EE Filters: The Short Version
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14,138 Points
This is not the first EE Article about setting up an Expert Question Filter, but it is short and directly to the point. Follow these simple steps and you'll be up running and with a Question Filter in no time at all.
You can do lots of complex things with Filters, but usually, all you really need is a Filter that selects questions in one or more Zones; that is, you want to see questions that are in topic areas where you have some expertise. So, setting up a Filter is all about selecting some Zones.[step=""]Note: I'll also cover an often-overlooked but key feature of the EE Filter system: The ability to get email notifications of new questions in your favorite Zones.[/step]
1) Get to the Experts Zone
(Click the Answer tab on top of any EE webpage).
2) Click Create Filter
(it's under Expert Tools on the right).
Option #1: Use the Zone Selector
3) Click Zones (on the left).
4) Browse around the Zone hierarchy and put checkmarks next to one or more Zones.
5) Scroll down to the bottom of that zone selector and click Update Query
6) Just below that, under Filter Summary enter a name for your
Filter (for instance, "VB Programming")
7) Click Create Filter.
You are done!
The only hard part about all of that was finding the right Zones in the zone selector. So I'm now going to tell you a secret: There are are least two other ways to select the desired zones.
Option #2: Zone Name in the Terms Criteria
The simplest technique is to use the Terms criterion rather than the Zones criterion.
1,2) ...as above.
3) Click Terms (on the left).
4a) Enter a zone name or partial zone name in the second box.
4b) In the third box, select Zone Name.
5,6,7) Same as above.
You are finished. However, this is a rather "blunt instrument" because the partial zone name may cause the Filter to include zones you don't really want. For instance, "Windows" includes Windows Programming, Windows 3.x, Windows 7, Windows MFC, and many, many others.
Option #3: TAID(s) in the Custom Query Criteria
The next way is a more advanced, but it is very precise. It lets you isolate specific zones and even exclude zones.
1,2) ...as above.
3) Click Custom Query (on the left).
4) Enter text in the following format:
5,6,7) Same as above.[step=""]Note: TAID is an acronym for Topic Area ID -- EE Zones were previously called "Topic Areas" and so we still see that term occasionally.[/step]
So now you just need a list of Zone ID values. That list is available here:
Zone list (Thanks go to webtubbs for compiling that list!)
Here is the same list, but with the zone names in alphabetical order:
More Complex Criteria
Since I'm keeping this article short, I'll not go into the many complex ways that you can modify your Filter. Refining a Filter is just a matter of including or excluding zones and (sometimes) setting other search criteria. A bunch of not-too-obvious options are described in this article:
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
Using the Filter
Other articles (see References, below) tell you how to use a Filter to help you answer questions. Here's my short version:
[step=""]In the Expert Zone, I click one of my Filters (under Expert Tools on the right).
That displays the matching questions in a list view. I peruse the list, and click on Questions that look interesting. Without scrolling, I can see the first few lines of the questions in the View Question panel.
If I decide to take a closer look, I drag an item from the list and drop it onto a second browser window. This technique is discussed in some detail here.[/step]
You can work directly in the View Question panel of course, but since I have two wide-screen monitors, I've found it much easier to work with a secondary browser window. Try it, you might like it.
To Get Emails About New Questions:
Create a Filter as described above, but in step 6, when you give the Filter a name, also select one of the Alert options.I chose Hourly Digest, but what you select will depend on how hungry you are :-) If you set it to Every Question, you will get an email immediately whenever a new question is asked in any of the Zones in your Filter. It's usually a big advantage to be the first Expert to respond to a question, so having EE send a "heads up" to your inbox can be your golden path to drawers full of T-shirts, ladder position, platinum-plated trophies, and EE glory.
![EE will send you emails about new questions!]()
There are many options I've not covered here, such as creating a Filter to see questions that contain any of a set of keywords (that you know you can answer), setting up to look for only 500-pt questions, finding neglected questions (for bonus points), ... and there are many other options.
But the important thing is getting set up with your first Filter -- to generate a list of open questions in your favorite Zones. That's the "hard part" and this article has shown you how to do that easily.
How to create a Question Filter at Experts Exchange
How to setup a Filter to view Questions Awaiting Answers
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
Other options for the Custom Query criteria (thanks again to webtubbs!)
Experts Exchange Search Help Page
EE Zone list
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You can do lots of complex things with Filters, but usually, all you really need is a Filter that selects questions in one or more Zones; that is, you want to see questions that are in topic areas where you have some expertise. So, setting up a Filter is all about selecting some Zones.[step=""]Note: I'll also cover an often-overlooked but key feature of the EE Filter system: The ability to get email notifications of new questions in your favorite Zones.[/step]
Creating a Filter
Steps 1 and 2 are the same for each of the following three options:1) Get to the Experts Zone
(Click the Answer tab on top of any EE webpage).
