will be replaced by Unica Interact parameters at runtime. For example, ${offer.HighlightTitle} is automatically replaced by the offer title in the specified location of the Interaction Point.

      Use the examples that appear below the HTML Snippet field for indications of how to format your CSS, JavaScript™, or HTML code blocks.

  5. Use the Enhanced Pages page as needed to set up the page mappings that determine how specific URL patterns are handled on the pages.
  6. When you have finished setting the configuration properties, click Roll Out the Changes.
    Clicking Roll Out the Changes performs the following actions:

    • Displays the Unica Interact Web Connector page tag, which contains the JavaScript™ code that you can copy from the Web Connector page and insert onto your web pages.

    • Backs up the existing Web Connector configuration file on the Unica Interact server (the jsconnector.xml file on the server where the Web Connector is installed) and creates a new configuration file with the settings you've defined.

      Backup configuration files are stored in <jsconnector_home>/conf/archive/jsconnector.xml.<date>.<time>, as in jsconnector.xml.20111113.214933.750-0500 (where the date string is 20111113 and the time string, including the time zone indicator, is 214933.750-0500)

Results

You have now completed configuring the Web Connector.

To modify your configuration, you can either return to the beginning of these steps and perform them again with new values, or you can open the configuration file (<Unica Interact_home>/jsconnector/conf/jsconnector.xml) in any text or XML editor and modify it as needed.