FBAppEvents
This class is no longer available in the most recent version of the SDK.
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Client-side event logging for specialized application analytics available through Facebook App Insights and for use with Facebook Ads conversion tracking and optimization.

Discussion:

The FBAppEvents static class has a few related roles:

  • Logging predefined and application-defined events to Facebook App Insights with a numeric value to sum across a large number of events, and an optional set of key/value parameters that define "segments" for this event (e.g., 'purchaserStatus' : 'frequent', or 'gamerLevel' : 'intermediate')

  • Logging events to later be used for ads optimization around lifetime value.

  • Methods that control the way in which events are flushed out to the Facebook servers.

Here are some important characteristics of the logging mechanism provided by FBAppEvents:

  • Events are not sent immediately when logged. They're cached and flushed out to the Facebook servers in a number of situations:
  • when an event count threshold is passed (currently 100 logged events).
  • when a time threshold is passed (currently 60 seconds).
  • when an app has gone to background and is then brought back to the foreground.

  • Events will be accumulated when the app is in a disconnected state, and sent when the connection is restored and one of the above 'flush' conditions are met.

  • The FBAppEvents class in thread-safe in that events may be logged from any of the app's threads.

  • The developer can set the flushBehavior on FBAppEvents to force the flushing of events to only occur on an explicit call to the flush method.

  • The developer can turn on console debug output for event logging and flushing to the server by using the FBLoggingBehaviorAppEvents value in [FBSettings setLoggingBehavior:].

Some things to note when logging events:

  • There is a limit on the number of unique event names an app can use, on the order of 300.
  • There is a limit to the number of unique parameter names in the provided parameters that can be used per event, on the order of 25. This is not just for an individual call, but for all invocations for that eventName.
  • Event names and parameter names (the keys in the NSDictionary) must be between 2 and 40 characters, and must consist of alphanumeric characters, _, -, or spaces.
  • The length of each parameter value can be no more than on the order of 100 characters.
Inherits from:NSObject
Declared in:FBAppEvents.h
Class Methods
activateApp

Notifies the events system that the app has launched and, when appropriate, logs an "activated app" event. Should typically be placed in the app delegates' applicationDidBecomeActive: method.

This method also takes care of logging the event indicating the first time this app has been launched, which, among other things, is used to track user acquisition and app install ads conversions.

+ (void) activateApp;
Discussion:

activateApp will not log an event on every app launch, since launches happen every time the app is backgrounded and then foregrounded. "activated app" events will be logged when the app has not been active for more than 60 seconds. This method also causes a "deactivated app" event to be logged when sessions are "completed", and these events are logged with the session length, with an indication of how much time has elapsed between sessions, and with the number of background/foreground interruptions that session had. This data is all visible in your app's App Events Insights.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
flush

Explicitly kick off flushing of events to Facebook. This is an asynchronous method, but it does initiate an immediate kick off. Server failures will be reported through the NotificationCenter with notification ID FBAppEventsLoggingResultNotification.

+ (void) flush;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
flushBehavior

Get the current event flushing behavior specifying when events are sent back to Facebook servers.

+ (FBAppEventsFlushBehavior) flushBehavior;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
limitEventUsage

This method has been replaced by [FBSettings limitEventAndDataUsage]

+ (BOOL) limitEventUsage __attribute__((deprecated("use [FBSettings limitEventAndDataUsage] instead")));
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logEvent:

Log an event with just an eventName.

ParameterDescription
eventName

The name of the event to record. Limitations on number of events and name length are given in the FBAppEvents documentation.

+ (void) logEvent:(NSString *)eventName;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logEvent:parameters:

Log an event with an eventName and a set of key/value pairs in the parameters dictionary. Parameter limitations are described above.

ParameterDescription
eventName

The name of the event to record. Limitations on number of events and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Common event names are provided in FBAppEventName* constants.

parameters

Arbitrary parameter dictionary of characteristics. The keys to this dictionary must be NSString's, and the values are expected to be NSString or NSNumber. Limitations on the number of parameters and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Commonly used parameter names are provided in FBAppEventParameterName* constants.

+ (void)
logEvent: (NSString *)eventName
parameters: (NSDictionary *)parameters;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logEvent:valueToSum:

Log an event with an eventName and a numeric value to be aggregated with other events of this name.

ParameterDescription
eventName

The name of the event to record. Limitations on number of events and name length are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Common event names are provided in FBAppEventName* constants.

valueToSum

Amount to be aggregated into all events of this eventName, and App Insights will report the cumulative and average value of this amount.

+ (void)
logEvent: (NSString *)eventName
valueToSum: (double)valueToSum;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logEvent:valueToSum:parameters:

Log an event with an eventName, a numeric value to be aggregated with other events of this name, and a set of key/value pairs in the parameters dictionary.

ParameterDescription
eventName

The name of the event to record. Limitations on number of events and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Common event names are provided in FBAppEventName* constants.

valueToSum

Amount to be aggregated into all events of this eventName, and App Insights will report the cumulative and average value of this amount.

parameters

Arbitrary parameter dictionary of characteristics. The keys to this dictionary must be NSString's, and the values are expected to be NSString or NSNumber. Limitations on the number of parameters and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Commonly used parameter names are provided in FBAppEventParameterName* constants.

