Ability to add new Urchin variables *before* the call to urchinTracker()

I edited my local copy of the module to do this.

First change: Add new textarea to hook_admin_settings()

// CUSTOM 2007-10-03 TRN
  $form['advanced']['googleanalytics_variables'] = array(
    '#type' => 'textarea',
    '#title' => t('Urchin Variables'),
    '#default_value' => variable_get('googleanalytics_variables', ''),
    '#rows' => 10,
    '#description' => t('Paste custom Urchin variables here. These will appear before the call to urchinTracker() and will be added to every page that Google Analytics appears on. <strong>Do not include the &lt;script&gt; tags</strong>, and always end your code with a semicolon (;).')
  );
// END CUSTOM

This was added immediately above this line: $form['advanced']['googleanalytics_codesnippet'] = array(

Second change: Pull the variable in hook_footer()

// CUSTOM 2007-10-03 TRN
		// Add any custom variables if specified
		$variables = variable_get('googleanalytics_variables', '');
// END CUSTOM

This was added immediately below this line: $codesnippet = variable_get('googleanalytics_codesnippet', '');

Third (and final) change: Output the variables in hook_footer

// CUSTOM 2007-10-03 TRN
    $script .= '<script type="text/javascript">'. $downloadtracker ."\n_uacct = \"". $id ."\";{$variables}urchinTracker();{$segmentation}{$codesnippet}\n</script>\n";
// END CUSTOM

This replaced the following line: $script .= '<script type="text/javascript">'. $downloadtracker ."\n_uacct = \"". $id ."\";urchinTracker();{$segmentation}{$codesnippet}\n</script>\n";

I've created a patch to add my changes to the dev version of the module. :)

Here's a variable that allows Google Analytics to track several subdomains within one profile:

_udn="mydomain.com";

Here's a more detailed explanation of _udn, and here's a list of some other variables you can use.

Can a new version of Google Analytics at least support global variables prior to the urchinTracker() call? I realize it won't suit absolutely every need, but it's a step in the right direction.

I think we may be misunderstanding each other with regards to "global variables." I'm not advocating creating a Drupal-wide variable -- I'm simply saying it would be useful to have a way to set additional Google Analytics variables prior to the urchinTracker() call. This is absolutely necessary for sites with several subdomains whose traffic should be monitored at the primary domain level.

While creating a hook for other modules is probably useful (I haven't thought about it myself), the ability to add one or two site-wide Google Analytics variables seems like a useful way to enhance the module -- especially for users who don't know how to work with modules or hooks.

The client I'm working with, for example, had no interest in using the Google Analytics module until I made the changes that allowed him to add a variable to the output. Now he has an easy way to add them: just a simple text area.