Switchboard: The one tag management switcher Chrome extension to rule them all

Switching between a production tag management environment and a development one is an essential practice in managing analytics and 3^rd party tag implementations. This lets you act quicker, and more confidently, by testing any tag management changes directly in production without being tied to a development release.

Skip right to learning how to use Switchboard

It is so essential that every TMS has their own Chrome Extension that allows you to do that; each with its own learning curve. Specialized extensions have also popped up to address specific tag management switching needs. As a result, users invest time learning each extension as they pick up a new TMS, whether it is through a new job or a TMS migration. As consultants we end up with a collection of extensions over the years to address the same scenarios on different tag managers.

Why do this

When you can do this

At Softcrylic we decided to put our collective years of tag management implementation experience into a single Chrome extension called Switchboard to standardize these essential techniques. While we do not try to solve for every tag management implementation need, from a clutter perspective I agree that Switchboard can reduce the amount of Chrome extensions you manage. You will still need others specialized extensions like Adobe’s AEP Debugger, Google’s Tag Assistant, and others…

Yet, by packaging all these tag switching capabilities into a single extension we found that more use cases became apparent. This has gotten us excited and got us to think about out-of-the-box solutions to the every-day hurdles we consultants go through. To top it off, our design team created this beautiful UI so anybody from a pro every-day user to a novice can figure out how to use it.

1. switch Tags (formerly Adobe Launch) and Adobe DTM environments in an Active tab
2. switch any part of any tag network request for anything in a Custom tab
3. detect Tags, DTM, and GTM and flag essential implementation issues

Future versions will integrate Tealium and Ensighten switching capabilities in the Active tab. There will also be newer capabilities not seen before in switching extensions that will make your tagging life easier. In the meantime, download Switchboard and let’s breakdown how to use the two main tabs by exploring potential scenarios you may be faced with:

Active Tab:

Scenario 1: Going to a website with Adobe DTM and testing new changes in DTM.

• Switchboard will detect DTM, will let you switch between Production and Staging, and toggle Debug on/off.

Scenario 2: Going to a website with Tags and testing new changes in that website’s Tags property.

• Switchboard will detect Tags. When you visit that website’s Tags Environments tab, it will automatically save all environments of that property. Then you will be able to switch between production and development environments for your website. You can also toggle Debug on/off.

Scenario 3: Going to a website with Tags and testing changes in a different Tags property.

• When you visit any Tags Environments tab, Switchboard will also save those environments and create profiles for each property you visit. When you are on a website that has Tags implemented, it will let you switch between any saved Tags property and their environments. Now you can have a completely independent sandbox Tags property to test anything you have been experimenting with, without the risk of conflicting with the actual Tags profile embedded on the site.

Scenario 4: You want to test a Tags implementation, but Development team is taking too long to implement the embed code.

• This is the same as scenario 3! You can start testing any Tags changes without the need to wait for any development deployments that update or implement an embed code on the site.

Scenario 5: Going to a website that has an essential implementation issue.

• Switchboard will flag the issue so you become aware of the problem and can address it. I will not detail the issues here as they will only appear if a problem is detected and will have information on what the issue is. You can always contact us if you need further details.

Custom Tab:

We strive to standardize switch scenarios as much as we can, but we understand it is not possible for every single tag management use case. So we added a Custom tab that will let you create and manage an infinite number of custom tag switching scenarios.

This is game changer because you are no longer limited to switching between TMS environments. You can switch any part of any tag network request for anything you want.

Here is a collection of mini-video clips showing a few of the most common use cases to get you started. Creativity is your limit here, and we know the more you use it, the more interesting use cases you will come up with! I would love to hear from you how you use it.

By the way we mean it, infinite use cases, if you want to. At least this is what our developers say, and it would be super interesting to put that to the test. Do let me know if you do, you rascal.

Activated Visual Queue

Don’t worry, just like you, we too have debugged a tagging “issue” for a while only to figure out we have a Chrome extension actively switching something in the background. For this reason, we added a visual queue to serve as a reminder that an active switch is being performed. We recommend pinning Switchboard for this reason.

Red dots means it’s active!

• Inactive switching: (Dark Theme Chrome users) (Default Theme Chrome users)
• Active switching: (Dark Theme Chrome users) (Default Theme Chrome users)

If you have multiple Custom switches turned On Switchboard will notify you as well.

Closing thoughts

This is the very first release of an extension that should transform how you approach any tag implementations whether it be analytics, media pixels, or other 3rd party tags. I am personally very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish and cannot wait to work with you in evolving this extension to be your go-to in tag management implementations. Your feedback will be invaluable to make that a reality. Download Switchboard today and please submit any bugs/feature requests because we will address them. For example, we hear Tag Commander is a TMS many people use… should we support it? You can tell us that and more below.