Filter-Assistant

The Filter-Assistant lets you create Ignore and Watch filters interactively. The main steps are to select the text that you want to filter and then classify the selected text, for example as permanent text or as text with changing numbers.


The Filter-Assistant can be started in the Bookmark properties by clicking the "Filter-Assistant" button.


It can also be started directly in the internal browser. Select the text that you want to filter, open the context menu, and choose "Create new filter".

Filter Types

Two types of filters can be created with the Filter-Assistant:


  • Ignore Filters
    An Ignore filter ignores specified parts of a page, for example text with changing numbers, a daily date, or everything from the beginning of the page up to a defined text.

  • Watch Filters
    A Watch filter monitors specified parts of a page and ignores all other content. For example, it can be used to monitor only the software version number on a download page.

Creating a Filter in the Internal Browser

Step 1: Select the Text to Filter

Example: "Downloads today: 3,333"


The selected text should be as unique as possible. Unique text can be identified more reliably by the filter system.


If you select only "3,333", WebSite-Watcher may find and filter all numbers with separators. The combination of the text "Downloads today:" and the number makes the selection unique and allows it to be identified and filtered precisely.


filter-assistant04


After selecting the text, click the "Page" button and then click "Create new filter" to start the Filter-Assistant. If you hold the Alt key while selecting the text, the Filter-Assistant starts automatically.

Step 2: Select the Filter Type

Example: Ignore selected text with changing numbers.


After the Filter-Assistant opens, select the filter type that you want to create. You can switch between the Ignore and Watch filter views and choose the filter type by clicking one of the buttons.


filter-assistant06


Based on the selected filter type, the assistant guides you through the remaining steps.

Step 3: Classify the selected text

The next step is to classify the selected text, in this example as text with changing numbers.


filter-assistant07


After classification, WebSite-Watcher displays all matching results for verification before the filter is created.


There may be:


  • No results, if WebSite-Watcher cannot find the selected text
  • One result, if the selection is unique
  • Multiple results, if WebSite-Watcher finds additional compatible matches


If no result is found, select a more unique text.

The Order of Filters Is Important

Filters are executed from top to bottom. The filter in the first line is executed before the filter in the second line.


Content removed by a filter is no longer available for subsequent filters.


Example:


You have defined the following Ignore filters:


Watcher
WebSite-Watcher


The first filter removes all occurrences of "Watcher". The second filter cannot find a match because "Watcher" has already been removed.


The correct order is:


WebSite-Watcher
Watcher


In this order, the first filter removes "WebSite-Watcher". The second filter then removes any remaining occurrences of "Watcher".

Options

  • Convert Links to Text
    If this option is enabled, WebSite-Watcher converts all links to plain text. This may slightly change the layout, but it makes it easier to select text within links.

Outdated Filters

Outdated Ignore filters are detected and deleted automatically after some time if they no longer match any content. There is no need to delete outdated Ignore filters manually. This behavior can be disabled in the Tweaks section, although this is not recommended.


Outdated Watch filters are not deleted automatically and must be maintained manually.

Test Filter Settings

Use the "Test filter" feature to verify your filter definitions. It compares the filtered text content of the new page with the filtered text content of the old page.