You can block and allow access to websites and specific URLs by adding them to an exception list. Using patterns containing keywords and wildcards, you can block and allow entire domains, subdomains, and parts of a domain. For example, msn.com, *.msn.com, msn.*, and *msn*.
Tip
After modifying any exception lists, you must click the Update Policies on All Clients button on the Action Bar to apply the changes to your clients.
Adding msn.com as an exception blocks or allows access to the entire msn.com website.
To allow Google searches, while blocking Google subdomains, do the following:
Allow google.com on your exception list.
Block *.google.com on your exception list.
This allows users to access google.com, but blocks them from accessing any Google sub-domains, such as mail.google.com and chat.google.com.
To block search results and URLs containing the keyword horror, you can block horror on your Exception List. This blocks the following:
Web addresses like sites.google.com/site/horrorgames and horrorvideos.com
Search results for *horror*
There are many ways to use wildcards to filter content. We suggest that you experiment with different variations.
You can create as many exception lists as you need.
To create an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Type the name of the list in the Enter list name text field.
Click Create List +. The new list appears at the bottom of the list.
Click the
icon. The Edit screen appears.
You can block and allow as many URLs as you need in an exception list.
To block and allow URLS in an exception list
Type a URL in the Enter URL text box. You are given the option to add a note to this URL entry.
Click the Block or Allow button.
Click Add to List + to add the URL. The URL you entered appears below. If you entered a note, it appears to the right of the URL entry.
Note
You can change a blocked URL to an allowed URL and vice versa at any time by clicking the Block or Allow button. Click Update to block or allow the URL.
Note
You can also delete the URL from the list by clicking the 
icon. A confirmation prompt appears. Click OK to delete the URL.
Tip
You can also add URLs to the exception list from the Web Analytics screen. See Adding a URL to an Exception List for details.
You can add URLs to exception lists directly from the Web Analytics screen.
To add a URL
Click Insights from the Main Menu and then click Web Analytics from its sub-menu. The Web Analytics screen appears.
Click the blue document icon to the left of a website name in the Popular Websites section. The Add Website to an Exception List window opens.
Select the desired list from the Exception List drop-down list.
Click Allow or Block to indicate whether you want to block or allow the website.
Click SAVE to add the website. The website is added to the selected exception list.
The order in which the URLs appear in an exception list determine how the list functions. For example, if you add *x.com* to your exception list as a blocked URL and add *mobymax.com as an allowed URL, their order in the list affects how a student accesses the URLs. If you place *x.com* first in the list followed by *mobymax.com, then students who have a policy containing this exception list are not able to access mobymax.com. However, if you move *mobymax.com to the first position, then students are now able to access mobymax com.
To change the order of URLs in the list
Click a URL name and drag it into the desired position in the list.
Click the Save List Order button.
You can edit a URL entry in an exception list.
To edit a URL entry in an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Look for the list that contains the URL you want to edit and click the
icon. The Edit screen appears.
Click the name of the desired URL. A box opens to allow you to edit the URL.
Edit the URL and click the Save button.
You can delete a URL from an exception list when you no longer need it.
To delete a URL from an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Look for the list that contains the URL you want to delete and click the
icon. The Edit screen appears.
Click the
icon to the right of the desired URL. A confirmation appears.Click OK to delete the URL.
You can search for URLs in an exception list.
To search for URLs
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Locate the name of the exception list you want to search, and click the
icon to the right of the exception list name. The Edit screen appears.
Type the URL in the Search URLs box. The URL appears as you type.
You can rename an exception list as needed.
To rename an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Locate the list that you want ro rename, and click the list name. A box opens to allow you to rename the list. Note that Save and Cancel buttons have been added to the right of the name, as shown below.
Rename the list and click the Save button.
You can modify an exception list as needed.
To modify an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Locate the name of the list you want to modify, and click the
icon to the right of the list name. The Edit screen appears.Make the necessary changes to the list.
You can merge two or more exception lists into one new exception list.
To merge exception lists
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Click each one of the lists that you want to merge. The lists you select turn blue.
Click Merge Lists. The New Merged List window opens.
Type the name of the new list in the Enter name text box.
Click Create Filter to save the new list.
You can use an existing exception list to create a new one.
To duplicate an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Locate the list to duplicate, and click the
icon. The Duplicate Filter window opens.
Type the name of the new list in the text box.
Click OK to add the list. The duplicated list appears at the bottom of the list. It contains the same URLs as the original list.
Make any desired changes to the new list and save it.
You can import exception lists from an Excel file or a .csv file.
To import exception lists
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Click the Import Lists button to import the list. The Open dialog opens.
Navigate to the desired folder, select the file, and click Open. The lists are imported and appear at the bottom of the exception lists.
Important information about importing exception lists.
Importing Exception Lists From an Excel File
If you are importing exception lists from an Excel file, ensure that the Excel file appears as in the image below.
In the spreadsheet, URLs that are blocked are indicated by a 1; URLs that are allowed are represented by a 0. Note that the exception list name appears in Column A, the first website name appears in Column B, the Exception indicator appears in Column C, and so on. Also note that each exception list appears in a separate row.
Importing Exception Lists From a .csv File
If you are importing exception lists from a .csv file (for example, Notepad), ensure that the text file appears as in the image below.
In the text file, URLs that are blocked are indicated by a 1; URLs that are allowed are represented by a 0. Note that the exception list name appears first, the first website name appears second, and the Exception indicator appears third, and so on, and all are separated by commas. Also note that each exception list appears on a separate line.
You can import URLs into exception lists from an Excel file or a .csv file.
To import URLs into exception lists
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Look for the list to which you want to import URLs and click the
icon. The Edit screen appears.
Click the Import URLs button to import the list. The Open dialog opens.
Navigate to the desired folder, select the file, and click Open. The URLs are imported and appear at the bottom of the list of URLs.
Important information about importing URLs.
Importing URLs From an Excel File
If you are importing URLs from an Excel file, ensure that the Excel file appears as in the image below.
In the spreadsheet, Column A contains the domains and Column B contains a 1 or a 0 ( 1 means Blocked and 0 means allowed). Each new domain is added to the next row.
Importing URLs From a .csv File
If you are importing URLs from a .csv file (for example, Notepad), ensure that the text file appears as in the image below.
In the .CSV file, the exception list name appears first, followed by the domain, which is followed by a comma and then either a 1 or a 0 ( 1 means Blocked and 0 means Allowed). Also note that each domain appears on a separate line.
You can export exception lists individually or in single file to a .csv file to open in a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel.
To export exception lists
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Do one of the following:
To export an individual list to a single file, click the
icon. The file appears in the lower left-hand corner of your screen in your spreadsheet program. Click it to open and save it.To export all lists to a single file, click the Export Lists button. The file appears in the lower left-hand corner of your screen in your spreadsheet program. Click it to open and save it.
The following is an image showing an example of exported exception lists.
Note
In the spreadsheet, URLs that are blocked are indicated by a 1; URLs that are allowed are represented by a 0. Note that the exception list name appears in Column A, the first website name appears in Column B, the Exception indicator appears in Column C, and so on. Also note that each exception list appears in a separate row.
You can delete exception lists when you no longer need them.
To delete an exception list
Click Content Filtering from the Main Menu and then click Filters from its sub-menu.
Click EXCEPTION LIST at the top of the screen. The Exception List screen appears.
Locate the list that you want to delete, and click the
icon to the right of the list. A confirmation prompt appears.Click OK to delete the list. The list is removed.