2) Click Create Filter
(it's under Expert Tools on the right).
Option #1: Use the Zone Selector
3) Click Zones (on the left).
4) Browse around the Zone hierarchy and put checkmarks next to one or more Zones.
5) Scroll down to the bottom of that zone selector and click Update Query
6) Just below that, under Filter Summary enter a name for your
Filter (for instance, "VB Programming")
7) Click Create Filter.
You are done!
The only hard part about all of that was finding the right Zones in the zone selector. So I'm now going to tell you a secret: There are are least two other ways to select the desired zones.
Option #2: Zone Name in the Terms Criteria
The simplest technique is to use the Terms criterion rather than the Zones criterion.
1,2) ...as above.
3) Click Terms (on the left).
4a) Enter a zone name or partial zone name in the second box.
4b) In the third box, select Zone Name.
5,6,7) Same as above.
You are finished. However, this is a rather "blunt instrument" because the partial zone name may cause the Filter to include zones you don't really want. For instance, "Windows" includes Windows Programming, Windows 3.x, Windows 7, Windows MFC, and many, many others.
Option #3: TAID(s) in the Custom Query Criteria
The next way is a more advanced, but it is very precise. It lets you isolate specific zones and even exclude zones.
1,2) ...as above.
3) Click Custom Query (on the left).
4) Enter text in the following format:
taid:(nnn OR nnn OR nnn)
5,6,7) Same as above.[step=""]Note: TAID is an acronym for Topic Area ID -- EE Zones were previously called "Topic Areas" and so we still see that term occasionally.[/step]
So now you just need a list of Zone ID values. That list is available here:
Zone list (Thanks go to webtubbs for compiling that list!)
Here is the same list, but with the zone names in alphabetical order:
TAID Zone Name
---- -------------------------------------------------------
323 .NET
3647 .Net Application Servers
3917 .Net Compact Framework
4768 .Net Editors & IDEs
5719 .NET Framework 1.x
5327 .NET Framework 2.x
5651 .NET Framework 3.x versions
69 3D Game Programming
3580 3D Graphics Software
3577 3D-Studio 3D Graphics Software
3170 4GL Databases
2844 802.11 Wireless Access Points
254 802.11x
2845 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access
5313 Access Architecture/Design
5316 Access Coding/Macros
5315 Access Forms
5314 Access Reports
5520 ACT
3300 Action/Adventure Games
5663 ActionScript
3658 Active Directory
97 Active Server Pages (ASP)
5428 ActiveX
5510 Actuate
5638 ADA
623 Admin Only
5951 Admin/Mod/PE Only
951 Admin/Mod/ZA Only
246 Adobe Acrobat
5621 Adobe Creative Suite
113 Adobe Director
114 Adobe Dreamweaver
187 Adobe Fireworks
116 Adobe Flash
5645 Adobe Flex
3602 Adobe Freehand
3226 Adobe GoLive HTML Editor
3601 Adobe Illustrator
3606 Adobe InDesign Publishing Software
3632 Adobe JRun
3623 Adobe Lightroom
3607 Adobe Pagemaker Publishing Software
75 Adobe Photoshop
3594 Adobe Type Manager
4489 AEC FastTrack Schedule Project Management Software
3791 Algorithms
3253 All-Purpose Editors & IDEs
5698 ANT
3382 Anti-Spam Email Software
3380 Anti-Spam White Lists
3399 Anti-Spyware
5386 Anti-Virus
178 Anti-Virus Applications
3409 AOL Web Browser
3630 Apache Tomcat Application Server
110 Apache Web Server
5349 Apple
5438 Apple
5351 Apple Desktop
5353 Apple Display Monitors
5350 Apple Hardware
5352 Apple Laptop
124 Apple Networking
22 Apple Operating Systems
5370 Apple Programming
36 Apple Software
4668 AppleScript
5605 AppleShare IP
5606 Appletalk
5365 AppleWorks
3735 Application Protocols
462 Application Servers
3585 ArchiCAD Software
5970 Article Tips
3492 AS / 400
235 Assembly Programming Language
5641 Asterisk Open Source Telephony
5659 Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX)
169 Asyncronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
234 ATG Dynamo Application Server
5589 Audio Editing
3582 AutoCAD Software
5724 Automated Tests
5685 Automation
5699 Automotive
3355 Avast Anti-Virus Software
5977 AVG
3668 Backup & Restore Software
3673 Backup Exec
3381 Bayesian Filters
233 BEA WebLogic Application Server
3490 BeOS
382 Berkeley DB
5703 Beta Site Feedback
5665 Biztalk Server
5549 Blackberry Operating System
176 Blackberry Programming
5435 Blogs
177 Bluetooth
5653 Bootcamp
4670 Bourne Shell (sh)
4673 Bourne-Again Shell (bash)
168 Broadband Internet
5471 Bryce 3D
3504 BSD Unix
3499 BSDI BSD
241 Btrieve 4GL Database
5692 Bulletin Boards
3266 Business Management Software
5511 Business Objects
5415 Business Process Execution Language
5695 Business Travel
3242 C / C++ / C# Editors and IDEs
83 C Programming Language
3245 C# Builder
327 C# Programming Language
847 C++ Builder
84 C++ Programming Language
971 CAD & Architecture Software
