Understanding Duration Property in Timed Events: Start vs End
When using timed_events is the duration property appended to the start event or the end event?
When using timed_events is the duration property appended to the start event or the end event?
Based on the knowledge sources provided, I can answer your question about timed events in Mixpanel.When using timed events, the duration property is appended to the end event, not the start event. This is consistent across different Mixpanel SDKs.For example, in the iOS (Swift) SDK: Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Swift) states: "This will mark the "start" of your action, which you can then finish with a track call. The time duration is then recorded in the "Duration" property."Similarly, for the Unity SDK: Mixpanel SDKs: Unity mentions: "The time duration is then recorded in the "Duration" property."This pattern is consistent across other SDKs as well. The duration is calculated from the time between the start of the timed event and when the corresponding track call is made, and this duration is then added as a property to the tracked (end) event.
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Certainly! I can provide you with an example of how to use timing events to track the duration users spend on a particular screen within a mobile app using Mixpanel. I'll use the iOS (Swift) SDK for this example, as it's commonly used for mobile app development.Here's how you can implement this using Mixpanel's timing events: LBKS// When the user enters the screen Mixpanel.mainInstance().time(event: "Screen View")LBKS// When the user leaves the screen Mixpanel.mainInstance().track(event: "Screen View", properties: ["Screen Name": "Home Screen"])LBKSLet's break down how this works: 1. When the user enters the screen (e.g., in your viewDidAppear method), you call time(event:) to start the timer for the "Screen View" event.2. When the user leaves the screen (e.g., in your viewDidDisappear method), you call track(event:properties:) with the same event name ("Screen View"). This automatically stops the timer and calculates the duration.3. Mixpanel will automatically add a "Duration" property to the tracked event, representing the time spent on the screen in seconds.4. You can add additional properties to provide context, such as the "Screen Name" in this example.This approach allows you to track how long users spend on different screens in your app. The duration will be recorded in the "Duration" property of the "Screen View" event, which you can then analyze in Mixpanel's reporting tools.Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Swift) provides more details on timing events in Swift: "You can track the time it took for an action to occur, such as an image upload or a comment post, using .time(event:). This will mark the "start" of your action, which you can then finish with a track call. The time duration is then recorded in the "Duration" property."Remember to adjust the event name and properties according to your specific needs and app structure.
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Based on the knowledge sources provided and our previous conversation, I can clarify how the timing events method works in Mixpanel.This method does not send two separate "Screen View" events to Mixpanel. Instead, it delays sending the "Screen View" event until the user navigates away from the screen. Here's a breakdown of what happens: 1. When you call time(event:), Mixpanel doesn't send an event. It only starts an internal timer for that event name.2. When you later call track(event:properties:) with the same event name, Mixpanel sends a single event to its servers. This event includes the duration calculated from when you called time(event:) to when you called track(event:properties:).This behavior is consistent across different Mixpanel SDKs. For example, the Mixpanel SDKs: React Native documentation states: "This will mark the 'start' of your action, which will be timed until you finish with a track call. The time duration is then recorded in the 'Duration' property."So, to answer your question directly: This method sends only one "Screen View" event to Mixpanel, and it does delay sending the event until the user navigates away from the screen (or whenever you call the track method).This approach allows you to accurately measure the time a user spends on a screen without sending multiple events or prematurely sending an event before the user has finished interacting with the screen.
