ℹ️ How to Exclude Items or Objects from Logs

Activity Log Pro captures a comprehensive range of WordPress activities to provide thorough monitoring and audit capabilities. However, some automated processes, plugin operations, and routine system activities can create unnecessary noise in your activity logs.

The exclusion feature allows you to filter out these unwanted entries, keeping your logs focused on meaningful user actions and important site changes. It was designed to help you maintain clean, focused activity logs while, removing noise and preserving all the security and audit information that matters most to your WordPress site management.

Understanding Option Names and Objects

When reviewing your activity logs, you’ll notice an “Object” column that displays the specific WordPress option names being modified. These option names represent various database entries that store settings, configurations, temporary data, and system information.

Common examples of option names that might appear in your logs include:

  • – Automated processes: Plugin update checks, cron job results, temporary file operations
  • – Cache-related entries: Various caching mechanisms and temporary storage
  • – User session data: Auto-save functionality, temporary user preferences
  • – Plugin-specific data: Individual plugin settings, transients, and configuration changes
  • – System maintenance: Backup processes, optimization routines, cleanup operations

How to Access Exclusion Settings

To configure your exclusion preferences:

  1. 1. Navigate to your WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Go to Activity Log Pro > Settings
  3. 3. Locate the Event Filtering & Exclusions section
  4. 4. Find the Excluded Option Names field

This textarea allows you to specify which option names should be excluded from your activity logs.

Exclusion Methods

Activity Log Pro supports two types of exclusion patterns to accommodate different filtering needs.

Exact Matching

Exact matching excludes only the specific option name you enter, character for character. This method is ideal when you want to target a particular option that you’ve identified as problematic or unnecessary.

How to use: Simply enter the exact option name in the exclusion field.

Example: If you enter user_session_data, only logs containing exactly “user_session_data” in the Object column will be excluded.

Best for: Targeting specific, known option names that appear frequently and add no value to your audit trail.

Wildcard Pattern Matching

Wildcard patterns use the asterisk (*) symbol as a placeholder that can represent any characters, including none. This powerful feature allows you to exclude entire categories of related options with a single pattern.

Available patterns:

  • Prefix matching: temp_* excludes anything beginning with “temp_” (such as temp_data, temp_cache, temp_session)

  • Suffix matching: *_backup excludes anything ending with “backup” (such as site_backup, user_backup, content_backup)

  • Contains matching: *cache* excludes anything containing “cache” anywhere in the name

  • Multiple wildcards: *temp*session* excludes anything containing both “temp” and “session”

Best for: Excluding groups of related options or catching variations of similar naming patterns.

Practical Examples

Here are some common exclusion patterns that many WordPress sites find useful:

Cache and Temporary Data

*cache*
*temp*
*transient*
temp_*
*_temp

Automated Backup Processes

*backup*
*_backup
backup_*
auto_backup_*

Plugin Auto-Updates and Checks

*update_check*
*auto_update*
plugin_update_*
*_version_check

Plugin Auto-Updates and Checks

*update_check*
*auto_update*
plugin_update_*
*_version_check

Session and User Datatext

*session*
user_meta_*
*_user_activity
temporary_*

Development and Testing

debug_*
test_*
*_debug
dev_*
staging_*

Best Practices for Exclusions

Start Conservative

Begin with specific exclusions for known problematic options rather than broad wildcard patterns. This approach helps you understand what’s being excluded and ensures you don’t accidentally filter out important audit information.

Monitor Before Excluding

Review your activity logs for patterns of unwanted entries before setting up exclusions. Look for:

  • – Options that appear very frequently without user interaction
  • – Automated processes that don’t require auditing
  • – Plugin-specific operations that add no security value
  • – Temporary data that clutters your logs

Test Your Patterns

When using wildcard patterns, consider the potential scope of what might be excluded. A pattern like *data* might be too broad and could exclude important user data modifications.

Regular Review

Periodically review your exclusion list to ensure it still meets your needs. As your site grows and plugins change, you may need to adjust your exclusion patterns.

Document Your Exclusions

Keep a record of why specific exclusions were added, especially complex wildcard patterns. This documentation helps when reviewing or modifying exclusions later.

Important Considerations

Permanent Exclusion

When you add exclusions, the matching option updates will not be logged at all. This is a permanent filtering action, not just a display preference. Once excluded, you won’t have any audit trail for those specific activities.

Important: Exclusions only apply to future logging activities. When you add/configure an exclusion pattern, it will prevent new matching events from being recorded in your activity log going forward, but it will not affect or remove any existing log entries that are already stored in your database.

This means:

  • – Existing logs remain unchanged – Any logs already captured before adding the exclusion will continue to appear in your activity log viewer.

  • – Future logs are filtered – New activities matching your exclusion patterns will not be recorded from the moment you save the exclusion settings.

  • – No retroactive filtering – The exclusion system does not scan or modify historical log data.

If you need to clean up existing unwanted log entries that were recorded before setting up exclusions, you would need to use other methods such as filtering and bulk deletion features or the “Clear All Logs” function in the Maintenance section.

Database Performance Benefits

Properly configured exclusions can significantly reduce database growth by preventing unnecessary log entries. This improves plugin performance and reduces storage requirements.

Compliance Implications

Consider your compliance and audit requirements before excluding options. Some regulatory frameworks may require comprehensive logging, including automated processes.

Backup Recommendation

Before implementing broad exclusion patterns, consider exporting your current logs as a backup. This ensures you have a complete record if you need to reference excluded activities later.

Troubleshooting Exclusions

If you notice important activities being excluded unintentionally:

  1. 1. Review your wildcard patterns for overly broad matching
  2. 2. Check the exact option names in your logs before excluding
  3. 3. Consider using exact matching instead of wildcards for problematic entries
  4. 4. Test exclusions on a staging site before applying to production

The exclusion feature is designed to help you maintain clean, focused activity logs while preserving all the security and audit information that matters most to your WordPress site management.

Need Help? If you experience issues with Exclusions, please contact our support team with details about your specific situation.