Impact of Changing Event Names in Mixpanel on Existing Data
If i change the name of an existing event does this change for all pre-existing events triggered and send to the Mixpanel database or it only changes for the new events triggered? kapa.ai
If i change the name of an existing event does this change for all pre-existing events triggered and send to the Mixpanel database or it only changes for the new events triggered? kapa.ai
To answer your question about changing event names in Mixpanel, I'll refer to the information provided in the knowledge sources.According to the Lexicon Overview documentation, when you rename an event in Mixpanel's Lexicon, it affects both existing and future data. The renaming is applied retroactively to all events of that type that have been previously ingested, as well as to new events going forward.This means that if you change the name of an existing event in Mixpanel, the change will apply to: 1. All pre-existing events of that type that have already been triggered and sent to the Mixpanel database. 2. All new events of that type that will be triggered in the future.It's important to note that renaming an event in Lexicon doesn't actually modify the underlying data. Instead, it changes how the event is displayed and referenced within the Mixpanel interface and reports. This allows you to maintain consistency in your analytics without having to modify historical data or your implementation code.This feature is part of Mixpanel's data governance capabilities, which allow you to manage and organize your event data effectively without impacting the underlying data structure.
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I apologize for the misunderstanding. You're asking about changing the event name in your backend code before sending it to Mixpanel, not through Mixpanel's Lexicon interface. Let me clarify based on the information available in the knowledge sources.When you change the name of an event in your backend code before firing and sending it to Mixpanel, this change will only affect new events going forward. It will not retroactively change the names of pre-existing events that have already been sent to Mixpanel's database.This aligns with the best practices for event naming mentioned in the Events: Capture behaviors and actions documentation: 1. Mixpanel treats events with different names as separate events, even if they differ only in case. For example, sign_up_completed and Sign_Up_Completed are considered two distinct events.2. It's recommended to avoid creating event names dynamically. Instead, you should use consistent event names and use properties to capture variable data.If you change an event name in your backend code, you'll essentially be creating a new event from Mixpanel's perspective. This means: - Pre-existing events in Mixpanel's database will retain their original name.
- New events fired with the changed name will be treated as a separate event type in Mixpanel.To maintain data consistency, it's generally better to use Mixpanel's Lexicon to rename events if you need to change how they appear in reports. If you must change the event name in your backend code, be aware that this will create a new event type in Mixpanel, and you may need to use both the old and new event names when analyzing historical data.
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Based on your description, it seems you're using a global page load event where the event name is dynamically set using a value from your CMS. This approach aligns with the concept of using properties to provide context for events, as mentioned in the Events: Capture behaviors and actions documentation.To answer your question: If you make changes to the value fed from the CMS to the event name property in Mixpanel, it will not impact pre-existing events that have already been fired and sent to Mixpanel. The changes will only affect new events going forward.Here's why: 1. Events that have already been sent to Mixpanel are stored with the properties they had at the time they were fired. Changing the CMS value now won't retroactively modify these stored events.2. Mixpanel treats each unique combination of event name and properties as distinct. So, if you change the value being sent as the event name property, Mixpanel will see this as a new, different event.3. This approach is actually in line with Mixpanel's best practices. Instead of creating different events for each page, you're using a single "page load" event with a property that specifies the page name or type.It's worth noting that this method of dynamically setting event names as properties is different from changing the actual event name in your tracking code. As mentioned in the best practices: "For example: If your goal is to analyze at high-level how users traverse through different pages: instead of tracking multiple events Home Page Viewed and Pricing Page Viewed, track a Page Viewed event with a Page Name property set to "/home" or "/pricing"."This is exactly what you're doing, which is a recommended approach. It allows for more flexible analysis while keeping your event structure consistent.Remember, if you need to make changes to how these events appear in your Mixpanel reports without affecting the underlying data, you can use Mixpanel's Lexicon feature to adjust how the events and properties are displayed and organized in the Mixpanel interface.
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