5394 Calypso
3805 Carbon Programming Language
100 Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
4170 CD / MP3 Music & Players
253 CDMA
4237 Cellular Phones & Carriers
5950 CentOS
99 CGI Scripting
5595 Change Management
3360 Chat / IM Software
5479 Checkpoint Firewall
5480 Cisco PIX Firewall
1011 Citrix
5500 Clarion
5469 Classic Consoles
5338 ClearCase
3807 COBOL Programming Language
3804 Cocoa Programming Language
3264 Code Obfuscators
3243 CodeForge
3252 CodeWarrior
3227 CoffeeCup HTMLEditor
5506 Cognos PowerPlay
5411 Cold Fusion Markup Language
112 ColdFusion Application Server
3221 ColdFusion Studio
1071 Community Support
5976 Community Volunteers
5686 CommVault
3260 Compilers for Software Development
5426 Components
236 Computer CPU Processors
4504 Computer Displays / Monitors
2810 Computer Fans and Cooling
5634 Computer Games
2908 Computer Hard Drives
5625 Computer Hardware
2811 Computer Memory (RAM)
50 Computer Modems
2820 Computer Motherboards
48 Computer Scanners
162 Computer Scanners by HP
3041 Computer Servers
2822 Computer Sound Cards
4650 Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)
3057 Computer Web Cameras
846 Conferencing Software
5670 Consulting
5475 Consumer Firewalls
5519 Contact Management
5560 Content Management
5711 Continuous Integration
5581 CORBA
5704 Core Conference
1073 Core Conference 2010
3603 Corel Draw
5406 Corel Photo-Paint
3144 Corel Presentations Presentation Software
3125 Corel Quattro Spreadsheet Software
5408 Corel Ventura
786 Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
3157 Corel WordPerfect Word Processing Software
5974 CPanel
747 CRM Software
3044 CRT Monitors
40 Crystal Reports Software
583 CS EAB
4672 csh / tcsh
1072 CV_Admin
5334 CVS
5531 CYGWIN
3839 D Programming Language
3706 Data Hosting/Data Havens
5514 Data Manipulation
5515 Data Mining
5383 Database
38 Databases Miscellaneous
238 DB2 Database
5347 dBase
4202 dbPowerAmp Software for Ripping and Encoding MP3s
5333 DCOM
3509 Debian Linux
3262 Debugging Software for Development
3845 Delphi Components
3851 Delphi Curiosities
3846 Delphi Database
3844 Delphi IDE
3850 Delphi Printing
85 Delphi Programming
3848 Delphi.net Programming
3263 Deployment Software for Development
5593 Design & Methodology
5671 Design Patterns
5387 Desktop Anti-Virus
5380 Developer
5622 Developer Tools
3211 Development Editors & IDEs
3210 Development Software
3588 Digital Camera Acqusition Software
3592 Digital Camera Software
3958 Digital Cameras
5718 Digital Forensics
5375 Digital Living
5440 Digital Living Hardware
5447 Digital Living Software
4509 Digital Music and Video
4058 Digital Video Recorders / TiVo
324 DirectX Graphics & Game Programming
5710 Disability Access
5715 Disaster Recovery
3678 Disk Partition Tools
5425 Document Imaging
5696 Document Management
5427 Document Object Model
3794 Documentation in Programming
3261 Documentation Software for Development
5561 Documentum
3722 Domain Name Service (DNS)
5946 DOS and Windows
61 DOS Games
5708 Dovecot
5528 Dragon NaturallySpeaking
3500 Dragonfly BSD
3672 DriveCopy
3676 Drivers
5963 Drupal
171 DSL Lines / Cable Internet
3982 DVD Players & Recorders
3721 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
3880 Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
891 EAI
4203 Easy CD/DA Extractor Software for Ripping and Encoding MP3s
3233 Eclipse
3766 E-Commerce
5417 E-Commerce Security
5579 Editors IDEs
5539 Education Industry
183 EE Bugs
302 EE Community Cleanup
522 Eiffel Programming Language
5701 Electronic Systems
3251 Emacs
5389 Email Anti-Virus
130 Email Clients
3723 Email Protocols
3654 Email Servers
14 Email Software
5961 Embedded Databases
5679 Embedded Hardware
3476 Embedix Handheld Operating System
3745 Encryption for Network Security
3636 Enhydra Application Server
5390 Enterprise Anti-Virus
5476 Enterprise Firewalls
3819 Enterprise Java Beans (EJB)
5487 Enterprise Software
55 EPOC / Symbian Programming
763 ERP Software
5512 Essbase
5693 Essential Business Server
131 Eudora Email Client
5396 Evolution
3074 Evolution Groupware Software
132 Exchange Email Server
3829 eXO Velocity
182 Expert Advisory
5289 Expert Announcements
181 Expert Input
5148 Experts Lounge
138 Experts-Exchange Lounge
5945 Expression Web
3879 Extensible HTML (XHTML)
105 Extensible Markup Language (XML)
3881 Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)
5720 F#
3513 Fedora Linux
139 Feedback
3674 File Compression Utilities
3655 File Servers
3737 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
242 FileMaker Pro Database
5965 Final Cut
3404 Firefox Web Browser
3169 Focus 4GL Database
3595 Font Creator
73 Font Software
6020 FORTRAN
41 FoxPro Database
191 Frame Relay
5677 Free Pascal
788 FreeBSD
