Help Center Manage Your Account Banner, Richmedia, and Text Ads

How do I track click for Flash/SWF ads?

Flash ads (SWF files) need a small preparation to support click tracking through our ad server. We use the industry-standard clickTAG parameter. After the conversion to use clickTAG, if you click directly in the SWF movie, it will link to an error URL (often ends with "undefined"), which is normal, because the file is expecting a dynamic URL to be provided from outside. Once you setup this SWF file into our system with an appropriate destination URL, clicking on it will go to the correct address.

Conversion

The original ActionScript 2 code should have something like this:

on (release) { getURL("http://www.macrophotos.net/","_top"); }

After the conversion for click tracking, it should look like this:

on (release) { if (_root.clickTAG.substr(0,4) == "http") { getURL(_root.clickTAG,_root.TargetAS); } }

For ActionScript 3, the code would become:

MyClickButton.addEventListener( MouseEvent.CLICK, function():void { if (root.loaderInfo.parameters.clickTAG.substr(0,4) == "http") { navigateToURL( new URLRequest(root.loaderInfo.parameters.clickTAG), root.loaderInfo.parameters.TargetAS ); } } ); If you would like to know more technical details, please review the instructions from Macromedia and MSN. For greater compatibility, our system uses "_root.clickTAG" instead of "clickTAG". Because Flash ads can be served within IFRAMEs, it's best to use target "_top" or "_blank" for the getURL function. For better security, the ActionScript code checks for a standard/secure URL (http:// or https://), instead of allowing a possible malicious JavaScript code.

Sample Code

Next you will find 2 sample Macromedia .FLA files that contain the above sample code:

• Original files with a fixed URL and without click tracking:

  sample.fla (SWF: sample.swf)

• After conversion, the files use clickTAG parameter for dynamic click tracking:

  sample-clickTAG.fla (SWF: sample-clickTAG.swf)

• Also, please use this template to manually convert to clickTAG if our system failed to convert your SWF file automatically.

Test SWF file for clickTAG

This is a simple procedure to test a SWF file for clickTAG support:

1. Upload your SWF file to an online location and get its URL
2. Append the parameter "clickTAG=http://example.com" to the end of the SWF file's URL
3. Paste the full URL to the browser and click on the ad

If the ad redirects to http://example.com then everything is working properly. If it redirects to any error page or does not respond then you would need to check the manual conversion steps again or contact the ad provider/creator for assistance. The parameter is case-sensitive so you should check for different variances: "clickTAG", "clickTag", or "clicktag".

Online Converter

You can browse a file on your computer and this form will modify the SWF file to track clicks. In your Flash ad, you only need to put in the static destination URL. You can simply enter the SWF file when creating a new ad through the control panel or you can also convert the SWF file for click tracking using the form below. Please upload the original Flash file (with a static link to the destination website) and our system will convert this file to use clickTAG and you will download the updated SWF file to your computer.

This online conversion program was designed to be compatible with many SWF settings and versions. However, it is not compatible with all SWF files and you would need to manually add the clickTAG into these files. If you have the modified SWF file and it still does not work properly. For example, if it does not open to a new window, links to the correct destination or tracks clicks, please follow the manual conversion instructions to prepare the file instead.

SWF File	* (limit 500KB)
	Prepare * required fields

Flash/SWF Ad Generator

Modifying the ActionScript code is the best method but if you're using a SWF creator instead of a full-feature application (like Adobe Flash, or Swish), you can use this option instead:

• When editing the ad, under "Technical" section near the bottom of the page, you'll see "Click Tracking URL"
• Copy and paste this link into the field asked by your Flash ad generator for the click-thru URL

Request Assistance

If you need our assistance in preparing or debugging the Flash ad, please send us the original source FLA file or at least the ActionScript snippet. We need the source FLA file because SWF file is a read-only file and we cannot modify or view its source code. After sending us the file, please be patience as it could take up to 72 hours for us to process and modify the ad files.

Other Articles in Banner, Richmedia, and Text Ads

• Ad Dimension
• Ad Specifications
• Ad Types
• Ad Weight or Ad Priority
• Alternative Image/Media URL
• Catfish Ad
• Click Tracking URL
• Destination URL or Click URL
• Expandable or rollover Flash ad
• Floating or layer ad
• How do I change the window title of my pop-up/pop-under ads?
• How do I mix image and text in an ad?
• How do I track clicks for HTML/RichMedia ads?
• HTML "alt" attribute for ad images
• HTML "Target" Attribute
• Image URL
• Peeling Ad
• Polite ad or two-phase ad
• QuickTime and Windows Media ads

Cannot find an answer for your question? Ask our Customer Care team

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