+ (void)
logEvent: (NSString *)eventName
valueToSum: (double)valueToSum
parameters: (NSDictionary *)parameters;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logEvent:valueToSum:parameters:session:

Log an event with an eventName, a numeric value to be aggregated with other events of this name, and a set of key/value pairs in the parameters dictionary. Providing session lets the developer target a particular FBSession. If nil is provided, then [FBSession activeSession] will be used.

ParameterDescription
eventName

The name of the event to record. Limitations on number of events and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Common event names are provided in FBAppEventName* constants.

valueToSum

Amount to be aggregated into all events of this eventName, and App Insights will report the cumulative and average value of this amount. Note that this is an NSNumber, and a value of nil denotes that this event doesn't have a value associated with it for summation.

parameters

Arbitrary parameter dictionary of characteristics. The keys to this dictionary must be NSString's, and the values are expected to be NSString or NSNumber. Limitations on the number of parameters and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Commonly used parameter names are provided in FBAppEventParameterName* constants.

session

to direct the event logging to, and thus be logged with whatever user (if any) is associated with that .

+ (void)
logEvent: (NSString *)eventName
valueToSum: (NSNumber *)valueToSum
parameters: (NSDictionary *)parameters
session: (FBSession *)session;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
loggingOverrideAppID

Get the 'override' App ID for App Event logging.

+ (NSString *) loggingOverrideAppID;
Discussion:
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logPurchase:currency:

Log a purchase of the specified amount, in the specified currency.

ParameterDescription
purchaseAmount

Purchase amount to be logged, as expressed in the specified currency. This value will be rounded to the thousandths place (e.g., 12.34567 becomes 12.346).

currency

Currency, is denoted as, e.g. "USD", "EUR", "GBP". See ISO-4217 for specific values. One reference for these is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217.

+ (void)
logPurchase: (double)purchaseAmount
currency: (NSString *)currency;
Discussion:

This event immediately triggers a flush of the FBAppEvents event queue, unless the flushBehavior is set to FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorExplicitOnly.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logPurchase:currency:parameters:

Log a purchase of the specified amount, in the specified currency, also providing a set of additional characteristics describing the purchase.

ParameterDescription
purchaseAmount

Purchase amount to be logged, as expressed in the specified currency.This value will be rounded to the thousandths place (e.g., 12.34567 becomes 12.346).

currency

Currency, is denoted as, e.g. "USD", "EUR", "GBP". See ISO-4217 for specific values. One reference for these is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217.

parameters

Arbitrary parameter dictionary of characteristics. The keys to this dictionary must be NSString's, and the values are expected to be NSString or NSNumber. Limitations on the number of parameters and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Commonly used parameter names are provided in FBAppEventParameterName* constants.

+ (void)
logPurchase: (double)purchaseAmount
currency: (NSString *)currency
parameters: (NSDictionary *)parameters;
Discussion:

This event immediately triggers a flush of the FBAppEvents event queue, unless the flushBehavior is set to FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorExplicitOnly.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
logPurchase:currency:parameters:session:

Log a purchase of the specified amount, in the specified currency, also providing a set of additional characteristics describing the purchase, as well as an FBSession to log to.

ParameterDescription
purchaseAmount

Purchase amount to be logged, as expressed in the specified currency.This value will be rounded to the thousandths place (e.g., 12.34567 becomes 12.346).

currency

Currency, is denoted as, e.g. "USD", "EUR", "GBP". See ISO-4217 for specific values. One reference for these is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217.

parameters

Arbitrary parameter dictionary of characteristics. The keys to this dictionary must be NSString's, and the values are expected to be NSString or NSNumber. Limitations on the number of parameters and name construction are given in the FBAppEvents documentation. Commonly used parameter names are provided in FBAppEventParameterName* constants.

session

to direct the event logging to, and thus be logged with whatever user (if any) is associated with that . A value of nil will use [FBSession activeSession].

+ (void)
logPurchase: (double)purchaseAmount
currency: (NSString *)currency
parameters: (NSDictionary *)parameters
session: (FBSession *)session;
Discussion:

This event immediately triggers a flush of the FBAppEvents event queue, unless the flushBehavior is set to FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorExplicitOnly.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
setFlushBehavior:

Set the current event flushing behavior specifying when events are sent back to Facebook servers.

ParameterDescription
flushBehavior

The desired FBAppEventsFlushBehavior to be used.

+ (void) setFlushBehavior:(FBAppEventsFlushBehavior)flushBehavior;
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
setLimitEventUsage:

This method has been replaced by [FBSettings setLimitEventUsage]

+ (void) setLimitEventUsage:(BOOL)limitEventUsage __attribute__((deprecated("use [FBSettings setLimitEventAndDataUsage] instead")));
Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
setLoggingOverrideAppID:

Set the 'override' App ID for App Event logging.

ParameterDescription
appID

The Facebook App ID to be used for App Event logging.