117 FrontPage-Expressions
3656 FTP Servers
3384 FTP Software
5956 Fusebox
5599 Gambling
4279 Game Boy Advance Handheld Video-Game Console
64 Game Emulators
66 Game Programming
70 Game Programming User Interface
62 Game Tips & Tricks
5624 Gamers
5620 Gaming World
2 General Business & Productivity Software
180 General Community Support
46 General Computer Systems
783 General Laptop
78 General Macintosh Programming
805 General Multi-Media Software
250 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
3514 Gentoo Linux
3596 Ghostscript PDF Software
325 GIS & GPS Programming
249 Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
3505 GNU HURD Unix
5521 Goldmine
5722 Google Chrome
6061 Google Chrome OS
5404 Graphics
68 Graphics & Game Programming
3849 Graphics and Delphi Programming
5571 Grid
4205 Grip Software for Ripping and Encoding MP3s
5664 Groove
5580 Groovy
3077 Groupware / Collaborative Software
785 Handheld and PDA Programming
4277 Handheld Video Game Consoles
175 Handhelds and PDAs
562 Hard Drives & Storage
5483 Hardware Components
5540 Health Care / MUMPS
5594 HelpDesk Authoring
4519 Hidden
5049 HijackThis Software
5619 Home Security
3994 Home Theater Audio / Video Receivers
4014 Home Theater Speaker Systems
3980 Home Theater Systems
3981 Home Theater Wiring & Accessories
108 Hot URLs
3506 HP-UX Unix
5494 HR Human Capital Management
5432 HTMLkit
5397 HTTP
101 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
3736 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
5953 Hyper-V
5680 Hypervisor
826 IBM AIX Unix
5530 IBM ViaVoice
232 IBM Websphere Application Server
3604 Illustration Software
3590 Image Correction Software
5960 ImageMagick
3621 Images & Photo Software
5448 Imaging Software
5507 Impromptu
4488 IMSI TurboProject Project Management Software
5535 Industry Specific Software
5662 Infopath
5959 Informatica
3183 Informix Database
5553 Infragistics
3168 Ingress 4GL Database
5943 InnoSetup
5574 Installation
5575 InstallShield
3795 Intellectual Property
244 Interbase / Firebird Database
5374 Internet
3351 Internet & Email Software
3779 Internet Advertising
3847 Internet and Delphi Programming
3739 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
3401 Internet Explorer Web Browser
3388 Internet File Sharing Software
342 Internet Marketing
3726 Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)
5343 Internet Protocols
3778 Internet Search Engine Optimization
5472 Internet Security
172 Internet Service Providers (ISP)
5501 InterSystems Cache
3749 Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
3282 Investment Software
4649 IP PBX Systems
5477 IP Tables/IP Chains
4648 IP Telephony
5637 iPhone
3612 iPhoto Photo Software
4177 iPod
5354 iPODs
3750 IPSec Security Protocol
104 ISPs & Web Hosting
5969 IT Administration
5379 ITPro
4208 iTunes Software
5368 iWork
3818 J2EE
3825 J2EE Frameworks
3826 Jakarta Struts
3828 Jakarta Turbine
3816 Java 2 Micro-Edition (J2ME)
3638 Java Application Servers
3835 Java AWT & Swing
3241 Java Editors & IDEs
3823 Java Naming & Directory Interface (JNDI)
3832 Java Native Interface (JNI)
86 Java Programming Language
3827 Java Server Faces (JSF)
202 Java Server Pages (JSP)
3821 Java Servlets
4605 Java Standard Edition
3824 Java Standard Tag Library (JSTL) & Server Tags
3822 JavaMail
87 JavaScript
5675 JavaScript Frameworks
3833 JAXP & SAX (XML APIs)
3631 Jboss Application Server
3236 JCreator IDE
5433 JDeveloper
3235 jEdit Editor
3635 JonAS Application Server
5964 Joomla
5705 Jquery
5585 JScript
5966 JSON
5972 Kaspersky
5958 KDevelop
3904 Kernel And Operating System Specific Programming
4674 KornShell (ksh)
5716 KVM Switches
5717 LabView
4204 LAME Software for Ripping and Encoding MP3s
5650 Language Integrated Query - LINQ
5957 Latest Threats
3597 LATeX Font Software
5678 Lazarus
3046 LCD & Plasma
4637 Legacy PBX
74 Lightwave 3D
3185 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
5399 LimeWire
3515 Lindows / Linspire Linux
32 Linux
159 Linux Administration
5631 Linux Distributions
502 Linux Network Security
123 Linux Networking
160 Linux Printing
77 Linux Programming
161 Linux Setup
5975 Linux Virtualization
5517 LISP
3370 List Server Software
5309 Live/Office Communications Server
5545 Longview Solutions
3126 Lotus 1-2-3 Spreadsheet Software
3111 Lotus Approach Database
848 Lotus Domino Email Server
3140 Lotus Freelance Graphics Presentation Software
133 Lotus Notes
245 Lotus SmartSuite
3156 Lotus Word Pro Word Processing Software
3407 Lynx Web Browser
2846 Mac Airport Wireless Access Point
60 Mac Games
3485 Mac OS 10.1 (Cheetah)
3487 Mac OS 10.2 (Jaguar)
3486 Mac OS 10.3 (Panther)
5363 Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger)
5648 Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard)
