Component Sharing & Links

Hi Hive Mind

Bit of a sense check and if there is a better solution.

So i have now created a component that i want to re-use.
Inside this component is a node, the Google Analytics Query node.
I am not able to bring that node’s configuration to the component configuration (unless i missed something).

So, when i share the component, to re-use it, every time i drag it into the workflow i will need to ctrl+click to edit the component then edit the configuration of the GA query node within.

Now when i share, i choose to share with no link.
However when i drag the component from the explorer to the workflow and ctrl+click to edit it, i can’t change the settings of the nodes inside.
Turns out that the new node i dragged is linked to the component in the workflow.

Once i disconnect the link, then i can edit away.

Is there something i can configure so that each new node i drag in is not automatically linked?

What’s considered best practice around this?

thanks

Gavin

Hi Gavin,

in the ideal case (which would also be best practice) a ‘component-user’ would not need to ‘step into’ the component in order to configure it. That’s why component are always linked (and thus not editable).

Components should be designed in a way that the user can configure it from the ‘outside’. This is done by using the Configuration Nodes (such as String Configuration and many more) which help to expose the necessary settings to the ‘outside’. Every Configuration Node in a component contributes to the component’s dialog. Internally, those Component Nodes usually output their settings as a flow variable which in turn are used to control selected settings of a target node (e.g. the Google Analytics Query node) within the component. Maybe it’s worth having a look at some components on the hub as example (e.g. https://kni.me/c/60zLvhar4YHocety - you can just drag’n’drop the component from the hub into your AP).

Note: if you share a component and choose not to ‘share with no link’ that only affects the ‘source-component’ (i.e. the component you are sharing from) but not the future components.

Best,
Martin

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Hi Martin

Thanks for the input and with you on the best practice.

Out of curiosity

Is there a way to expose the dimension and metric selection to the component?

the segment and filter are easy enough,

kr

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Hi Gavin,

yes, there is a way (though possibly a bit less powerful than doing it in the GA query node itself - e.g. the convenient reordering of the values is not possible). It is best demonstrated by a workflow: string_list_configuration_flow_variable.knwf (11.0 KB) .
It essentially creates a ‘string-array’-flow variable from a component configuration that can then be input into the GA query node within the component.
Instead of the List Box Configuration node you could also use, e.g. the Single/Value/Multiple Selection Configuration node (for more limited and pre-defined options - not sure if that makes sense, never used the GA query node so far).

Best,
Martin

2 Likes

Thanks Martin

Yes i had explored this approach, in the end i landed on a seperate api call t generate the list of options and used the column filter configuration node which worked well.

However i was after more specifically if there was a way to pull out of the Google Query Node the dimension and metric options and surface those to the configuration node of the same component in which these nodes reside.

it’s a long shot… but worth the ask…

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