Exclude links from ajax navigation
On this page
Exclude Links sends chosen links through a normal, full page load instead of ajax navigation. Use it for a page that only works on a fresh load, such as one whose plugin sets things up once per page load, or a members area that needs a real reload after sign-in.
You’ll find it under Settings → AjaxPress → Advanced → Exclude Links. It’s free.
A normal page load restarts everything on the screen, including a persistent player. Avoid excluding pages your listeners visit while a player is running.
Add a pattern
Enter one pattern per line, then Save Settings. Any link whose address matches a pattern loads the normal way.
checkout
members/
/^\/(shop|product)\//Patterns are matched against the part of the address after the domain: the path, plus the query string if there is one. So for https://example.com/shop/shoes/?color=red, AjaxPress checks /shop/shoes/?color=red.
Leave out the domain. A pattern like https://example.com/shop never matches, because the domain isn’t part of what’s checked. Write /shop instead.
Plain patterns
A plain pattern matches when it appears anywhere in the path and query. Plain patterns aren’t case-sensitive.
| Pattern | Matches | Also matches |
|---|---|---|
/checkout | /checkout/, /checkout/order-received/123/ | /checkout-help/ |
members/ | /members/, /members/profile/, /club/members/ | |
download= | /files/?download=42 |
Keep plain patterns specific. A short one like shop also matches /workshop/ and /blog/shopping-tips/.
Wildcards
| Symbol | Matches |
|---|---|
* | Any characters except /, so it stays within one part of the path |
** | Any characters, including / |
? | Exactly one character |
For example, members/*/edit matches /members/anna/edit/ but not /members/anna/photos/edit/, and members/**/edit matches both.
Regular expressions
A pattern written between slashes is a regular expression, with optional flags after the last slash:
| Pattern | Matches |
|---|---|
/^\/shop\// | Paths that start with /shop/ |
/^\/(cart|checkout)\// | Paths that start with /cart/ or /checkout/ |
/\.pdf$/i | Addresses ending in .pdf, in any case |
Unlike plain patterns, regular expressions are case-sensitive unless you add the i flag.
Any pattern that starts with / and contains another / is read as a regular expression. So /shop/* or /members/* doesn’t work as a wildcard: it’s read as a broken regular expression and never matches. Write shop/*, shop/ or /^\/shop\// instead. The example in the setting’s help tooltip uses this broken form; the forms on this page are the ones that work.
Check a pattern
Open a page on your site, open the browser console (F12, then Console), and run:
AjaxPress.shouldBypass('https://example.com/shop/shoes/')true means that link loads the normal way; false means AjaxPress handles it. Save your settings and reload the page before you test a new pattern.
Good to know
- Only the trip to the page is a normal load. AjaxPress still runs on the excluded page itself, so links on it navigate over ajax again.
- Forms follow the same rules. A form that submits to an excluded address submits the normal way.
- Some links are always excluded, with no pattern needed: other sites, wp-admin, uploaded files, downloads, new-tab links and more. See Which links AjaxPress handles.
- Developers can add patterns in code with the
bypassPatternsfilter. See the JavaScript extension API.