3484 Mac OS X
3480 Macintosh Classic Operating Systems
3067 Macromedia Breeze Conferencing Software
3223 Macromedia Homesite
115 Macromedia UltraDev
5551 MainFrame Operating Systems
3806 Main-Frame Programming Languages
5714 Managed Services
3265 Management & Debugging Software
3516 Mandrake Linux
5416 Marketing
5603 Marketing Software
3273 MAS90 Financial Software
65 Massive Multiple Online Role Playing and Other Online Games
329 Math & Science
3809 MatLab Programming Language
5674 Maya
3354 McAfee Anti-Virus Software
5942 Mdaemon
5541 Measurement Industry
3677 Memory Boosters
5523 Message Queue
4848 Mice / Keyboards
5297 Microsoft
39 Microsoft Access Database
5068 Microsoft ADP
5312 Microsoft Applications
911 Microsoft ASP.NET Web Matrix
5318 Microsoft Development
5348 Microsoft Dynamics
5968 Microsoft Enterprise
604 Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Software
5342 Microsoft Hardware
5660 Microsoft Identity Integration Server
186 Microsoft IIS Web Server
5317 Microsoft Money
3066 Microsoft NetMeeting Conferencing Software
35 Microsoft Office Suite
5298 Microsoft Operating Systems
3131 Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation Software
5339 Microsoft Programming
931 Microsoft Project Project Management Software
3609 Microsoft Publisher
5303 Microsoft Server
5655 Microsoft Virtual Server
3218 Microsoft Visio
866 Microsoft Visual Basic.Net
3216 Microsoft Visual C#.Net
3247 Microsoft Visual C++
867 Microsoft Visual C++.Net
120 Microsoft Visual Interdev
3217 Microsoft Visual J#.Net
5319 Microsoft Visual Studio Express
3560 Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
605 Microsoft Word
3124 Microsoft Works Spreadsheet Software
5513 MicroStrategy
343 Miscellaneous
59 Miscellaneous Games
45 Miscellaneous Hardware
122 Miscellaneous Networking
82 Miscellaneous Programming
174 Miscellaneous Security
34 Miscellaneous Software
96 Miscellaneous Web Development
3521 MkLinux
5401 Mobile / Handheld
3810 Modeling Programming Languages
282 Mod's only
5647 Mono - Multi-Platform .NET Framework
5436 Movable Type
4626 Movix
3403 Mozilla Web Browser
4211 MP3 Download Software and Web Sites
23 MS DOS
3268 MS Dynamics GP
5341 MS Forefront-ISA
1012 MS SharePoint
5228 MS SQL DTS
5948 MS SQL Reporting
42 MS SQL Server
5311 MS System Center
5588 Multimedia Programming
3834 Multimedia Programming with Java
5955 MVC
237 MySQL Server
5700 Navigational Systems
5344 Net BIOS and NetBEUI
3234 NetBeans IDE
3502 NetBSD
3228 NetObjects Fusion
3068 Netscape Conference Conferencing Software
3364 Netscape Email Client
3405 Netscape Navigator Web Browser
3465 Network Analysis Software
3457 Network Auditing Software
2833 Network Cards & Adapters
5534 Network Design & Methodology
5532 Network Management
5533 Network Operations
51 Network Routers
5629 Network Security
193 Network Software Firewalls
2840 Network Switches & Hubs
5626 Networking
2834 Networking Cables
2836 Networking Hardware
2835 Networking Hardware Firewalls
52 Networking Hardware for Macintosh
3734 Networking Protocols
194 Networking Security Vulnerabilities
47 New Computer Users
106 New Internet Users
322 New to Experts-Exchange?
3837 New to Java Programming
136 New Zones
3659 NFS File Server
4281 N-Gage Handheld Video-Game Console
4278 Nintendo DS Handheld Video-Game Console
4282 Nintendo Video Game Console
3669 Norton Ghost Backup Software
1014 Novell Groupwise
3729 Novell Internet Packet Exchange (IPX)
125 Novell Netware Network Software
3803 Objective-C Programming Language
3086 OCR / Scanner Software
3363 OE-WindowsLive
3063 Office & Productivity Software
5503 OLAP
3811 OMG UML Programming Language
3591 Online Digital Photo Services
5591 Open Source Programming
243 OpenBSD
422 OpenGL Graphics & Game Programming
5431 OpenLaszlo
5697 OpenXML_OXML
3406 Opera Web Browser
3714 Operating System Specific Networking
5573 Operating Systems Development
21 Operating Systems Miscellaneous
3755 Operating Systems Network Security
5604 Optical Networking
3202 Oracle 10.x
5652 Oracle 11.x Database
195 Oracle 3rd Party Tools
3199 Oracle 7.x
3200 Oracle 8.x
3201 Oracle 9.x
5489 Oracle CRM
