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Frosmo "Palmdale" 2017-01-16

Release date

2017-01-16 at 08:30 (admin.inpref.com)

The Palmdale release contains minor improvements.

Improvements​

Unlocking the variations of a modification​

You can now define whether a given visitor is always shown the same modification variation.

Previously, when a visitor saw a modification for the first time, they were randomly assigned one of its variations, and they then saw that same variation on all subsequent page loads. This is called variation lock. From Palmdale onward, you can unlock the variations of a modification to always randomize their selection. Unlocking the variations means that the visitor is randomly assigned a variation on each page load. By default, variations are locked. You lock and unlock them separately for each modification.

Unlocking variations is required for the upcoming multi-armed bandit feature, which dynamically calculates and selects the most successful variations for display. If variations are locked, the multi-armed bandit cannot change which variation to show to visitors.

You can also use unlocked variations, for example, to implement a banner that displays a different ad on each page load. Previously, you had to create a separate modification for each ad and randomize them based on modification weight. Using unlocked variations, you can now create the ads as variations of the same modification and randomize them based on variation distribution.

To unlock the variations of a modification:

  1. Open the modification settings.

  2. Select Content.

  3. Click Set variation distribution in any of the variations.

  4. Deselect Lock variations for visitors.

    Unlocking the variations of a modification 1

  5. Click Set. The modification summary information now shows Variation lock: Off.

    Unlocking the variations of a modification 2

  6. Click Save all.

To lock the variations again, select Lock variations for visitors. The Variation lock: Off status is removed from the modification summary information.

Other improvements​

  • Frosmo Administration Panel, Modifications > Overview: The ID sorting option has been changed to ID (creation time). This clarifies the fact that, since IDs are assigned sequentially by creation time, sorting by ID is the same as sorting by creation time.

    Modifications overview sort

  • The Message API, which retrieves modification content from the Frosmo back end, boasts improved speed and performance. Precisely how much faster content is retrieved depends on the web site, and the number and type of modifications, but the speed gain can be significant. The API will continue to be improved in future releases. For more information about the API, see Technical overview. If you want to learn how the improvements affect your site, contact your Frosmo representative.