Overview
This article covers creating your own definitions, adding fields to the cookies and tags ObservePoint already defines, and managing your account's fields. Most of these actions require Account Admin permissions.
For a general introduction to the Cookie & Tag Database, see Using the Cookie & Tag Database.
How to Access
Sign in to ObservePoint and go to Tag & Cookie Database (app.observepoint.com/xxx).
To create or edit a definition, open the library and use New Definition, or open an existing definition's detail page and edit it inline.
To manage the fields available for an entity type, open the Fields and Layout Editor (app.observepoint.com/xxx/schema/{entityName}).
Screenshot: New Definition / definition editor
How to Use
Create a Definition
Open the library for the entity type (Cookies or Tags) and choose New Definition.
Add matching criteria. Each rule is an entity, a property, an operator, and one or more values. The operators you can use you can use depend on the property:
Cookie name: equals, starts with, ends with, contains, regex
Cookie domain: equals and is_subdomain_of
Page domain: equals or subdomain.
Add negative criteria if you you need them. For example, match name _ga but not when the name ends with 1000.
Fill in fields (vendor, purpose, owners, notes, and any custom fields). Field names must be unique within your account. Account admins can create custom fields to add additional context (see below).
Save.
Add Your Context to an ObservePoint Definition
You don't need to copy an ObservePoint definition to add your own information.
Open the ObservePoint definition.
Add custom fields (for example, Legal Approver or Internal Notes), or fill in values for existing custom fields.
You can't change or remove ObservePoint's matching criteria or its built-in fields. Only ObservePoint can edit the value of an ObservePoint field; you control the custom fields you add.
Work with Field Types
Fields come in different types, each displayed in a way that suits the data:
User: people, shown as chips and chosen from your account's user list.
Paragraph: multi-line text with markdown support and an optional simple editor.
Number: numeric values, optionally shown within a sentence.
Duration: a formatted number such as a cookie's expiration.
Email: shown as a mailto link.
URL: shown as a clickable link.
Date and Datetime.
Select list: single or multiple choice. Each value can show as plain text, a colored pill, or a colored accent.
Entity reference: links to other definitions, shown as chips (for example, "Tags that set this cookie").
Manage your account's Fields and Layout
In the Fields and Layout Editor (one per entity type) an Account Admin can:
Hide fields, including ObservePoint fields, reorder them, or delete fields.
Use ObservePoint's fields and values.
Add extra values to select-list fields.
Change the display style of select-list fields.
Duplicate a field, which also copies its list of values.
Screenshot: Schema Editor
Review Change History
Every change to a definition is logged, similar to a Jira ticket's history, and the log can't be edited. Use it to see what changed, when, and by whom.
Bulk Edit
When you need to change the same field across many definitions at once, like reassigning an owner after someone leaves, use bulk edit. (Description and How to Remove can't be changed in bulk.)
Who Can Do What
Action | Read Only User | Standard User | Account Admin |
See fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
See matching criteria | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Edit field values in a customer definition |
| ✓ | ✓ |
Create or delete definitions |
|
| ✓ |
Add fields to customer definitions |
|
| ✓ |
Add custom fields to ObservePoint definitions |
|
| ✓ |
Add new value options to a definition |
|
| ✓ |
Rename or delete custom fields |
|
| ✓ |
Only ObservePoint can edit the value of an ObservePoint field. Seeing matching criteria and the full library requires a Contract account.
Best Practices
Reuse fields. When you you add a field, pick from your existing fields before creating a new one, so reporting stays consistent.
Keep field descriptions short. Add a "learn more" link rather than packing everything into one field.
Prefer specific criteria for site- or team-specific definitions, since your definitions take precedence over ObservePoint's.
Use negative criteria to carve out exceptions instead of creating many narrow definitions.
Common Questions
What happens if two of my definitions could match the same cookie?
Only one definition is ever applied. ObservePoint checks the most specific first, then prefers your definitions over its own, then the oldest.
Can I define a cookie or tag that hasn't appeared in a report?
Yes. Create a definition with the criteria you expect, or with no criteria at all, to document it ahead of time.
Why can't I edit an ObservePoint field's value?
ObservePoint maintains those values so they stay consistent for everyone. Add a custom field if you need your own version of that information.