Peter SchmalfeldtMar 22, 2023
Ivory by Tapbots 

Keyword Filter Tip:
Sometimes simple keywords pick up longer words. If you add a keyword filter for “Elon”, it will also filter posts with the word "belong" or "felony".

Solution:
Regular Expressions. Go to your filters tab by holding down on one of the last 3 tab buttons. Add Keyword and enter \(space)yourkeyword(space). You should also see a new "Regex" option appear when you hit that backslash. Turn that on. Test your results by scrolling down and checking "Matching Posts”.

Mar 20, 2023 at 2:51pmWeb
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023

Regular Expressions allow you to filter your posts in powerful ways. A good place to test new expressions to make sure they work properly is at https://regex101.com

Have fun!

regex101: build, test, and debug regex

Regular expression tester with syntax highlighting, explanation, cheat sheet for PHP/PCRE, Python, GO, JavaScript, Java, C#/.NET, Rust.

regex101
Show threadGavin LoganMar 20, 2023
@ivory well played
Show threadJensMar 20, 2023
@ivory You might want to rather use \b instead of (space), so you're also able to match hashtags and other non-alpha-numeric chars.
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023
@daskaja That's a good option too!
Show threadCedr\c Mar 20, 2023
@ivory @daskaja How to include capital letters? "Elon" is not counted
Show threadJensMar 20, 2023
@cedric @ivory \b[Ee][Ll][Oo][Nn]\b - not nice, but works
Show threadJakubMar 20, 2023

@daskaja @cedric @ivory
To ignore case sensitive type:

(?i)\belon\b

Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Mar 20, 2023

@cedric

Yeah, a /i would be a help, for sure. Maybe [Ee]lon would work? I don't subscribe, and regex is one of the sub-only features.

On a tangent, wouldn't it be nice to have search/replace option in addition to basic filtering? Imagine /elon/shitbird/gi as a global filter, @ivory @daskaja

Show thread[aware event]Mar 20, 2023

@xinit @cedric @ivory @daskaja Try

(?i)\belon\b

But yeah, it should probably be in the UI.

Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Mar 20, 2023

@Wevah

I'm out of regex practice, but the (?i) checks out on regex101.com

@cedric @ivory @daskaja

Show threadJosh ThomasMar 20, 2023
@cedric @ivory @daskaja \b[eE][lL][oO][nN]\b
Show threadJared (MOVED TO DMV.COMMUNITY)May 1, 2023
@cedric Dunno if you ever got a response to this, but you can either replace e with [Ee] (if you just want the first letter matched) or you can use (?i) in the beginning to make the entire string case-insensitive.
Show threadCedr\c May 1, 2023
@ktnjared not this one. thank you so much 👍
Show threadburgatshowMar 20, 2023
@daskaja @ivory also a /i flag to make it case insensitive. ;)
Show threadJensMar 20, 2023
@burgatshow @ivory I wasn't sure if modifiers were supported here, since the GUI is a bit misleading. But if so, better use /i
Show threadburgatshowMar 20, 2023
@daskaja @ivory sure. You are right. It is more like a suggestion to @ivory to implement the switch for case sensitivity.
Show threadAaron MahlerMar 20, 2023
@daskaja @ivory Seemed a good test question to pose to ChatGPT - which resulted in precisely your same \b recommendation along with a decent description of the reasoning. I did that before seeing your reply, so not saying it validated your answer - more the other way around. :)
Show threaddxzdbMar 20, 2023
@daskaja @ivory omg - am I finally going to have to learn regex because of a mastodon app! 😵🤣
Show threadPaulMar 20, 2023
@ivory Like the topic you‘ve chosen for your example regex… 🤫
Show threadJames GilbertMar 20, 2023
@ivory One of my favourite sites is RegExper, which visualises regular expressions. Useful if they are more complex.
https://regexper.com/#%5Cbelon%5Cb
Regexper

Regular expression visualizer using railroad diagrams

Show threadMark BoszkoMar 20, 2023
@ivory which flavor should we pick in the left column to match how Ivory will interpret the regex?
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023
@swizzlevixen For basic pattern matching, I didn't change the flavor. I am not a regex expert. Just wanted to provide a basic solution to a very common problem people have with keyword filters. 🙂 If you want to know more about what we use, you can go here: https://unicode-org.github.io/icu/userguide/strings/regexp.html
Regular Expressions

ICU is a mature, widely used set of C/C++ and Java libraries providing Unicode and Globalization support for software applications. The ICU User Guide provides documentation on how to use ICU.

ICU Documentation
Show threadJon MichaelsMar 20, 2023

@ivory This is AWESOME! Thank you!

I would strongly recommend Chapter 8 of the BBEdit Manual for anyone who wants to learn more about Regular Expressions. It's my go-to whenever I need help with a tricky pattern match.

I believe we have @gruber to thank for that one.