+ (void) setLoggingOverrideAppID:(NSString *)appID;
Discussion:

In some cases, apps want to use one Facebook App ID for login and social presence and another for App Event logging. (An example is if multiple apps from the same company share an app ID for login, but want distinct logging.) By default, this value is nil, and defers to the FacebookLoggingOverrideAppID plist value. If that's not set, the default App ID set via [FBSettings setDefaultAppID] or in the FacebookAppID plist entry.

This should be set before any other calls are made to FBAppEvents. Thus, you should set it in your application delegate's application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: delegate.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
Constants
FBAppEventNameAchievedLevel
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameAchievedLevel;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has achieved a level in the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameActivatedApp
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameActivatedApp __attribute__ ((deprecated("use [FBAppEvents activateApp] instead")));
Discussion:

Deprecated: use [FBAppEvents activateApp] instead.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameAddedPaymentInfo
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameAddedPaymentInfo;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has entered their payment info.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameAddedToCart
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameAddedToCart;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has added an item to their cart. The valueToSum passed to logEvent should be the item's price.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameAddedToWishlist
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameAddedToWishlist;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has added an item to their wishlist. The valueToSum passed to logEvent should be the item's price.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameCompletedRegistration
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameCompletedRegistration;
Discussion:

Log this event when a user has completed registration with the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameCompletedTutorial
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameCompletedTutorial;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has completed a tutorial in the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameInitiatedCheckout
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameInitiatedCheckout;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has entered the checkout process. The valueToSum passed to logEvent should be the total price in the cart.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNamePurchased
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNamePurchased __attribute__ ((deprecated("use [FBAppEvents logPurchase:currency:] or [FBAppEvents logPurchase:currency:parameters:] instead")));
Discussion:

Deprecated: use [FBAppEvents logPurchase:currency:] or [FBAppEvents logPurchase:currency:parameters:] instead

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameRated
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameRated;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has rated an item in the app. The valueToSum passed to logEvent should be the numeric rating.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameSearched
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameSearched;
Discussion:

Log this event when a user has performed a search within the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameSpentCredits
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameSpentCredits;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has spent app credits. The valueToSum passed to logEvent should be the number of credits spent.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameUnlockedAchievement
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameUnlockedAchievement;
Discussion:

Log this event when the user has unlocked an achievement in the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventNameViewedContent
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventNameViewedContent;
Discussion:

Log this event when a user has viewed a form of content in the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameContentID
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameContentID;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify an ID for the specific piece of content being logged about. Could be an EAN, article identifier, etc., depending on the nature of the app.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameContentType
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameContentType;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify a generic content type/family for the logged event, e.g. "music", "photo", "video". Options to use will vary based upon what the app is all about.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameCurrency
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameCurrency;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify currency used with logged event. E.g. "USD", "EUR", "GBP". See ISO-4217 for specific values. One reference for these is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameDescription
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameDescription;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify a description appropriate to the event being logged. E.g., the name of the achievement unlocked in the FBAppEventNameAchievementUnlocked event.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameLevel
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameLevel;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify the level achieved in a FBAppEventNameAchieved event.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameMaxRatingValue
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameMaxRatingValue;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify the maximum rating available for the FBAppEventNameRate event. E.g., "5" or "10".

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameNumItems
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameNumItems;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify how many items are being processed for an FBAppEventNameInitiatedCheckout or FBAppEventNamePurchased event.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNamePaymentInfoAvailable
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNamePaymentInfoAvailable;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify whether payment info is available for the FBAppEventNameInitiatedCheckout event. FBAppEventParameterValueYes and FBAppEventParameterValueNo are good canonical values to use for this parameter.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameRegistrationMethod
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameRegistrationMethod;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify method user has used to register for the app, e.g., "Facebook", "email", "Twitter", etc

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameSearchString
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameSearchString;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify the string provided by the user for a search operation.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterNameSuccess
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterNameSuccess;
Discussion:

Parameter key used to specify whether the activity being logged about was successful or not. FBAppEventParameterValueYes and FBAppEventParameterValueNo are good canonical values to use for this parameter.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterValueNo
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterValueNo;
Discussion:

No-valued parameter value to be used with parameter keys that need a Yes/No value

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventParameterValueYes
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventParameterValueYes;
Discussion:

Yes-valued parameter value to be used with parameter keys that need a Yes/No value

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
FBAppEventsLoggingResultNotification
FBSDK_EXTER N NSString *const FBAppEventsLoggingResultNotification;
Discussion:

NSNotificationCenter name indicating a result of a failed log flush attempt

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h
Typedefs
NS_ENUM (NSUInteger, FBAppEventsFlushBehavior)

Control when FBAppEvents sends log events to the server

typedef NS_ENUM(NSUInteger, FBAppEventsFlushBehavior) {
FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorAuto = 0,
FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorExplicitOnly,
};
ConstantDescription
FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorAuto

Flush automatically: periodically (once a minute or every 100 logged events) and always at app reactivation.

FBAppEventsFlushBehaviorExplicitOnly

Only flush when the flush method is called. When an app is moved to background/terminated, the events are persisted and re-established at activation, but they will only be written with an explicit call to flush.

Declared In: FBAppEvents.h