---
title: "External Data"
slug: "mapp-intelligence-tracking-external-data"
updated: 2026-07-02T16:53:56Z
published: 2026-07-02T16:53:56Z
canonical: "docs.mapp.com/mapp-intelligence-tracking-external-data"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# External Data

External data can add interesting information. It only has a time reference.

---

## Time categories

By using time [categories](/docs/categories-and-parameters), numeric values can be imported.

The data is allocated to an hour of a day.

**Examples:**

- Number of available products per day
- Qty online orders (for quality control)
- Qty offline orders
- Individual target values (for calculating target achievement)

| Time (YYYY-MM-DD HH) | Time category "Qty online orders" | Time category "Target orders" |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-12-10 00 | 5,664 | 5,500 |
| 2026-12-11 00 | 5,581 | 5,000 |
| 2026-12-12 00 | 5,405 | 5,000 |

### Good to know

Time categories are available as metrics.

### Setup & best practices

- [How to set up categories](/docs/how-to-set-up-categories)
- [Import individual target values and monitor their achievement](/docs/kpis-import-individual-target-values-and-monitor-their-achievement)

---

## Independent parameters

Independent parameters can be used to log additional information per tracking request. They are only linked by time — not to a page, click, or visit — so tracking one does not create a visit.

**Examples:**

- Adserver tracking
- IoT tracking
- Newsletter openings in an email client

The exact syntax depends on your integration method. For details, see [Tracking Integration](/docs/tracking-integration).

### Analysis

Available in *Visitors > Independent Parameters* (for the data type Text).

### Setup

- [How to set up custom parameters](/docs/how-to-set-up-custom-parameters)