It is available here:

https://www.barebones.com/support/bbedit/manual.html

Bare Bones Software | BBEdit User Manual

Show threadLady DiMar 20, 2023
@ivory 🙂 That topic example choice! 👍🏻💕
Show threadDwayne WannerMar 20, 2023
@ivory I feel this is relevant somehow
Show threadKevin RiggleMar 20, 2023
@ivory oh ffs you couldn’t just wrap the keywords in ‘\b…\b’ like everyone else does and all your users expect from decades of Google and other full-text search engines
Show threadSaschaMar 20, 2023
@ivory Regex and Fun in one sentence… 🤣
Show threadseanMar 20, 2023
@ivory brilliant!
Show threadMartin the paranoid androidMar 20, 2023
@ivory \byouknowwho\b gets initial Youknowwho and when punctuation follows.
Show threadMartin the paranoid androidMar 20, 2023
@ivory Oops, should have read further 🤣
Show threadTim from the Island💫♥️💫🇮🇲Mar 20, 2023
@ivory As someone who has been a software developer for over 30 years, I can definitely state that regexes are the work of satan
Show threadMatt WMar 20, 2023
@ivory You can also ask ChatGPT, it’s great at generating regex!
Show threadKerim Friedman 傅可恩Mar 21, 2023
@ivory I've actually found that ChatGPT is really useful for writing RegEx when I can't figure it out myself.
Show threadDragon 🐉 Mar 21, 2023
@kerim @ivory I tried that yesterday but I don't think the resulting regex worked.
Show threadKerim Friedman 傅可恩Mar 23, 2023
@dragon @ivory It doesn't always work the first time, but you can ask GPT to fix its own mistakes. Can take some patience, but still easier (for some) than writing it yourself.
Show threadDragon 🐉 Mar 23, 2023
@kerim @ivory I'd spent a while refining it, this was GPT 3 I haven't yet paid for GPT to get access to 4
Show threadKiokidMar 27, 2023
@ivory nice
Show threadMartin PorcheronMar 20, 2023
@ivory this looks great, although couldn’t a shortcut option be made available for people who don’t know what regex is? (E.g. match whole word only option?)
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023
@mporcheron We plan to revamp our keyword filter creation tools at some point. But for now this works well. 🙂
Show threadPeter ChristensenMar 20, 2023
@ivory What an strangely specific example. 🤣 Keep up the great work, guys. Love what you do.
Show threadyertleMar 20, 2023
@ivory 👏
Show threadParsingphaseMar 20, 2023
@ivory OK please tell me you're going to support full PCRE so I can get disproportionately excited by a mobile app
Show threadLizardMar 20, 2023
@ivory I'm not so certain that including "felony" when searching for "Elon" is an error. :)
Show threadMichael GemarMar 20, 2023
@ivory I love Ivory, but requiring regex knowledge to force matching the exact thing I enter for search is TERRIBLE for new users. You can give users the *option* to use regex, but the *default* should only match exactly what is requested. The “solution” offered is making users fix unexpected geeky behaviour by the app back-end. This is NOT newbie-friendly.
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023
@michaelgemar Yes we plan to revamp our keyword tools in the future, but this is what we have now. 🙂 We get people asking how to solve this problem on occasion and we wanted to share the current solution.
Show threadMichael GemarMar 20, 2023
@ivory That’s cool — I know things are happening very fast. I just wanted to flag that the solution offered was less than ideal, and a more friendly long-term fix is desirable.
Show threadzıəs uɐɟəʇs ✪Mar 20, 2023
@ivory If the regex should also match when there is no Space before the searchstring (i.e. it is at the beginning of the test), use a regex like this (not tested in ivory):\belon\b
\b denotes a word boundary
Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Mar 20, 2023

@ivory The trouble you get in with a regex like that, though, is that it doesn't block out "Elon." or "#IdiotElon" constructs.

Would something like

\b(elon)\b

Also work to match word boundaries?

Show threadDr Lee A. ChristieMar 20, 2023
@ivory It’s not matching his full name Elongated Muskrat.
Show threadJason Petersen (he)Mar 20, 2023
@0x1ac i think it’s implicit you should just block people who speak like that
Show threadJames GilbertMar 20, 2023
@ivory I guess they are always case insensitive. What regular expressions are supported?
Wouldn't it make the feature more discoverable if the toggle was visible before entering a punctuation character?
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023

@jgrg https://unicode-org.github.io/icu/userguide/strings/regexp.html

We intentionally hid the toggle because too many people would probably turn it on without knowing what it is for.

Regular Expressions

ICU is a mature, widely used set of C/C++ and Java libraries providing Unicode and Globalization support for software applications. The ICU User Guide provides documentation on how to use ICU.

ICU Documentation
Show threadJames GilbertMar 20, 2023
@ivory Maybe have an "Advanced" option to reveal it? I'm just worried that I would never have discovered it, and I think it is such a great feature.
Show threadThomas BlätteMar 20, 2023
@ivory oh my, this is exactly what I needed. (With this exact example) 😅
Thank you so much!
Show threaddfbillsMar 20, 2023
@ivory I love your choice of matching words... Elon, belong, felony
Show threadBryan CulverMar 20, 2023
@ivory feature request: Shared Filters/Filter Lists, akin to the Drafts ecosystem. I’m sure the Space Enron filter set would be very popular.
Show threadIvory by Tapbots Mar 20, 2023

@bryanculver Not sure if it's what you are looking for, but you can hold down on a filter in the list and post it:

https://tapbots.com/ivory/mute?url=ivory%3A%2F%2F%2Fmute%2Fkeyword%3FactionType%3D1%26context%3D35%26regex%3D1%26text%3D%255C%2520Elon%2520

Tapbots

We create delightful apps for iOS and the Mac.

Show threadBryan CulverMar 20, 2023
@ivory well I’ll be… Neat!
Show threadNick from TorontoMar 20, 2023

@ivory I love the little bit of shade.

But in seriousness, thank you for making an awesome app that makes this new place feel more comfortable.

Show threadTodd SmithMar 20, 2023

@ivory I was today years old when I discovered Ivory's filter interface.

I kept looking for it in the top-left menu, didn't find it, and thought it was absent because Ivory is still in development. 😭