43 Oracle Database
5492 Oracle ERP
5495 Oracle HCM
603 Oracle IAS Application Server
196 Oracle Product Info
5498 Oracle SCM
5382 OS
126 OS / 2 Network Security
31 OS / 2 Operating System
37 OS / 2 Software
158 OS/2 Setup
5667 OS-X Server
5627 Other
3350 Other Strategy Games
134 Outlook Groupware Software
3610 Page Layout / Desktop Publishing Software
3619 Paint Shop Pro Photo Editing Software
3471 Palm OS Handheld Operating System
56 Palm OS Programming
5654 Parallels
5423 Parsers
90 Pascal Programming Language
3769 Payment Processing Recommendation and Integrating
63 PC / Windows Games
3681 PC Anywhere Remote Access Software
5445 PC Laptops
2799 PCMCIA Laptop Interface
624 PE Adm
5546 Peachtree
5398 Peer to Peer
5395 Pegasus
5668 PeopleSoft
5336 Perforce
5484 Peripherals
91 Perl Programming Language
5485 Personal Computers
330 Philosophy & Religion
3589 Photo Album Software
3575 Photos & Graphics Software
190 PHP and Databases
189 PHP for Windows
5713 PHP Frameworks
188 PHP Installation
103 PHP Scripting Language
5666 phpBB
3076 phpGroupware Groupware Software
67 Physics & Artificial Intelligence in Game Programming
4949 PL / SQL
4283 Playstation Video Game Consoles
5973 Plesk
5429 Plug Ins
825 Pocket PC Other
5419 Point of Sale
4325 Politics
3725 Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)
5707 Postfix
849 PostgreSQL Database
5644 Power Questions
4835 Power Supplies / UPS
92 PowerBuilder Programming Language
5583 PowerPlant
5584 Powershell
5516 Predictive Analysis
3145 Presentation Software
4490 Primavera SureTrack Project Management Software
49 Printers
163 Printers by HP
5656 Private Discussions
5598 Probability & Statistics
185 Processor Programming for Specific Platforms
5393 Products
3799 Program Quality Control
5628 Programming
255 Programming for 802.11x Wireless Standard
865 Programming for ASP.NET
71 Programming for Game Consoles
76 Programming for iSeries / AS400
81 Programming for OS / 2
10 Programming Languages
3797 Programming User Management
3167 Progress 4GL Database
3798 Project Management
4486 Project Management Software
3048 Projectors
5391 Proxy/Firewall Anti-Virus
4280 PSP Handheld Video-Game Console
5538 Public Agency Industry
5537 Publishing Industry
3314 Puzzle Games
331 Puzzles & Riddles
5340 PVCS
683 Python Scripting Language
3653 Qmail Email Server
3841 QT Programming Language
5642 Quality Assurance
3608 Quark XPress Publishing Software
3270 Quickbooks Financial Software
3271 Quicken Financial Software
3434 Quicktime Player
3840 RAD Programming Languages
3433 Real Audio Media Player
3421 Real Jukebox Software MP3 Player
5372 REALbasic
3522 Red Hat Linux
5424 Regular Expressions
3544 Reliant Unix
3680 Remote Access Software
5310 Remote Desktop/Terminal Services
5569 Removable Backup Media
5508 ReportNet
5689 REST
5536 Retail Industry
3670 Retrospect Backup Utility
3326 Role Playing Games
3808 RPG Programming Language
5578 RPM Installer
5422 RSS
3671 rSync Backup Utility
3853 Ruby Scripting Language
5582 RubyOnRails
3408 Safari Web Browser
5522 Salesforce.com
3657 Samba File Server
3386 Samba File Sharing
5723 SAP
5490 SAP CRM
326 SAP ERP
5496 SAP HR HCM
5499 SAP SCM
5505 SAS
4008 Satellite Dishes & Receivers
3698 Satellite Internet
1031 SBS Small Business Server
3545 SCO Unix
5409 Scribus
3852 Scripting Languages
5954 SCVMM
3389 Search Engines
3768 Secure Socket Layer (SSL) & HTTPS
5384 Security
3800 Security Issues in Programming
5547 Security Software
4510 Security Utilities
135 SendMail Email Server
5388 Server Anti-Virus
5944 Server Applications
3882 Server Side Includes (SSI)
3627 Server Software
3551 SGI / Irix
5550 Sharp Zaurus Operating System
4676 Shell Scripting
5691 Short Message Service
5502 Siebel
5596 Signal Processing
3724 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
3269 Simply Accounting Software
5949 Skype
3530 Slax / Slackware Linux
5443 SmartCards & Readers
5555 SmartCards Security
6040 Snow Leopard (OS 10.6)
5421 SOAP
3062 Software
4206 Software for Ripping and Encoding MP3s
3423 Software MP3 Media Players
3093 Software Office Suites
1013 Software/Systems Design
3584 SolidWorks CAD Software
