Google Tag Manager<\/a>, our favorite free tag management solution, has always struggled with its enterprise-worthiness. There are many features still lacking, most of which have to do with working in multi-user environments. Now, grab the last word of that sentence (see what I did there), and hug it tightly, for GTM just introduced a new, enterprise-friendly feature: Environments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n These Environments<\/em> are actually browser cookies, which you use to link a Google Tag Manager container state<\/strong> with the browser of the user who needs to or wants to view that particular state. In other words, if you have a QA (quality assurance) process, as you should have, or if you do most of your testing on a staging server, as you should do, you can create an Environment<\/em> in GTM, after which you can publish container versions (even the draft) into that particular Environment alone.<\/p>\n This is, actually, pretty significant compared to how GTM used to work. Before, you had to Share a Preview<\/strong> version, but that was always a container version<\/em>. When the version changed, you had to retrieve a new authentication token. Now, GTM will distribute Environment<\/em> tokens instead, meaning as long as the Environment is linked to Google Tag Manager and the authentication is not revoked, that particular token will have access to whatever versions are published into said Environment. Cool!<\/p>\n This makes GTM more manageable across multiple contexts. There are two ways to do this: by sharing a link, as before, or by adding a piece of code into the page templates of each Environment, in which case the link between GTM and the Environment works without you having to distribute authentication tokens via cumbersome links.<\/p>\n Official support documents can be viewed here<\/a>. Let\u2019s get cracking!<\/p>\n \n \n Subscribe to the Simmer newsletter<\/a> to get the latest news and content from Simo Ahava into your email inbox!\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n This development is necessary not only because it makes GTM function better across environments and teams, but also because the old Share Preview feature was not optimal. In this chapter, I\u2019ll briefly walk you through how container version sharing used to work<\/em>, so that you\u2019ll understand why this development is necessary.<\/p>\n Many thanks to Brian Kuhn<\/a>, again, for his invaluable insight into the inner workings of Google Tag Manager.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thus far, when you\u2019ve clicked the Share Preview<\/strong> link either in the yellow preview bar (seen above), or via the Versions<\/strong> page, you get a URL which you can then distribute to whomever should be able to preview (or debug) this particular container version.<\/p>\n This URL, when executed in the browser, actually writes a secret authentication token into the user\u2019s browser while on the googletagmanager.com<\/strong> domain. Now, when requesting the gtm.js<\/strong> library from googletagmanager.com<\/strong> on the website where the container is installed on, GTM will detect this authentication token in the cookies written on googletagmanager.com<\/strong>. Once it detects the authentication token, it will know to download the container version with which this particular token is associated. The following modern art masterpiece illustrates this relationship:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As you can see, the authentication token in the Share Preview link matches that of a specific cookie found on the googletagmanager.com<\/strong> domain.<\/p>\n In other words, since an authentication token links a specific version with the user\u2019s browser, it means that that user is permanently<\/strong> forced to digest that particular container version in their browser.<\/p>\n OK, well, I might be exaggerating a little. The cookie itself is a session<\/strong> cookie, meaning it will expire when you close the browser. However, the token is permanent. So if the user saves the link, they can revisit that version as much as you like, and there\u2019s very little you can do about it (short of deleting the version).<\/p>\n Also, to get rid of Preview mode without having to shut down the browser is a bother as well. Basically, you need to browse again to the page you get when copy-pasting the Share Preview link, and then click the \u201cExit Preview\u201d link you see. It\u2019s easy to miss and easy to forget.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Not very streamlined.<\/p>\n Anyway, this is how it\u2019s worked thus far. The main problems with the current setup are:<\/p>\n Authentication tokens are permanent<\/strong>, so there\u2019s no way for you to revoke authentication. Also, cookies are session cookies, and it\u2019s difficult to delete them (unless you remember to click the \u201cExit Preview\u201d link on the Share Preview page). The permanence of the authentication token is especially problematic with the Container Draft, as once a user has the authentication token for the draft, they\u2019ll be authenticated against ALL future drafts as well!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Since the token is linked to a specific version<\/strong>, it makes the QA process cumbersome. Optimally, you\u2019d want the cookie to be bound to the environment<\/em>, not the version<\/em>. Now QA needs a new authentication token whenever a new version of the container is ready for testing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sharing the container preview link is a hassle, looks suspicious, and is sensitive to errors. Also, it does not scream \u201cFLEXIBILITY\u201d, which is what I do a lot when working with GTM (my co-workers find it amusing).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n These are the problems the Google Tag Manager team wanted to tackle with Environments<\/strong>, and they sure did take a step in the right direction with the new feature.<\/p>\n The main benefit of Environments<\/strong> is that you no longer share a version<\/em> cookie, but rather an Environment<\/em> cookie. In other words, if you want to link a user\u2019s browser with an Environment created in GTM, you don\u2019t have to send them a new token each time the version updates. Instead, you give them the authentication token to that particular Environment, after which you simply publish to that Environment<\/strong>, and the user on the other end with their QA browser will have access to whichever version is currently published to that Environment.<\/p>\n Another thing that has been made simpler is revoking access<\/strong>. You can now nullify an authentication token via GTM, helping you manage who has access to which Environments.<\/p>\n To get started, you will need to enable Environments<\/strong> in your Google Tag Manager container. If you don\u2019t do that, nothing will change in your Google Tag Manager user interface. So, head on over to the Admin<\/strong> section of your container, and click the new Environments<\/strong> link.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is where you\u2019ll create your own, long-lived Environments. I stress long-lived<\/em>, since you really only want to create an Environment which lasts more than the lifespan of a single version. I mean, you CAN use Environments to substitute the old \u201cShare Preview\u201d functionality, but they truly come to life when actually creating an Environment for a permanent process in your organization, and then using it methodically to test new versions of the container, without having to share cookies every single time.<\/p>\n In the list of Environments, you\u2019ll see three default<\/strong> Environments. These can\u2019t be deleted or published to manually. They are:<\/p>\n Live – The currently live Container Version is automatically added to this Environment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Latest – The newest created version (not the Draft)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Now Editing – The current container draft<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, these are all states that exist in GTM with or without creating custom Environments. When you edit<\/strong> a container, the version is maintained in the \u201cNow Editing\u201d Environment. When you save<\/strong> a draft as a container version, the version is maintained in the \u201cLatest\u201d Environment. And when you publish a version, it is published into the \u201cLive\u201d Environment.