Help:New filters for edit review/Quick tour

This page introduces the main elements of the new recent changes filtering system controlled by the beta feature “New features for edit review”. The new tools, which appear initially on Special:RecentChanges and Special:RelatedChanges, will roll out to a widening circle of wikis schedule>Phab:T146972|starting in March 2017.

What is changed?
We have added four new elements to the Recent changes pages.

You now see the displayarea>#displayarea|Active filter display area, located above the Recent changes options.

On that Active filter display area are filters tags. Each tag has a label, and, at the end of it, a cross. Below that bar is the searchbar>#searchbar|filters search bar.

When you click on the Active filter display area or the filters search bar, the dropdown>#dropdown|dropdown filters panel is displayed. When you click outside of that filter list, the list disappears.

You can manage the different filters. Know more about how to use the filters filtering>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit Review Improvements/RC filters/Filtering|on the filtering help page. We have also added an Highlighting>#Highlighting|highlighting function to differentiate the results provided by filters.

Parts of the new filtering interface
The discussion below introduces the main elements of the new filtering interface, explains how each works, and offers advice for getting the most out of the new system.

Filter search bar
Click in the filter search bar to open the dropdown>#dropdown|Dropdown Filter Panel, which provides a menu of filter options. If you know the name of the filter you want to use, start typing the name; the dropdown panel will open and scroll directly to that filter.

Dropdown filter panel
The filter panel displays a list of filtering options. When you check the box next to a filter, that filter becomes active. Unlike previous RC Page filters, which were designed to exclude edits with certain properties, the new filters include the property the filter names (e.g., the Registered filter searches for edits by registered users).

The filters filtering>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit Review Improvements/RC filters/Filtering|are divided into groups. When no filters are selected in a group, all filters in that group are active; the effect is the same if  all filters in a group are checked.

To exclude edits with a particular property, leave the filter for that property unchecked and check all the other filters in its group. You’ll notice that the unchecked filters turn gray, to indicate they are inactive.

At the top of the dropdown panel is the Highlight results button. Click this button to display Highlighting>#Highlighting|the Highlight menus.

See filtering>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit Review Improvements/RC filters/Filtering|the dedicated page to have more information about the different filters.

Active filter display area
The Active Filter Display Area is designed to give you a quick read of your current filter and highlighting settings. When a filter is active or when that edit property is highlighted, a tag with the name of that filter appears in the display area. Highlighted filters show a dot indicating the highlight color.

On page load, the Active Filter Display Area shows a set of (universal) default filters. To remove all the active filters, click the Trashcan icon at the right side of the filter display area; a “Restore default filters” icon will take the Trashcan’s place. Click that link to restore the defaults along with your preferences.

You can deactivate an individual filter by clicking the x in its tag. If you click on the body of the tag, the dropdown filter panel opens and scrolls to where that filter is in the menu.

See filtering>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit Review Improvements/RC filters/Filtering|the dedicated page to have more information about how to handle the different filters.

Highlighting
Highlighting is a very powerful tool to triage some type of edits. In the Dropdown filter panel, the "" button will allow you to choose a color for your most important filters. Changes triggering the filters will be colored accordingly to your choices.

See Highlighting>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit Review Improvements/RC filters/Highlighting function|the dedicated page to have more information about that feature.

Page elements not included in the beta
The New Filters for Edit Review beta changes much, but not all, of the default Recent Changes filtering system. In the current state of the project (as of March 2017; project Phase I), the following functions will work much as they always have:


 * Results area: the design of the results area has changed only in very small ways.


 * Namespace filter and associated options


 * Tag filter


 * Show X number of changes in last Y number of days


 * Show new changes starting from... a certain date and time

For information about using any of these, go to RC>:m:Special:MyLanguage/Help:Recent changes|Help:Recent changes on Meta.