Stream selection check
The “Stream selection check” window shows which stream a visitor with the given parameters would get, without following the link and without recording a click.
The Check stream («Проверить поток») button is on the campaign page, on the Streams («Потоки») tab, to the right of the list heading. The check applies the same filters, schedule and rotation to the parameters you enter as a real click does, but it does not record a click or change any counters. Users who can edit the campaign see the button; in a campaign shared view only, it is not there.
How to run a check
- Open Campaigns («Кампании»).
- Click the campaign name. The Streams tab opens right away.
- Click Check stream. The Stream selection check («Проверка выбора потока») window opens.
- Fill in the fields with the visitor's parameters.
- Click Check («Проверить»).
Below the button you will see a line about the campaign and a table with all streams in the same order as on the tab.
Form fields
The tracker compares what you enter in the fields with the stream conditions. The country is not determined from the IP and the device is not determined from the User-Agent here: each field is filled in separately. An empty field is an empty value, see the general filter rules.
| Field | Stream condition | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Country (ISO) («Страна (ISO)») | GEO («Гео») | A two-letter country code, case-insensitive. Default: US |
| IP | IP / CIDR | One visitor address, for example 203.0.113.10. Can be left empty |
| Region («Регион») | Region | The name as in the geo database, for example California |
| City («Город») | City | The name as in the geo database, for example Berlin |
| Device («Устройство») | Device | mobile, tablet, desktop or unknown. Default: mobile |
| OS («ОС») | OS | The system name. Default: Android |
| Browser («Браузер») | Browser | The browser name. Default: Chrome |
| Language («Язык») | Language | A language code without a region, as in a real click: en, not en-US |
| Provider («Провайдер») | ISP | The provider name as in the database |
| Connection type («Тип соединения») | Connection («Коннект»), Proxy / DC («Прокси / ДЦ») | hosting, vpn, tor or proxy; empty means a regular connection. With any of the four values the Proxy / DC condition gets true |
| Referrer («Реферер») | Referrer | The full address, including https:// |
| User-Agent | user_agent | The full User-Agent string. It is compared only with the user_agent condition, see extra fields |
The Bot («Бот») condition is checked as for a visitor who is not recognized as a bot, whatever the User-Agent and Connection type values. The sub_id_1 condition is compared with an empty value: the form has no such field. You can set the bot flag, sub_id values and the evaluation time in an API request, see Admin API: streams.
Stream schedules and caps are checked as of the moment you click Check.
Checking the stream for filtered traffic
The Check “white” selection («Проверить выбор whitepage») checkbox shows which stream a visitor rejected by cloaking would get. With the checkbox on, the choice is made only among streams of the Final («Замыкающий») type: the tracker takes the topmost one among those that are enabled, running on schedule, pass their own conditions and have not reached their click cap. Forced and regular streams do not take part.
If no stream is highlighted, a filtered visitor with these parameters gets a 404 response. How to set up a pair of streams is covered in Cloaking streams: “white” and target.
How to read the result
Above the table is a line like “Campaign: active · rotation: weight.” («Кампания: active · ротация: weight.»). The first value is the campaign state: active means running, paused means paused, archived means archived. The second is the rotation of regular streams: weight means by weight, position means the topmost matching one.
If the campaign is not running, the line adds the text “The campaign is off: the selection below is what happens once it is started.” («Кампания выключена: ниже показан выбор при её запуске.»). While the campaign is not running, a visitor following its link gets a 404 response.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Stream («Поток») | The stream name. The selected stream's name is highlighted in green |
| Type / weight («Тип / вес») | The stream type and its weight, for example regular / 100: forced is forced, regular is regular, default is final |
| Result («Результат») | Why the stream was or was not selected |
| Conditions in order («Условия по порядку») | The outcome of each stream condition: “1: yes · 2: no” («1: да · 2: нет»). The number is the condition's position in the stream settings. A stream without conditions shows “no filters” («нет фильтров») |
Whether the stream matches as a whole depends on the AND / OR logic between conditions, see Stream filters. The outcome for the stream is in the Result column.
Reasons in the “Result” column
| Text | What it means |
|---|---|
| “Selected by the engine in this run” («Выбран движком в этом запуске») | This stream would get the visitor |
| “Conditions met; priority, position and weight are taken into account” («Условия выполнены; учитываются приоритет, позиция и вес») | The stream matches, but another one was selected: by stream type, position or weight, see stream selection order |
| “Filter conditions not met” («Не выполнены условия фильтров») | A visitor with these parameters does not pass the stream conditions. Which ones exactly is shown in the Conditions in order column |
| “Outside the schedule” («Вне расписания») | The stream is not running right now according to its schedule |
| “Stream paused” («Поток на паузе») | The stream is off: the Stream active («Поток активен») checkbox is cleared |
| “Click cap reached” («Достигнут лимит кликов») | The stream has reached its hourly, daily or total cap |
| “Cap counter unavailable” («Счётчик лимитов недоступен») | The tracker could not read the stream's cap counters, so the stream does not take part in the selection. See If counters are unavailable |
| “In ‘white’ mode only final streams take part” («В режиме whitepage участвуют только замыкающие потоки») | The “white” check checkbox is on: the stream matches by conditions, but it is not a final stream |
A stream shows one reason, the first in this order: pause, click cap, schedule, conditions. The outcome of each condition is visible in the Conditions in order column whatever the reason.
Click caps
The check reads the current click cap counters and adds nothing to them. A stream that has reached its cap does not take part in the selection. The choice is made among the other streams, just as with a real click.
What the check does not take into account
- Visitor binding. A returning visitor may get the bound stream rather than the one shown.
- The choice of landing page and offer inside the stream, and whether they are available: the check shows only the stream. Target links are checked by target diagnostics.
- Daily offer sales caps and offer click caps.
- Cloaking checks, including the JS check. Whether the visitor is filtered out is set only by the “white” check checkbox.
FAQ
Why a different stream is selected when I run the check again
With rotation by weight, the tracker picks one of the matching regular streams at random, in proportion to its weight, so the result changes from run to run. The other matching streams get the reason “Conditions met; priority, position and weight are taken into account”. How weight sets traffic shares is covered in Weight and position.
No stream is highlighted
No stream matched a visitor with these parameters; following the link, they get a 404 response. Check the reason for each stream in the Result column. To keep such traffic from being lost, you need a final stream without conditions.
invalid IP
The IP field contains something that is not an IP address. You need a single address: a subnet 203.0.113.0/24 or a mask 203.0.113.* is not accepted here. Fix the value or clear the field.