3272 Southware Financial Software
3378 Spam Assassin
3379 Spam Black Holes
3377 Spam Cop
5413 Speech Synthesis ML
3338 Sports Games
3129 Spreadsheet Software
5676 Spring
5518 SPSS
4948 SQL Query Syntax
239 SQL Reporting
5231 SQL Server 2005
5639 SQL Server 2008
5504 SQLBase
5509 SQR
3385 SSH / Telnet Software
5706 SSIS
3143 Star / Open Office Impress Presentation Software
4988 Star / OpenOffice
3127 Star / OpenOffice Calc Spreadsheet Software
3112 Star / OpenOffice Database
5559 Star / OpenOffice Draw
3158 StarOffice Write Word Processing Software
5381 Storage
5570 Storage Technology
5418 Stores & Carts
3435 Streaming Media Players
5335 Subversion
137 Suggestions for Experts-Exchange
3598 Suitcase Font Manager
5952 Summit 2009
5402 Sun Java System Web Server
3535 Sun JDS
2971 Sun Microsystems Desktop Computers
5617 Sun ONE
29 Sun Solaris
5497 Supply Chain Management
3536 SuSE Linux
44 Sybase Database
3353 Symantec Anti-Virus Software
3477 Symbian Handheld Operating System
5971 System Administration
3675 System Diagnostic Software
3667 System Utilities
3274 Tax / Financial Software
3286 Tax Software
5544 TaxCut
3854 TCL Scripting Language
5610 TCP/IP
3758 Telecommunications
4627 Telecommunications Providers
4120 Televisions
5669 Teradata
3256 Test / Validation Development Software
582 Test With Points
262 Test Without Points
3620 The Gimp Photo Editing Software
5597 Theory
3663 tHttpd Web Server
3365 Thunderbird Email Client
5566 Tivoli Storage Manager
4520 Topic Area for Testing
3045 Touch-Screen Displays
5609 Transport
3558 Tru64 / Digital Unix
3583 TurboCAD Software
5543 TurboTax
4491 TUTOS Project Management Software
5548 Ubuntu
5600 UI Design
3579 U-Lead Cool 3D 3D Graphics Software
504 Unix Network Security
127 Unix Networking
30 Unix Operating Systems
157 Unix Setup
79 Unix Systems Programming
5690 URL/URI Usage and Design
3727 UseNet (NNTP)
3738 User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
94 VB Controls
95 VB Database Programming
5330 VB Objects
5331 VB Script
5088 Version Control
3250 vi
3050 Video Cards
5590 Video Editing
4275 Video Game Consoles
173 Virtual Private Networking (VPN)
5682 Virtualization
5369 VirtualPC
5377 Virus & Spyware
93 Visual Basic Programming
5332 Visual Basic v1.0.5.x
5337 Visual SourceSafe-Team Foundation
5321 Visual Studio
3493 VMS / OpenVMS Operating System
5643 VMware
3683 VNC Remote Access Software
5529 VoCon
845 Voice Over IP
5527 Voice Recognition
5412 Voice XML
5702 VSTO
5481 Watchguard Firewall
5709 Web APIs
170 Web Application Hosting
98 Web Authoring
107 Web Browsers
5385 Web Development
5403 Web Development
109 Web Development Software
5712 Web Frameworks
72 Web Graphics Software
3705 Web Hosting
102 Web Images
11 Web Languages/Standards
89 Web Ontology Language (OWL)
463 Web Servers
5688 Web Services
3923 Web Services and WCF
5414 Web Services Description Language
3411 Web Site Statistics Software / WebTrends
5687 Web/Cloud Computing
5556 WebApplications
5661 Web-Based CMS
5050 WebDAV File Sharing
3065 WebEx Conferencing Software
5557 WebObjects
3237 WebSphere Studio
3665 WebStar Web Server
3422 Winamp Software MP3 Player
28 Windows 2000 Operating System
3565 Windows 2000 Server
666 Windows 2003 Server
24 Windows 3.x Operating System
155 Windows 3.x Setup
5301 Windows 64-bit
5947 Windows 7
128 Windows 95 - 98 Networking
442 Windows 95 and 3.x
25 Windows 95 Operating System
156 Windows 95 Setup
26 Windows 98 Operating System
3911 Windows ATL / WTL / COM Programming
4675 Windows Batch Scripting
5658 Windows Home Server
5576 Windows Installer
5967 Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
230 Windows ME Operating System
3432 Windows Media Player
3420 Windows Media Player Software MP3 Player
88 Windows MFC Programming
3572 Windows Mobile (Pocket PC / Win CE) Operating Systems
58 Windows MobileProgramming
503 Windows Network Security
201 Windows Networking
129 Windows NT Networking
27 Windows NT Operating System
166 Windows NT Setup
3914 Windows OLE Programming
80 Windows Programming
3679 Windows Registry Cleaners
5657 Windows Server 2008
5300 Windows Tablet
5346 Windows Ultra-Mobile PC- Origami
