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Freedom251 › Blog › browser extensions

How to Use Distill.io to Monitor One Part of a Webpage

By Freedom251 Team · · 4 min read

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To monitor just one region in Distill.io, add a webpage monitor, choose Monitor Parts of Page, select the content in its visual selector, and save. Then set where and how often Distill checks the page, and choose how you want to be notified. The exact control labels can differ slightly between the web app and browser extension.

Set up a partial-page monitor in the Distill web app

  1. Open the Distill web app and choose Add monitor, then Web Page. Enter the page URL.

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  2. Choose Monitor Parts of Page. Distill opens a visual selector; hover over the page and select the area you want to track. While selecting, clicks target page elements rather than using the page normally.

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  3. Inspect the selection preview. If it captures too much or too little, use the expand or narrow controls, remove a selection, or select more than one region. You can also exclude nested elements within a selected area.

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  4. Save the selection. On the options page, choose the device that will run checks, set the schedule, and configure alert actions. Available notification actions depend on your subscription plan.

  5. Save the monitor. To inspect detected changes later, open its preview from the Watchlist.

Use the browser extension instead

Open the target page and the Distill extension menu, then choose Monitor parts of page (also shown as Monitor Parts of Page in the Chrome guide). Select the region, review the preview, and save. Set the device, schedule, and notification action on the options page.

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The web app and extension offer similar partial-page workflows. A monitor added in the web app defaults to a cloud device; one added through an extension or desktop app defaults to a local device.

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Refine what Distill tracks

Distill’s visual selection is saved as a selector. The web app creates CSS selectors by default, while browser extensions create XPath selectors by default. You can also use CSS or XPath selectors directly, or configure a JavaScript selector manually.

If a saved monitor later captures too much or too little, reopen its options and open the webpage selector to adjust the existing selection. The configuration view also exposes selected and deselected elements for review and manual changes.

Choose local or cloud checks

Mode Where checks run What to consider
Cloud On Distill’s servers Checks can continue while your computer is off. A monitor added from the web app defaults to a cloud device.
Local In the browser or on your computer The device must be running and available for checks. Monitors added from an extension or desktop app default to a local device.

Check intervals, plan accounting, proxy support, and supported page types differ by plan and client. Consult Distill’s current local-versus-cloud comparison for the limits that apply to your setup rather than assuming one interval or capability applies universally.

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Troubleshoot selection problems

  • The selection includes unrelated content: Reopen the selector, narrow the selected area, or deselect nested elements that should not be monitored.

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  • The desired content is hard to select precisely: Start with a smaller region, then expand it only as needed. Review the preview before saving.

  • A page update is not being detected as expected: Check that the selected region still targets the intended element, then inspect whether the relevant content is text, an attribute, or a property. Adjust the selector or monitoring configuration accordingly.

  • The monitor stops checking when you leave your computer: Check whether it is local. Local checks require the browser or computer to be available; use a cloud device if checks need to continue while it is off, subject to the applicable plan and page support.

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  • You cannot choose a notification action: Available alert actions depend on your subscription plan.

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Or skip the browser setup

For a one-time screenshot rather than recurring change monitoring, ScreenshotNeo can capture a page through one API request. It is a screenshot API and MCP server, not a replacement for Distill’s scheduled monitoring.

cURL example, with the target URL adapted to your page (see the ScreenshotNeo API documentation):

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

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ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets before capture. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed. Its MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots, and the Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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