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To answer your question about what happens if the user force closes the app or if the app crashes while tracking a timed event like a screen view, I'll need to provide some context based on how Mixpanel handles event flushing and crashes.In general, if the app is force closed or crashes, the screen view event that was being timed will likely not be sent to Mixpanel. This is because: 1. Event Batching: Mixpanel SDKs typically batch events and send them periodically to preserve battery life and bandwidth. As mentioned in the Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Swift) documentation: "To preserve battery life and customer bandwidth, the Mixpanel library doesn't send the events you record immediately. Instead, it sends batches to the Mixpanel servers every 60 seconds while your application is running, as well as when the application transitions to the background."2. Timed Events: The timed event (in this case, the screen view) is not actually sent until you call the track method, which typically happens when the user navigates away from the screen normally.If the app crashes or is force closed before the track method is called and before the next automatic flush occurs, the event data will likely be lost.However, it's worth noting that some Mixpanel SDKs have crash reporting features. For example, the Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Objective-C) documentation mentions an automatically tracked event for app crashes: "$ae_crashed | App Crashed | Executes when Mixpanel receives either an exception or a signal that indicated the app has crashed. A Crash Reason ($ae_crashed_reason) property is tracked to help identify the type of crash."But this crash event is separate from your timed screen view event and doesn't guarantee that the screen view event will be sent.To mitigate data loss in case of crashes or force closes, you could consider: 1. Adjusting the flush interval to be more frequent.
2. Manually flushing events at critical points in your app.
3. Implementing a persistence strategy for important events that can be sent when the app restarts.Remember, these are general behaviors, and the exact outcome might vary depending on the specific SDK and configuration you're using.
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Based on the information provided in the knowledge sources and our previous conversation, I can clarify what happens if the user force closes the app or if the app crashes while tracking a timed event like a screen view.In general, if the app is force closed or crashes, the screen view event that was being timed will likely not be sent to Mixpanel. Here's why: 1. Event Batching: Mixpanel SDKs batch events and send them periodically to preserve battery life and bandwidth. As mentioned in the Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Swift) documentation: "To preserve battery life and customer bandwidth, the Mixpanel library doesn't send the events you record immediately. Instead, it sends batches to the Mixpanel servers every 60 seconds while your application is running, as well as when the application transitions to the background."2. Timed Events: The timed event (in this case, the screen view) is not actually sent until you call the track method, which typically happens when the user navigates away from the screen normally.If the app crashes or is force closed before the track method is called and before the next automatic flush occurs, the event data will likely be lost.However, it's worth noting that some Mixpanel SDKs have crash reporting features. For example, the Mixpanel SDKs: iOS (Objective-C) documentation mentions an automatically tracked event for app crashes: "$ae_crashed | App Crashed | Executes when Mixpanel receives either an exception or a signal that indicated the app has crashed. A Crash Reason ($ae_crashed_reason) property is tracked to help identify the type of crash."But this crash event is separate from your timed screen view event and doesn't guarantee that the screen view event will be sent.To mitigate data loss in case of crashes or force closes, you could consider: 1. Adjusting the flush interval to be more frequent.
2. Manually flushing events at critical points in your app.
3. Implementing a persistence strategy for important events that can be sent when the app restarts.Remember, these are general behaviors, and the exact outcome might vary depending on the specific SDK and configuration you're using.
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Yes, the $duration property populated by timing events can be used to calculate average duration per user in Mixpanel. This is a common use case for analyzing user engagement with specific features or screens in your app.According to the Mixpanel Sessions FAQ, you can use the "Session Duration (seconds)" property to calculate average duration across users. While this specifically refers to session duration, the same principle applies to the $duration property from timed events.To calculate the average duration per user, you can use Mixpanel's Insights report with the following steps: 1. Select the event you've been timing (e.g., "Screen View"). 2. For the measurement, choose "Event Property Values Per User". 3. Select the $duration property (or "Duration" as it may appear in some SDKs). 4. For the aggregation, choose "Average".This will give you the average duration of the timed event per user.The documentation states: "To find the average session duration per user using Mixpanel, you can use the same property as above. In this case, you would need to use our aggregate properties per user feature. If you select 'Aggregate Properties per User' and then 'Sum', it will add up all Session Lengths for any given day and divide it by all unique users."While this example is for session duration, the same approach works for any timed event using the $duration property.Remember that the $duration property is typically recorded in seconds, so you may want to convert it to minutes or hours depending on your needs. You can do this using Mixpanel's formula feature by dividing the result by 60 (for minutes) or 3600 (for hours).By using this method, you can effectively analyze how long users are spending on average with specific features or screens in your app, helping you understand user engagement and identify areas for improvement.
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