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Applitools Eyes Ignore Region Examples for Dynamic Web Content

A practical Playwright example for excluding dynamic content from Applitools Eyes, with guidance on Layout matching, dashboard annotations, and coverage tradeoffs.

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In Applitools Eyes for Playwright, pass a locator in the ignoreRegions array on eyes.check() to exclude a dynamic area from visual comparison. Use it only when differences inside that area do not matter: Eyes will not detect regressions there. If the content changes but its layout should remain correct, use Layout matching instead.

Ignore a dynamic region in Playwright

The documented Playwright pattern is to identify the changing component with a locator and provide it to ignoreRegions:

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await eyes.check('Homepage', {
  fully: true,
  matchLevel: 'Strict',
  ignoreRegions: [page.locator('.dynamic-content')],
});

Replace .dynamic-content with a selector for the component you intend to exclude. The example captures the full page, uses Strict matching for the checkpoint, and excludes the locator-matched area from visual assessment. The Applitools Playwright documentation demonstrates this option; this code shape is specific to the documented Playwright integration and should not be assumed to apply unchanged to other SDKs.

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Choose the region narrowly

Keep the ignored area as small as practical. If a selector matches a large container, visual defects anywhere inside that container may go undetected. Prefer a selector that continues to identify the intended component as the page changes, and verify the captured region in the Eyes result.

Examples of content that may be immaterial

An ignore region can suit an advertisement, live feed, animation, date field, media player, or user-specific detail when its changing appearance is irrelevant to the checkpoint. Applitools lists these as examples in its support guidance, Adding Ignorable Regions, by Yarden Naveh, dated October 28, 2019.

Choose between Ignore and Layout matching

Approach What it checks Use it when Coverage tradeoff
Ignore region Excludes the selected area from visual comparison. All visual differences within that region are intentionally irrelevant. Visual regressions inside the ignored area are hidden.
Layout matching Checks structure and relative positions while disregarding differences in text and graphics. Content can vary, but layout and placement still need validation. The region remains under assessment for structural differences.

Applitools’ Match Regions guidance, by Yarden Naveh and dated May 11, 2020, distinguishes fully ignoring a region from applying Layout or Content matching. The Java quickstart also shows Layout matching for selected dynamic sections: Java quickstart. Choose based on what the test must protect: exclude irrelevant pixels, or keep checking that the component is still arranged correctly.

Do not confuse these options

  • ignoreRegions excludes differences in a specified area from comparison.
  • region targets an area for capture; it is not the same as ignoring that area.
  • floatingRegions allows bounded movement for an area; it does not fully suppress its visual differences.
  • Layout matching compares structure and relative placement rather than ignoring the region completely.

These distinctions matter when diagnosing a noisy test: a region that should remain visible to structural checks needs a different treatment from one whose entire appearance is immaterial.

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Mark an ignore region in the Eyes dashboard

  1. Open the visual test result in the Eyes dashboard.
  2. Choose the Ignore region annotation.
  3. Draw the annotation over the changing area.
  4. Save the annotation, then review the resulting diffs before accepting any baseline changes.

Applitools’ support instructions say the corresponding region can be assigned to matching areas on other baselines that include it. Dashboard annotations also include Floating, Strict, Dynamic, Ignore colors, and Layout; select the annotation that matches the comparison behavior you actually need. See Adding Ignorable Regions and the Match Regions guide.

Or skip the browser setup

For standalone website screenshots—not Applitools visual regression checkpoints—ScreenshotNeo offers a one-request screenshot API. For example, this cURL request saves a WebP screenshot of the specified page:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. It can accept cookie or consent banners and remove more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; those cleanup steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers. An MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents and MCP clients. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.

Sign up free for 1,000 screenshots a month, with no card required.

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Troubleshoot an ignored region

  • Differences still fail the checkpoint: confirm the locator identifies the intended element and is passed inside the ignoreRegions array on the eyes.check() call. A selector that misses the rendered component will not exclude it.
  • The test passes despite a visible defect: inspect whether the defect falls within the ignored area. Ignoring suppresses assessment there; narrow the region or use Layout matching if structure should still be checked.
  • A dynamic component moves slightly: decide whether movement itself matters. If bounded movement is acceptable, consider floatingRegions; if layout and placement must be validated despite content changes, consider Layout matching.
  • The whole page or an unrelated area appears untested: check the selector’s scope and what element it resolves to. Avoid broad parent containers when only a small subcomponent is volatile.
  • You use a different Eyes SDK: do not copy the Playwright option shape blindly. Applitools lists integrations including Cypress, Selenium, and Appium; consult the documentation for the specific integration: Applitools documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I ignore more than one dynamic area in a Playwright checkpoint?

The documented option takes an array of locators, so the example can be extended with additional locator entries for other areas.

Does an ignore region change the page or hide content in the browser?

No. It changes what Eyes assesses in the visual comparison; the selected area is excluded from that assessment.

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