Import and join data in ways that make sense to you. The basic concepts, steps and limitations of Custom Data Import are the same as for other import types; however, you have more flexibility in the choice of key and target dimensions.
Custom Data import was previously known as "Dimension Widening." If you previously created any Dimension Widening Data Sets, these are now called "Custom Data Data Sets" and will work exactly as they did before the name change.
How Custom Data import works
Custom Data Import is a kind of "catch all" that allows you to import and join data in ways that make sense to you. The basic concepts, steps and limitations of Custom Data Import are the same as for other import types; however, you have more flexibility in the choice of key and target dimensions.
Custom Data import lets you choose from a wide range of dimensions to use as your key and import dimensions or metrics. See the Data Set details section below for more information. Use Custom Data import to join data types that are not supported by the other dedicated import types.
Start by thinking about what reporting you want to add in your reports and analysis. If this information isn't already collected by Analytics and it's not handled by one of the other data import types, you can use the Custom Data Import type to join this information with your Analytics data. You can then create custom reports to view the imported data along side standard Analytics data.
Analyze and take action
How you see your imported data in reports, and how you act upon that data with Segments and other Analytics tools, will depend upon the dimensions involved.
Data Set details
The Data Set is the container that will hold your imported data. Expand the section below to see the Data Set details.
Legend:
- Scope—the scope determines which hits will be associated with the import dimension values. There are four levels of scope: hit, session, user and product. Learn more about scope.
- Schema Key—lists the key dimensions or metrics. The key is used to join the data you upload with the existing data in your hits for this Data Set type.
- Imported Data—lists the dimensions and metrics available for the data you upload to Google Analytics.
The dimensions and metrics listed here for the schema key and imported data are for reference only and may not be complete; the actual dimensions and metrics available will appear in the user interface when you create the Data Set.
| Scope |
Any |
| Schema Key |
Up to TWO dimensions total, made up of no more than one dimension from each category listed below:
Behavior
- App ID
- App Installer ID
- App Name
- App Version
- Hostname
- Page
- Page Title
Custom Dimensions
- Custom dimension (any scope)
Users
Note: Chrome has implemented updates to enhance user privacy by reducing the granularity of data available via the browser. As a result of these updates, the following fields may now have limited or no data available:
- Mobile Device Branding
- Mobile Device Marketing Name
- Mobile Device Model
- Mobile Input Selector
- Operating System Version
- Screen Resolution
- Browser
- Browser Version
- Count of Sessions
- Java Support
- Language
- Mobile (Including Tablet)
- Mobile Device Branding
- Mobile Device Marketing Name
- Mobile Device Model
- Mobile Input Selector
- Operating System
- Operating System Version
- Screen Colors
- Screen Resolution
- Tablet
|
| Imported Data |
Behavior
- App Name
- App Version
- Hostname
- Page
- Page Title
Custom Dimensions
- Custom dimension (any scope)
Users
Note: Chrome has implemented updates to enhance user privacy by reducing the granularity of data available via the browser. As a result of these updates, the following fields may now have limited or no data available:
- Mobile Device Branding
- Mobile Device Marketing Name
- Mobile Device Model
- Mobile Input Selector
- Operating System Version
- Screen Resolution
- Browser
- Browser Version
- Java Support
- Language
- Mobile (Including Tablet)
- Mobile Device Branding
- Mobile Device Marketing Name
- Mobile Device Model
- Mobile Input Selector
- Operating System
- Operating System Version
- Screen Colors
- Screen Resolution
- Tablet
Custom Metrics
- Custom metric (any scope)
|
| Notes |
Your choice key dimensions or metrics will limit the available upload dimensions/metrics based on compatibility of scope.
Currently, you cannot import using:
- custom variables
- time-based dimensions (hour, minute, etc)
- geo-dimensions (country, city, etc)
|