<\/p>\n Click New<\/strong> to create your first, custom Environment. Give it a honest name and a good description. You can also choose to enable the Debug panel by default (if you don\u2019t check this, then Environments will be Preview only by default, meaning users won\u2019t see the debug panel).<\/p>\n If you want, you can set the hostname of the site where the Environment is. This way the Share Preview dialog will directly link the user to the website.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, now you\u2019ve created your first custom Environment, and you\u2019ll see it in its own list in the Environments page.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As you can see, the Version ID<\/strong> field is empty, meaning you haven\u2019t published a version into this Environment yet<\/em>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at the Actions<\/strong> menu.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n NOTE! The default containers have the same menu, except they do not have the Delete<\/strong> or Publish to\u2026<\/strong> options available.<\/p>\n The options are:<\/p>\n Edit Settings<\/strong> – lets you edit the settings you first set when creating the Environment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Publish To\u2026<\/strong> – opens a publish dialog, where you can select which container version<\/em> you want to publish to the selected Environment<\/em>. After this, sharing a preview link to this Environment will allow users to preview the published container only.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Share Preview<\/strong> – shares a preview link to the Environment, allowing users with access to this particular Environment preview and debug it with their browsers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Reset Link<\/strong> – removes authentication from the previously shared link AND from the new snippet (see below). This is very cool but also dangerous (see the next chapter).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Get Snippet<\/strong> – gives you the updated GTM Container Snippet<\/strong> which replaces<\/em> the original snippet. All pages with this Environment will automatically be in preview mode for the Environment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Delete<\/strong> – lets you delete the Environment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Let\u2019s move on to how the sharing works.<\/p>\n To share Environment access, you have two options.<\/p>\n You can distribute it as a link, as before, which binds the user\u2019s browser to the Environment via an authentication token. This way, the user\u2019s browser is linked to that particular Environment until the authentication token is revoked or the user manually deletes the token cookie using the Share Preview page.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n An alternate, more robust way is to modify the container snippet on the website of the Environment (e.g. QA or staging site). The simple modification enables the authentication token to be accessed whenever that site is visited, meaning the site<\/em> (read: the container snippet) is bound to the Environment instead of just the user\u2019s browser. This method dispenses with the need to share the authentication link, and it allows the user to browse other Environments on the same domain (e.g. the live site) without interference.<\/p>\n In other words, the Environment will only be active on pages with the new container snippet. When you browse to a page or site (even under the same domain) that does not have the authentication token in the snippet, you will be privy to the live, published container as usual.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n NOTE!<\/strong> When you reset the link to the Environment, it will also make the container snippet for that Environment change! In other words, only reset a link which is used in a container snippet if you are certain it\u2019s necessary. Otherwise you\u2019ll have hell to pay with your developers.<\/p>\n On that note, it\u2019s probably best to avoid using the same Environment both with Share Preview links and distributing the authentication token via the container snippet. Make a note of what the Environment is used for in the Description<\/strong> field or, even better, in the Name<\/strong> field. That way you\u2019ll know what you risk if you want to reset the link.<\/p>\n Once you enable Environments, you can selectively publish to these Environments, you can use a new Built-In Variable to query which Environment the user is currently in, and you can view which version is currently live in which Environment.<\/p>\n First, go to the Versions<\/strong> screen. As you can see, there\u2019s a new column \u201cEnvironments\u201d. That column contains information about to which Environments a particular version has been published.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Next, if you click the Actions<\/strong> menu next to a version, you\u2019ll find the Publish To\u2026<\/strong> link again. Here, you can publish the selected version to an Environment of your choice! So no need to go through the Environments page every single time you want to publish a version to an Environment.<\/p>\n![\"Publish](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/publish-to-qa.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
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\n X<\/span><\/p>\n
\n The Simmer Newsletter<\/strong>\n <\/p>\nWhy this change?<\/h2>\n
![\"Share](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/share-preview.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/cookie-share-preview.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"exit-preview\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/exit-preview.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
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Introducing Environments<\/h2>\n
![\"Environments](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/environments.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\nManage Environments<\/h2>\n
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![\"Default](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/manage-environments.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Create](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/create-new-environment.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Custom](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/custom-environment.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Actions](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/actions-menu.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
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Sharing Environment access<\/h2>\n
![\"Share](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/share-preview1.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Install](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/install-snippet.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\nThings you can do via the GTM UI<\/h2>\n
![\"Versions](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/versions-list.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
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![\"Publish](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/versions-publish-to.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Environment](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/environment-name-variable1.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lookup](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/environment-lookup.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Exception](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2015\/11\/exception-staging.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
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