Activity Log Pro provides a powerful filtering and search system that allows you to precisely target specific activity logs from your WordPress site. Whether you’re investigating security incidents, conducting compliance audits, or troubleshooting issues, the comprehensive filtering options help you quickly find the exact information you need.
Understanding the Logs Interface
The main Activity Log Pro interface can be found at Activity Log Pro > Activity Logs in your WordPress admin dashboard. This page displays all your logged activities in a sortable table format with multiple filtering options available above the logs display.
The interface provides real-time statistics showing your total log entries and current database size, giving you immediate insight into your site’s activity volume and storage usage.
Available Filter Options
Date Range Filtering
The date range filter allows you to narrow down logs to specific time periods:
- – Date From: Set a starting date to view logs from that point forward
- – Date To: Set an ending date to view logs up to that point
- – Combined Range: Use both fields to create a specific date window
Best Practice: When investigating specific incidents, start with broader date ranges and gradually narrow them down to pinpoint the exact timeframe of interest.
User-Based Filtering
Filter logs by specific users to track individual activity:
- – All Users (default): Shows activity from every user on your site
- – Specific User: Select any user with edit capabilities from the dropdown
This filter is particularly valuable for:
- – Investigating individual user behaviour
- – Generating user-specific activity reports
- – Tracking administrative actions by specific team members
Event Type Classification
Event Type filtering allows you to focus on specific categories of WordPress activities:
- – User Events: Login attempts, profile changes, role modifications
- – Post Events: Content creation, editing, publishing, deletion
- – Page Events: Page-specific content activities
- – Media Events: File uploads, deletions, media library changes
- – Comment Events: Comment submissions, approvals, spam management
- – Plugin Events: Installation, activation, deactivation, updates
- – Theme Events: Theme changes, customizations, updates
- – Widget Events: Widget modifications and arrangements
- – Menu Events: Navigation menu changes
- – Option Events: WordPress settings and configuration changes
Action-Based Filtering
The Action filter provides granular control over specific types of activities:
- – Create: New content or user creation
- – Update: Modifications to existing content or settings
- – Delete: Removal of content, users, or configurations
- – Login: User authentication events
- – Logout: User session termination
- – Install: Plugin or theme installations
- – Activate: Plugin or theme activations
IP Address Filtering
Filter logs by source IP address to:
- – Track activities from specific locations
- – Investigate suspicious login attempts
- – Monitor access patterns from different networks
- – Identify automated bot activities
The IP address dropdown populates with all IP addresses that have generated activity logs, making it easy to select specific sources.
Advanced Search Functionality
The search feature provides context-aware filtering across multiple database fields:
Search Scope: The search function examines:
- – User login names and display names
- – IP addresses
- – Object names (posts, pages, plugins, themes)
- – Activity descriptions
- – Event details and metadata
Search Behaviour:
- – Case-insensitive matching
- – Partial string matching (searches for terms anywhere within the field)
- – Compatible with all other filters for combined searching
- – Real-time search results when using Live Monitor
Combining Filters for Precision Targeting
The true power of Activity Log Pro’s filtering system lies in combining multiple filters to create highly specific searches.
Common Filter Combinations
Security Investigation Example:
- – Date Range: Last 7 days
- – Event Type: User
- – Action: Login
- – Search Term: “failed” or specific IP address
Content Management Audit:
- – Date Range: Specific month
- – Event Type: Post
- – User: Specific content editor
- – Action: Update or Delete
Plugin Management Review:
- – Event Type: Plugin
- – Action: Install, Activate, or Update
- – Date Range: Recent deployment period
System Configuration Tracking:
- – Event Type: Option
- – Search Term: Specific setting name
- – Date Range: Configuration change period
Filter Strategy Best Practices
Start Broad, Then Narrow:
- 1. Begin with basic filters (date range, event type)
- 2. Add user or action filters to reduce results
- 3. Use search terms for final precision
- 4. Reset and adjust filters if results are too limited
Logical Filter Sequencing:
- – Apply time-based filters first (date range)
- – Add categorical filters (event type, action)
- – Include user-specific filters if relevant
- – Use search as the final refinement tool
Live Monitor Feature
Activity Log Pro includes a Live Monitor option that automatically refreshes the logs display every 5 seconds without requiring manual page refresh.
When to Use Live Monitor:
- – Real-time security monitoring
- – Tracking ongoing system activities
- – Monitoring during maintenance operations
- – Investigating active incidents
Live Monitor Behaviour:
- – Maintains all current filter settings during auto-refresh
- – Shows a visual indicator when active
- – Compatible with all filtering options
- – Live Monitor will conveniently stay active even as you change filters in real-time, and only stops when you change page, or deactivate the Live Monitor checkbox.
Bulk Actions and Management
The logs interface includes bulk action capabilities for managing multiple log entries:
- – Select All: Checkbox to select all visible logs
- – Individual Selection: Checkboxes for each log entry
- – Bulk Delete: Remove multiple selected logs simultaneously
- – Selected Count: Visual indicator of how many logs are selected
Column Sorting and Data Organization
Each column in the logs table can be sorted to organize information:
- – ID: Numerical log entry identifier
- – Date: Chronological sorting (newest/oldest first)
- – User: Alphabetical user sorting
- – IP Address: IP address sorting
- – Event: Event type alphabetical sorting
- – Object: Object type/name sorting
- – Action: Action type sorting
Click any column header to sort by that field, with ascending/descending options available.
Filter Reset and Management
Reset Filters Button: Quickly clear all applied filters to return to the complete log view.
Practical Search Scenarios
Troubleshooting Website Issues
- 1. Identify the Problem Timeline: Use date range filters around when issues began
- 2. Focus on Relevant Events: Filter by Plugin, Theme, or Option events
- 3. Search for Error-Related Terms: Use search for “error”, “failed”, or specific component names
- 4. Check User Actions: Identify who made changes during the problem period
Security Auditing
- 1. Monitor Login Activities: Filter by User events and Login actions
- 2. Track Failed Attempts: Search for “failed” or “unsuccessful” login attempts
- 3. Identify Suspicious IPs: Use IP address filtering for unknown or suspicious sources
- 4. Review Administrative Changes: Filter by high-privilege users and system-level changes
Compliance Reporting
- 1. Define Audit Period: Set specific date ranges for reporting periods
- 2. Focus on Business Events: Filter by Post, Page, and User events
- 3. Track Data Changes: Search for specific content or user data modifications
- 4. Generate User Reports: Filter by individual users for personal activity reports
The comprehensive filtering and search capabilities in Activity Log Pro ensure you can quickly locate any specific activity or pattern within your WordPress site’s extensive activity history, making security monitoring, troubleshooting, and compliance reporting both efficient and thorough.
Need Help? If you experience issues with Search and Filters, please contact our support team with details about your specific situation.