Enabling Pre-defined Variables in the New GTM UI

In GTM 2.0, macros have gone away. These are now called ‘Variables’.

There are many pre-defined variables in GTM 2.0 which make setting up tags & triggers easier than before, however, you must first enable them. This is just a quick post to hopefully save you some time and energy the first time you try to use the new UI to create a new tag or trigger.

When you first create a new container, there will be a small subset of pre-defined variables already enabled. You can see them by navigating to the ‘Variables’ section via the left-hand nav.

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If you are creating any type of click or form event, you’ll want to enable these fields to have them show up as a selection when creating a new trigger. To do so, just select the ones you’d like to have available. To start with, I recommend enabling all of the click variables, and if your site has a form, the form variable fields as well. As you continue to make new tags and triggers, you may need to enable more of these pre-defined variables, and now that you know how, this should be quick and easy.

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These will all now be available in the variable drop down menu when creating new triggers.

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5 Comments

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  4. Doug

    Hello @KristaSeiden. Just curious as to what the reason(s) might be for not just going ahead and enabling all the variables? Does it become a performance and overhead issue for having them enabled?

    • Krista

      More like a usability issue because you’ll end up with a long list to choose from each time. If you don’t anticipate needing a variable, I’d recommend leaving it unchecked.

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