How do I set appVersion for Google Analytics Event tracking - google-analytics

Question

When I try to set the appVersion in google analytics, then my event tracking stops working. Specifically, I'm trying to include the app version with event tracking so I can know which version of the app caused an event.
I've tried setting the app version like this:
ga('set', 'appVersion', app.version);
I've tried like this:
ga('send',
'event',
eventCategory,
eventAction,
{'page': pageName, 'appVersion' : app.version });
And I've also tried the alternative syntax:
ga('send',
{'hitType' : 'event',
'eventCategory' : eventCategory,
'eventAction' : eventAction,
'page' : pageName,
'appVersion' : app.version});
If I include appVersion, then event tracking stops working. No events show in realtime and no show the next day in the Behavior/Events section. The PageViews still work though.
As requested in the comments, I am editing to add in my event tracking code. It's been through several variations while I tried solve this problem. Here's what it looks like currently.
var app = {
trackEvent: function (pageName, eventCategory, eventAction, optionalEventLabel, optionalEventValue) {
var eventObject = {
'eventCategory' : eventCategory,
'eventAction' : eventAction,
'optionalEventLabel' : optionalEventLabel,
'optionalEventValue' : optionalEventValue,
'page' : pageName,
};
console.log("app.trackEvent - " + JSON.stringify(eventObject));
ga('send', 'event', eventObject);
}
}
I call this method from many places using a call like:
app.trackEvent("PageNameValue", "EventCategoryValue", "EventActionValue", "EventLabelValueIfIHaveOne", AnIntegerValueIfIHaveOne);
Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Edit...
I found the following bug report that seems to apply: https://code.google.com/p/analytics-issues/issues/detail?id=366
The bug reporter mentions solving this problem by setting up a custom dimension. I will give that a try.

Answer 1

This appears to be be a Google Analytics bug. See https://code.google.com/p/analytics-issues/issues/detail?id=366 for more information.
As suggested by the bug reporter, the workaround is to use a custom dimension that you define in the Admin / Custom Definitions / Custom Dimensions section of the Google Analytics console.
Click "New Custom Dimension"
Enter name ( I entered customAppVersion )
Choose scope ( I chose Hit )
Click Create
Google will then suggest code examples for you, like...
var dimensionValue = 'SOME_DIMENSION_VALUE';
ga('set', 'dimension1', dimensionValue);
The only thing in the code sample that you need to change is the value of 'dimensionValue'. So I ended up with the following code.
ga('create', 'UA-########-#', 'auto');
ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null); // Disable file protocol checking (so that GA will work on Android devices)
ga('set', 'dimension1', app.version);
ga('send', 'pageview');
After this, the custom dimension will be applied to each hit recorded by Google Analytics and you can use that custom dimension to filter your results in the Google Analytics console.

Answer 2

As per google
Since the appName field must be sent with all app hits, it's often
best to set that field on the tracker itself using the set command or,
alternatively, when the tracker is created:
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXX-Y', 'auto', {
'appName': 'myAppName'
});
// The `appName` field is now set on the tracker, so
// screenview hits don't need to include it.
ga('send', 'screenview', {appVersion: '1.2'});
// Sending multiple parameters
ga('send', 'screenview', {appName: 'com.company.app', appVersion: '1.2'});
More information here

Answer 3

It works if you set at least the "appName", it's a good practice to set "appName" and "appId" before to set "appVersion"
ga('set', 'appId', app.id);
ga('set', 'appName', app.id);
ga('set', 'appVersion', app.version);