VAST tracking events / Linear
acceptInvitationLinear VAST tracking event
Short answer: Linear invitation accept. Present in 3.0 and 4.0; gone as a 4.1 linear name. Introduced in VAST 3.0. Removed in VAST 4.1.
When it fires
The user accepted an invitation during linear playback. VAST 3.0 added it. VAST 4.0 kept it. VAST 4.1 dropped it from the linear set. Do not put it on a 4.1+ Linear creative.
A linear name that 4.1 dropped
acceptInvitationLinear fired when the viewer accepted an invitation during linear playback. VAST 3.0 added it and VAST 4.0 kept it. VAST 4.1 removed it from the linear set. A 4.1 or 4.2 document that still carries the name has a URL the player will not call.
The NonLinear name acceptInvitation was not removed. Copying that name onto Linear is not a migration. It is the overlay event on the wrong container. For a 4.1 linear creative, keep the events 4.1 still lists, and do not expect this one to report.
What 4.1 linear measurement uses instead
After the name was removed, a linear engagement is a click element, a progress offset, or a SIMID interactiveStart, depending on what the creative actually does. None of those is a rename of acceptInvitationLinear. Replacing the string with acceptInvitation puts an overlay event on a linear creative, and it still does not fire.
A chain that wraps a 4.1 InLine and adds acceptInvitationLinear on the wrapper produces a wrapper URL that the 4.1 player ignores, plus whatever the InLine listed. The impression can still count. The invitation column cannot be rebuilt from the impression.
When the column stays empty
acceptInvitationLinear was removed in VAST 4.1. A document at that version can still contain the element, and the player has no handler, so the URL is never requested.
Each wrapper hop may include its own acceptInvitationLinear URL. The player requests every one of them when the event happens, so a chain of four hops produces four calls for one playback. An http URL on an https page is dropped by the browser before the ad server sees a miss. The event name can be right and the scheme can still zero the column.
Where it is valid
| 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.1+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | Yes | Removed |
Legal containers: Linear. An event in the wrong container is not a player error. It is a URL nobody calls.
Using it in a tag
Put it in a Linear TrackingEvents block. It is not valid on the other creative types, and a player does not fire a tracker in the wrong container.
<Linear>
<TrackingEvents>
<Tracking event="acceptInvitationLinear">
<![CDATA[https://track.example.com/acceptInvitationLinear]]>
</Tracking>
</TrackingEvents>
</Linear>VAST XML fragment only. This excerpt belongs inside a complete VAST document, so standalone validation will fail until it is wrapped in a full <VAST>response.
Related vastlint rules
- VAST-4.1-tracking-event-value: Tracking event attribute not in the valid set for this VAST version
Related events
- acceptInvitation: Fires when the user accepts a NonLinear invitation (expands or engages).
- closeLinear: Fires when a linear ad is closed. 4.1+ replacement path for linear close.
Check the XML, then confirm the beacons fire
Validate the event names and containers on the document. Test a live URL when the XML is clean and reporting is still empty.