How do I add the metric « Events » to a Custom report?

From Custom Reports version 5.6.0, the improved Total Events metric was introduced. This replaces the previous metric, now renamed as Total Events (legacy).

The legacy metric remains visible only when an existing Custom Report uses it and it cannot be selected for new custom reports.

Existing reports are not updated automatically with the new metric. You will need to manually edit each report and replace Total Events (legacy) with Total Events. This change triggers rearchiving, which recalculates the report data using the improved metric.

Add Total Events to a Custom Report

With a Visit dimension such as Browser, the Total Events metric shows the number of events tracked during visits that match each dimension value.

With an Action dimension related to pageviews, Total Events shows the events associated with each page. Only events linked to a pageview can be counted. Dimensions that apply to other action types, for example Download URL, cannot report Total Events because they do not represent pageviews.

For Event dimensions, such as Event Category or Event Name, the Total Events metric shows the number of events associated with each dimension value.

1. In Matomo, go to Custom Reports in the reporting menu.
2. Create a new report, or edit an existing one.
3. Choose the relevant Dimensions.
4. In the Metrics section, select Events > Total Events.
   

To report on specific events, you can also add a filter based on event dimensions such as Event Category, Event Action or Event Name. For example, only include events from a particular category or with a specific action.

Other event metrics are available for analysing event values and unique event dimensions:

• Average Value for events that have a value.
• Number of Events With A Value.
• Max Event Value for the highest event value recorded.
• Min Event Value for the lowest event value recorded.
• Total Event Value is the combined value of events that have a value.
• Number of Total Events that were tracked.
• Number of Unique Event Actions.
• Number of Unique Event Categories.
• Number of Unique Event Names.
• Number of Unique Event URLs.

What is the difference between Total Events and Hits?

Total Events only counts tracked events, whereas Hits counts all tracked actions, including pageviews, events and other action types.

Previously, Hits combined with an event-specific report filter could be used to approximate the number of events. For new and updated Custom Reports, use Total Events when you want to report specifically on events.