Update an existing custom dimension, or insert if not present

Question

I have a script to insert Google Analytics custom dimensions. This is useful for new GA properties i want to copy custom dimensions over to. It will append if there are existing custom dimensions in the destination properties.

Therefore, i want to use

Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.update()

function updateCustomDims() {
  var sourceProperty = 'UA-XXXXXXXX-1' 
  var sourceAccount = 'XXXXXXXX'
  var sourceDimensions =             Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.list(sourceAccount, sourceProperty)
  var sourceItems = sourceDimensions['items']
  var destinationProperty = 'UA-XXXXXXXX-1'
  var destinationAccount = 'XXXXXXXX' 
  var destinationDimensions =     Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.list(destinationAccount, destinationProperty)  
  var destinationItems = destinationDimensions['items']
  for (var i = 0; i < sourceItems.length; i++) {
    var sourceContent = {
      'name': sourceItems[i]['name'],
      'scope': sourceItems[i]['scope'],
      'active': sourceItems[i]['active']
    }

    for (var i = 0; i < destinationItems.length; i++) {
      var destinationContent = {
        'name': destinationItems[i]['name'],
        'scope': destinationItems[i]['scope'],
        'active': destinationItems[i]['active']
      }
      var cdId = {'id': destinationItems[i]['id']}     

      if (destinationContent[i] != undefined) {
        Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.update(sourceContent, destinationAccount, destinationProperty, cdId)
      } else {
        Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.insert(sourceContent, destinationAccount, destinationProperty)
      }
      Utilities.sleep(1000) 
    }
  }
}

It will only append even though there are existing custom dimensions. It should update the existing dimension.

For reference: https://developers.google.com/resources/api-libraries/documentation/analytics/v3/java/latest/com/google/api/services/analytics/Analytics.Management.CustomDimensions.Update.html

tehhowch · Answer 1 · 2019-01-08T18:01:10.753

Probably your issue is that you are accessing an object with an integer key and not the name of the key: destinationContent[i] becomes destinationContent[0], destinationContent[1], etc. Yet you clearly have defined destinationContent to have only the keys name, scope, and active. You also have a double-use of the iterator variable i, which is certainly going to make your script behave in exceedingly confusing manners.

Note that a proper API reference link is this one with the underlying REST API resource here.

Assuming you want to check if a particular source dimension already exists in the destination, and if so, update it (vs. inserting it), you would want to do something like:

// Create an associative map between the name of a custom dimension
// and its ID (rather than search an array repeatedly).
const existingDims = destinationItems.reduce(function (acc, item) {
  var name = item.name;
  acc[name] = item.id;
  return acc;
}, {});

sourceItems.forEach(function (sourceItem) {
  // Construct the resource for this source item.
  var name = sourceItem.name;
  var sourceContent = {
    name: name,
    scope: sourceItem['scope'],
    active: sourceItem['active']
  };

  // Does this resource exist already?
  var existingId = existingDims[name];
  if (existingId)
    // update
  else
    // insert
});

Refs

Update an existing custom dimension, or insert if not present

1 Answers1