scalpel@labs: ~/glossary/preserve-log.mdx5 sections

Preserve Log

Preserve log stops Scalpel Tags clearing its capture when the page loads a new URL. Normally each new document starts a fresh log. With preserve log on, hits and dataLayer pushes carry across loads, so you can follow a redirect or a multi-step checkout.

extension: Scalpel Tagsupdated: 2026-08-14read_time: 2 min
less preserve-log.mdx

Why it matters

When a page redirects to another page, a login flow goes through three steps, or a checkout takes you to a payment processor and back, the tag capture resets each time. You see only the tags on the final page. For debugging multi-step flows, that's useless.

Preserve log holds the log across every page load. So when a form posts to a confirmation page, or a login redirects to the account home, or a checkout leaves your site and comes back, you can see the full trail of tag events from start to finish.

How it works

Preserve log is a toggle in the Scalpel Tags panel toolbar. When it's off (the default), each page load clears the captured hits. Turn it on and the log sticks around. Hits from the page before the redirect stay in the table. When you land on the new page, new hits appear below.

What does not matter

Preserve log doesn't save your session permanently. If you close the browser tab or reload the entire browser, the log clears. It's only meant to hold data across single navigation events: a redirect, a form post, a link click that takes you elsewhere.

The log file itself isn't stored anywhere. It lives in memory on the current tab. Close the tab and it's gone.

Code example

A typical multi-step checkout flow:

  1. Product page: ProductView event fires, preserve log is on.
  2. User clicks Checkout.
  3. Page redirects to /checkout.
  4. New GA4 hit fires: begin_checkout event.
  5. Instead of clearing the log, Scalpel Tags keeps both hits visible.
  6. User fills checkout and clicks Pay.
  7. Page redirects to third-party payment processor.
  8. New hits fire on that external domain.
  9. Payment processor redirects back to your site.
  10. Your purchase event fires.

With preserve log on, you can see all ten steps in one timeline. Without it, you'd only see the final purchase event.

How Scalpel Tags shows it

The preserve log toggle is a button in the panel toolbar, usually next to the text filter box. It's either on or off. Turn it on before you start testing a multi-step flow. You can also toggle it with a keyboard shortcut if you're mid-flow and just realised you needed it. Your setting persists across tabs until you turn it off.

Sources