What Are Filter Settings (Overview)

To detect updates, WebSite-Watcher compares the text content of the new version of a page with the text content of the old version. If the content differs, WebSite-Watcher reports an update.


If a page contains frequently changing elements, for example a daily date or advertisements, an update would be reported with each check. Filters can ignore specific parts of a page to prevent false update notifications.


If a filter is defined, WebSite-Watcher compares the filtered text content of the new version with the filtered text content of the old version to detect updates.


Filter definitions are stored in the Bookmark properties. The button "Test filter" is available in various places and opens a dialog that displays the filtered text content of the new version and the filtered text content of the old version.


filter-assistant

Filter Types

WebSite-Watcher includes different types of filters that can be used to ignore or watch page content.


  1. Automatic Filters filter-auto5
    The Automatic Filters feature is a self-learning filter system. It provides an easy way to automatically create Ignore filters based on highlighted changes. Use this feature only when you receive a false positive, for example one caused by a changing date or a visitor counter. Do not use it when the page contains other relevant highlighted changes.

  2. Ignore Filters filter_ignore2
    Ignore filters are created manually. They ignore 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.

  3. Watch Filters filter_watch2
    Watch filters are created manually. They monitor only specified parts of a page and ignore all other content. For example, a Watch filter can be used to monitor only the software version number on a download page.

  4. Special Filters
    WebSite-Watcher also provides built-in filter options that can be enabled or disabled. For example, you can sort all words on a page before comparison.


In most cases, it is recommended to define a set of Ignore filters, either by using the Automatic Filter system or by creating them manually, for example with the Filter-Assistant.

How to Create Ignore or Watch Filters

Filters can be created automatically, by using an Assistant, or manually.


  1. Using the Automatic Filters System
    Automatic Filters can be created directly in the internal browser by clicking the filter-auto5 toolbar button. This button is also available in the "Page" submenu of the browser toolbar.

  2. Using the Filter-Assistant
    The Filter-Assistant can be started directly in the internal browser by holding the Alt key while selecting the text that you want to filter. It can also be started in the Bookmark properties by clicking the "Filter-Assistant" button. The Filter-Assistant lets you create Ignore or 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.

  3. Create Filters Manually
    As an alternative to the Automatic Filters system and the Filter-Assistant, you can create Ignore or Watch filters manually using simple wildcard definitions or regular expressions.

Cosmetic Filter

Cosmetic Filters provide another way to simplify a page before WebSite-Watcher applies Ignore or Watch filters.


Cosmetic Filters completely remove unwanted content from a page and generate a modified page, which is then processed by WebSite-Watcher.