Config templates
Config templates carry business function parameters. You can create one or more config templates under a config item. Example scenarios:
- Create a template that carries the in-app message function parameters for an in-app message config item
- For campaign center configs, create multiple templates to carry different campaign formats
- When the same business function has different parameter designs on different platforms, create multiple templates to deliver configs to each platform
- For site-type config items that involve multiple resource slots, use multiple templates to serve different resource slots
Create a config template
- Name: The display name of the template, such as Announcement, Consecutive login reward, or Cumulative top-up reward
- Template ID: The unique identifier of the template, used to fetch configs. The template ID is delivered with the config strategy to identify the specific sub-function that the strategy belongs to. After the template is created, the template ID cannot be modified. For technical integration details, see Config Center technical integration docs.
- Description (optional): Describes the business scenario that the template is used for.
Add template parameters
Template parameters are function parameters that downstream services can parse. For example, the template parameters of an in-game announcement:
| Parameter name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| title | String | Yes | Announcement title |
| content | String | Yes | Announcement content |
| begintime | Numeric | Yes | Announcement effective time |
| expiretime | Numeric | Yes | Expiration duration, in seconds |
Each config item has its own parameter namespace (that is, parameter names are unique within a config item but can repeat across config items). Parameters at the config item level can be used in multiple templates.
Method 1: Create parameters
On the template parameter editing page, you can directly select added parameters from the config item parameter list on the right.
To add a new parameter, click [+] in the upper-right corner to create it. After it is created, you can add it to the template.
Method 2: Import a JSON file
When you create template parameters for a config item, you can add parameters manually in AE for a new business module. For an existing business module, if your system already has a complete configuration table or JSON file, you can also create the config item template directly by importing the JSON file.
In the Available Parameters panel on the right of the template editing page, click the upload icon next to the search box (the tooltip shows Import Parameters), and upload the JSON file that you want to parse.
Select an import method
- Replace Import: All parameters currently selected in the template are discarded, the new parameters parsed from the JSON file are selected instead, and the new parameters are saved in the system.
- Incremental Import: All parameters already selected in the template are kept (their data types also follow the existing parameters), the new parameters parsed from the JSON file are added, and the new parameters are saved in the system.
Note: If you have created a new empty template, all selected parameters are imported in full, regardless of whether you choose Replace Import or Incremental Import.
Parameter type parsing rules
- If the value is an empty string
"", text, or letters, the type is String - If true/false is detected, the type is Boolean (Note: 0 and 1 are recognized as numbers. You can change the type.)
- If a number is detected, the type is Number
- Date values are recognized with regular expressions
- Time values are recognized with regular expressions
- If
[]is detected, the type is Array - If { } is detected, the type is Object
- Values are not recognized as the json format during import for now
- The Enum type cannot be recognized during import
- In addition, the same recognition rules apply to nested levels in arrays
Possible reasons for parsing failures:
- JSON format error: JSON data must follow strict syntax rules, including correctly matched brackets and proper use of quotes. If the JSON format is incorrect, the data cannot be parsed correctly.
- Data type error: Values in JSON must be valid data types, such as strings, numbers, Booleans, arrays, objects, or null. If a data type is incorrect, the data cannot be parsed correctly.
- Missing JSON data: If some properties are missing from the JSON data, the data may not be parsed correctly.
- Encoding issue: JSON data may run into encoding issues, especially when it contains non-ASCII characters. Make sure that you use the same character encoding when you parse JSON data.
Confirm the template parameter structure
- Parameter Name: The parameter name parsed from the JSON
- Display Name: By default, the same parameter name is filled in as the display name. You can modify it.
- Parameter Type: Inferred from parsing. You can modify it.
- Required: By default, all parsed parameters are set to Yes (required). You can modify this.
- Description: Empty by default
Save parameters and edit the template
After the import succeeds, you are taken to the Templates page, where you can edit the template again and save it.
For parameter management, see Config parameter management.
Send Test for templates
After the template parameters are ready and an acquisition method is bound to the config item, you can run a Send Test on the config template to check whether the integration channel and content format work properly.
For channel integration methods, see Config Center Channel Settings.
Test goals and scope
Config Center provides in-game content configs, which usually need to go through a strict testing process before they are released. Therefore, Config Center supports Send Test for config templates and for strategies. Template and strategy tests cover the full Online, Pause, and Offline flow. Channel tests can be performed together with template tests (a channel only has specific content to send after it is bound to a config item).
When to test templates
| Test | Status breakdown | Description |
|---|---|---|
Template | Can be tested whether enabled or disabled |
|
How to test templates
Webhook template test
Test process:
Click Send Test in the action list to open the send test page.
You can test in the Production Environment or Test Environment (you can use the test environment only after you add a test address).
Select test accounts
- Production Environment: test accounts are required; Test Environment: test accounts are optional
- Select test accounts from the Whitelist. You can select multiple accounts, up to 10.
Client template test
Test process:
Click Send Test in the action list to open the send test page.
You need to enable debug mode on the test device.
After you select the test devices and enter the template parameter content, click Confirm & Send to start the test task.
You can test Online only, or test the full flow of Online - Offline or Online - Pause - Offline.
Client template Send Test content
When you test a client config item template, the system automatically generates a "test strategy" and takes it offline automatically after the test is complete.
| Module | Send Test handling | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | Send Test carries the channel custom parameters | |
| Target environment conditions | Template Send Test does not test environment conditions | |
| Audience | Tests All Users by default | |
| Config content | Template parameter content (parameter structure and values) Delivered as entered by the user during Send Test, with required-field validation | |
| Online time | The time when you click Send Test | |
| Offline time | Permanent by default | The test strategy is deleted when you click to complete or cancel the test on the page |
Template status management
Config templates are disabled by default. After you test a config template and confirm that it works properly, you can enable it.
After the template is enabled, users with permission to create config strategies can create and release specific content strategies in Strategies.
To keep strategies running stably, if you need to add or modify template parameters, disable the template first and then edit it. If disabling the template would affect the status of strategies, you cannot disable it.
Template JSON structure
To help you verify whether the configured template parameter structure meets the requirements of your online business parameter structure, you can view and download the template JSON structure on both the template editing page and the template list page.