5299 Windows Vista
5681 Windows XP Embedded
231 Windows XP Operating System
5345 WINS
5587 Winsock
57 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
5616 Wireless Local Area Network
2843 Wireless Network Access Points
2842 Wireless Network Cards & Adapters
787 Wireless Networking
2847 Wireless Networking Range Extenders
2849 Wireless Print Servers
3935 Wireless Standards
54 Wireless Technologies
5577 WISE
3147 Word Processors
5437 WordPress
5646 WPF and Silverlight
3540 Xandros Linux
4284 Xbox Video Game Console
5683 XenServer
5684 XML Databases
5694 XMPP
5673 XPath
5672 XQuery
5962 XSL Formatting Objects
33 X-Windows Window Manager
3664 Zeus Web Server
More Complex Criteria
Since I'm keeping this article short, I'll not go into the many complex ways that you can modify your Filter. Refining a Filter is just a matter of including or excluding zones and (sometimes) setting other search criteria. A bunch of not-too-obvious options are described in this article:
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
Using the Filter
Other articles (see References, below) tell you how to use a Filter to help you answer questions. Here's my short version:
[step=""]In the Expert Zone, I click one of my Filters (under Expert Tools on the right).
That displays the matching questions in a list view. I peruse the list, and click on Questions that look interesting. Without scrolling, I can see the first few lines of the questions in the View Question panel.
If I decide to take a closer look, I drag an item from the list and drop it onto a second browser window. This technique is discussed in some detail here.[/step]
You can work directly in the View Question panel of course, but since I have two wide-screen monitors, I've found it much easier to work with a secondary browser window. Try it, you might like it.
Email Notification of New Questions
Using this feature is optional, but I recently set up a Filter to provide email notifications for newly-posted questions and I've found it to be very useful. I looked at my Zone Rank in my Profile and saw that I was edging up on a new T-shirt in several Zones, so I created a Filter and set it so that EE would send me an email whenever there was a new question in any of those Zones.To Get Emails About New Questions:
Create a Filter as described above, but in step 6, when you give the Filter a name, also select one of the Alert options.I chose Hourly Digest, but what you select will depend on how hungry you are :-) If you set it to Every Question, you will get an email immediately whenever a new question is asked in any of the Zones in your Filter. It's usually a big advantage to be the first Expert to respond to a question, so having EE send a "heads up" to your inbox can be your golden path to drawers full of T-shirts, ladder position, platinum-plated trophies, and EE glory.
Summary
EE Filters make it very easy to find questions that you can solve. It is a vast improvement over the previous system, but many Experts don't use it -- perhaps because it seems intimidating or difficult to set up. It's not. Just select a few Zones, save the Filter with a name, and (as they say in England), "Robert's your father's brother!" (er... there you go!)There are many options I've not covered here, such as creating a Filter to see questions that contain any of a set of keywords (that you know you can answer), setting up to look for only 500-pt questions, finding neglected questions (for bonus points), ... and there are many other options.
But the important thing is getting set up with your first Filter -- to generate a list of open questions in your favorite Zones. That's the "hard part" and this article has shown you how to do that easily.
References:
Other EE Articles about Filters and Searching include...How to create a Question Filter at Experts Exchange
How to setup a Filter to view Questions Awaiting Answers
EE Advanced Search and Saved Searches
Other options for the Custom Query criteria (thanks again to webtubbs!)
Experts Exchange Search Help Page
EE Zone list
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