## Setting Profiling Filters

See Also

When you analyze application performance, you can use filters to specify the classes that you want to include or exclude in the instrumentation. When you use a filter you limit the number of instrumented classes and reduce the profiling overhead.

You choose a filter by selecting a filter from the Filter dropdown list when you configure the profiling session. The dropdown list contains the following filters and also any custom filters you create.

- Profile all classes. When selected, all classes on the classpath are instrumented. This imposes a high profiling overhead.
- Profile only project classes. When selected, only the classes in the selected project are instrumented. To see the classes that will be instrumented, select the filter and click Show Filter Value. You can add the listed classes to the Quick Filter by clicking To Quick Filter in the Show Filter Value dialog box.
- Profile project & subprojects classes. When selected, all projects packaged as part of the main project are also instrumented. For example, you should choose this filter if you are profiling an enterprise application project and you also want to instrument the web application or EJB module (the subprojects). This filter is not available if the main project has no subprojects.
- Quick filter. When selected, only the classes specified by the Quick Filter are instrumented. You use the Quick Filter to rapidly create a filter for use during a single profiling session.
- Exclude Java Core Classes. When selected, only the classes specified by the Java Core Classes filter set are instrumented. The Java Core Classes is a filter set that is created by default. You can modify the Java Core Classes filter set or create a custom filter set by clicking Edit Filter Sets.

To modify the Quick Filter settings, do the following:

1. Open the Set Quick Filter dialog box by selecting Quick Filter in the dropdown list and then clicking Edit Filter Value.
2. Select either Exclusive or Inclusive as the filter type.
3. Type or modify the filter values and click OK.

If you want to use a filter more than once, you can create a custom filter set.

To modify or create a custom filter set:

1. Open the Customize Filter Sets dialog box by choosing CPU in the Select Profiling Task dialog box and clicking Edit Filter Sets.
2. Select an existing filter set or click Add and type a name for the new filter set.
3. Specify the Filter Set Type: inclusive or exclusive.
4. In the Global Filters list, activate the global filters you wish to be part of the filter set by selecting the checkbox for that filter.
   Note: You can place your cursor over the values to see all the patterns included in that filter.
5. Click OK to save the new custom filter set.

After you create a new filter set, you can choose the filter in the Filter drop-down list. You can use the new filter when analyzing the performance of any project.

- You can create and edit the global filters by clicking Edit Global Filters.

See Also
  Analyzing Application Performance

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