WebProNews

Tag: Google DoubleClick

  • Doubleclick For Publishers API Gets New Playground

    API playgrounds are some of the most useful tools that a developer can have. The playground moniker may not resonate with everyone, but having the ability to mess around with code in a place where I’m not going to break anything sounds fun. If that sounds fun to you as well or you just need some practice with the DFP API, Google has a treat for you.

    Google announced Monday that the DFP API has a new playground that’s built on App Engine. It also uses the new ads Java client library. The main advantage here is that you can now build DFP API test networks in the playground before pushing it out into the real world.

    The new playground also uses OAuth 2.0 authentication when using the Java client library. It comes with an automatic token refresh. It also uses a push queue that makes API calls in the background and returns results using the Channel API.

    The only possible downside to the playground is that only test networks are available. You will not be able to see old sandbox networks while you’re testing things out. To make up for it, this particular project is open sourced so you can integrate the DFP API with App Engine.

    So all of this is making you want to try your hand at some API development, right? Good thing is that it’s super easy to set up a test network in the new playground. The only prerequisite is that you have Google account, but everybody probably has one by now.

    First, you just have to hit up the DFP playground Web site. From there, you’ll sign in and authorize the app to make DFP API calls on your behalf. After all that is taken care of, you’ll see a page that asks you to create a test network. Just click on the button and voila, you have a new test network set up and ready to go.

    If you want to know more, check out two upcoming Hangouts with Google Developers on related subjects. The DFP Mobile Developer Office Hours will take place on June 12 at 12 p.m. PST and the AdWords API Office Hours will take place on June 13 at 2 p.m. EST.

  • DoubleClick For Publishers API Custom Fields Explained

    Google recently released a new version of its DoubleClick for Publishers API. One of the more interesting features of the new version was the addition of custom fields. This new feature allows users to include “additional information on DFP entities without having to implement data persistence in your own system.” Since it’s a new feature, some people might not be getting the hang of it.

    To help ease people into using custom fields, Google posted an explanation with a quick tutorial to help get people into using the feature. It explains the data types that can be used alongside an easy walk-through that shows an example in Java.

    Custom fields only support one of four data types. These data types are string, number, toggle (true/false) and drop-down. Google feels that these four data types should cover the most common use cases that developers will be running into while using custom fields.

    To help create and manage your new custom fields, you can enable the new CustomFieldService on your network. The service must be turned on before you can start creating custom fields. Custom fields are also coming to the user interface at some point in the future so it should be getting easier from here on out.

    To help get you started, they also posted a lengthy example of string and drop-down values being added to a custom field. The example is in Java, but custom fields are also available in Python, PHP, .NET and Ruby. You can view respective examples at the Google’s library example page.

    Here’s the example Java code for custom fields:

    Doubleclick For Publishers API Custom Fields Explained

    Even with all the extra help, I’m sure that custom fields will still be a point of confusion for a lot of DFP API developers. Unfortunately, the last DFP API Office Hours was held on May 9, but the Hangout should be going up on YouTube within the next few days. There won’t be another for a while so hopefully somebody else asked your question during the last Hangout.

    If you want to brave it alone, that’s fine too. Here’s the documentation for custom fields to get started.

  • Google Releases New Version Of The Doubleclick For Publishers API

    It’s been a week since a new API release, and I was just starting to get bored without having any new announcements. Google is the cure to my boredom with the release of version 201204 of the Doubleclick for Publishers API. It brings one new addition, a few changes and a retiring of three older versions.

    The first change for this version of the DFP API is the addition of custom fields. This will let you add attributes to things like orders and line items. Support for custom fields will be coming to the DFP UI soon, but you can start using it now if the feature is enabled on your network.

    The update also brings a few changes to Teams. In the new version, you will have to use UserTeamAssocations to pair up users and teams by their IDs. With this update, you can also set a specific access type for each member of the team.

    This update also changes the conversion reports columns. Here’s the list of added/removed columns:

    The following are added to the Column enum:
    value VIEW_THROUGH_CONVERSIONS
    value CONVERSIONS_PER_THOUSAND_IMPRESSIONS
    value CLICK_THROUGH_CONVERSIONS
    value CONVERSIONS_PER_CLICK
    value VIEW_THROUGH_REVENUE
    value CLICK_THROUGH_REVENUE
    value TOTAL_CONVERSIONS
    value TOTAL_CONVERSION_REVENUE

    The following are removed from the Column enum:
    value POST_IMPRESSION_ACTIVITIES
    value ACTIVITIES_PER_THOUSAND_IMPRESSIONS
    value POST_CLICK_ACTIVITIES
    value ACTIVITIES_PER_CLICK
    value POST_IMPRESSION_REVENUE
    value POST_CLICK_REVENUE
    value TOTAL_ACTIVITIES
    value TOTAL_ACTIVITY_REVENUE

    Google will also be retiring support for the following versions of the DFP API on May 11: v201103, v201104 and v201107. If you are using any of these versions, it’s best to upgrade now.

    They will also be holding a Hangout on May 9 to answer any and all questions you might have about the new version or just the DFP API in general. The Office Hours Hangouts are generally very informative so it’s best to check it out if you’re developing for the DFP API.

    For more information, check out the release notes for the newest version.