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When you export a design from Flexitive for DFP, you may notice the file structure of ZIP exports and the Macros for Tag exports are handled slightly differently than other ad servers. In this article, the differences between exports for DFP and other ad servers will be highlighted and explained.
When you export your design from Flexitive as a ZIP file for DFP, the files you receive will only contain an index.html file and a backup image. Receiving only an index.html file and a backup image is different from all other Flexitive exports, as the image files for your design are also included in the ZIP package exported from Flexitive.
DFP requires that uploads only contain an index.html file and a backup image. If there are additional image assets included in the export, the design will not be accepted by DFP.
In order to be compliant with the requirements for uploads to DFP, Flexitive converts every element in your design to code, and then includes that code in the design's index.html. When the design is served, the code is used to display the elements of your design. Using code for your images is called using inline images.
When a design is exported as a Tag for DFP, the tag is set up in one of two ways, depending on whether or not a click-through URL for the design is set in Flexitive.
If there is no click-through URL set in Flexitive when you export tags for DFP, the exported tags will not reference the Click-Through URL in Flexitive. In this circumstance, the Click-Through URL must be set in DFP.
To set the Click-Through URL of your design in DFP, you will need to change the tag you exported from Flexitive. Changing the Click-Through URL is done by replacing '%%DEST_URL_UNESC%%' macro with the URL you'd like the design to click-through to. The field you will need to change is highlighted below.
For example, to change the Click-Through URL of my design to flexitive.com, I would change the text destUrlUnEsc: "%%DEST_URL_UNESC%%" to destUrlUnEsc: "%%https://flexitive.com/%%" in the tag.
If there is a click-through URL set in Flexitive when you export tags for DFP, the exported tags will use the Click-Through URL in Flexitive. In this circumstance, the Click-Through URL can't be set in DFP.
If the click-through URL is set in Flexitive, the tag exported for DFP will not contain the '%%DEST_URL_UNESC%%' macro. For an example, see the tag below.
Using Special Characters In DFP Exports
When a design is served through DFP, special characters such as '#' signs and '%' signs in click-through URLs are 'encoded'. When a URL is encoded, these special characters are changed.
The issue of URLs becoming encoded by DFP is a known issue, and you can check out the related article in Google's Knowledge Base on Using a Pound Sign or Hash Mark in a Click-Through. For now, we recommend using a 'Vanity URL' in designs that would have a Click-Through with a special character. You can create a vanity URL for free using Google's URL Shortener.