Adding Segmentation Criteria to URL Data Source

A URL Data Source can be either STATIC or PARAMETERIZED. A STATIC source will always have the same URL, where there are no variables included in the URL itself.

An example of a STATIC Data Source would be "http://mydomain.com/myrecipientlist.csv”, because this references a single CSV file. However, a PARAMETERIZED source will be a source which includes Segmentation Criteria. The setup process for Segmentation Criteria for a URL Data Source is very similar to the process of adding Segmentation Criteria to Database Queries.

For our example, we’ll create a URL Data Source with a Recipient data type. If we take the example “http://mydomain.com/${Criteria.fileName}”, Segmentation Criteria for fileName would allow a Campaign author to indicate a specific recipient list hosted on their domain. After including FreeMarker variables in the URL, it will be necessary to use the Add Criteria button and define the name, label, default value, and help text for our Segmentation. For example:

Using the blue plus or minus signs to the right of each Segmentation Criteria, more can be added (plus) or existing ones can be removed (minus).

After saving the URL and Segmentation Criteria, it’s recommended to test the newly created query. At this point, you can identify if the FreeMarker populates with the correct default value. To test the query, click the drop-down arrow on the right side of the Test button and select Preview URL.

The result of this test will show you the URL, including all default values for the FreeMarker variables with Segmentation Criteria.

As with a Database Query including Segmentation Criteria, any Segmentation Criteria will appear on the Marketing Campaign Settings page when the corresponding URL Data Source is set to the Recipient List. The set Segmentations can be reviewed on the Overview page, and the resulting Approximate Size of the recipient list can be refreshed on the Overview as well.