Filtering forwarded messages

The FLOWIN service offers extensive options for filtering forwarded messages. Filters automatically block or allow messages to be forwarded based on specific criteria: words in the text, the author's name, the media type and format, the time of the original message, the FWD header, the message ID, and much more.

Filtering capabilities

Filters are useful in the following scenarios:

• Scanning chats, groups, and channels for potential customers (leads) relevant to your business. You can set up monitoring for a vast number of topic-specific chats, and all relevant enquiries and requests from users will automatically be forwarded to you in real time. All you need to do is reply to a hot lead's message.
• Blocking advertising posts from sources if you run a news aggregator.
• Collecting information only on a specific topic.
• Copying only specific users' conversations from groups.
• Simulating a conversation between different accounts in a group using a prepared script.

Creating a filter

Suppose you collect programmer vacancies from topic-specific chats in a separate channel. Let's set up a filter that allows messages containing “programmer” or “developer”. Messages without these words will not be forwarded.

The filter is configured in the FLOWIN control panel.

0. Open @flow_in_bot, send the /start command, and click “Control panel”.

   

1. Open “Menu” → “Filters” in the control panel and click “Create”.

   

   

2. Select “List” mode. In the “Search” field, enter programmer, developer separated by a comma, select “Allow”, and click “Create”.

   

3. For the new filter, click the blinking “Apply” button → “Forwards”. Select the forward you need and click “Save”. The number on the button shows how many forwards are selected.

   

   

4. The filter will appear in the list with its linked forward. From now on, only new messages containing “programmer” or “developer” will be forwarded from its sources.

   

   

   

Filter settings

Let's look at the settings and capabilities using the filter we created.

How to edit a filter

1. Click the “Change” button with the pencil icon next to the filter. Its settings window will open.

   

2. Change the settings you need and click “Save”. For example, enter “Developer vacancies” in the “Description” field. The new description will appear in the filter's row.

   

   

Ready examples

The ready examples include word blacklists and whitelists, blocking by author, blocking stickers, and other scenarios. Click “Ready examples” in the filter window and choose an option. Its values will populate the fields; edit them to suit your needs.

Filter by

This determines where the filter looks for its search content. The following options are available:

• “Message”: The message text, the content of hidden links and buttons, quoted text, and the question and answer options in a poll.
• “Author”: the name, username, and ID of the original message's author.
• “Chat”: the name, username, and ID of the message's source (a chat, channel, or group).
• “Buttons”: The labels, text, and links of the message's buttons.
• “Media”: the format, type, and name of the media in the original message.
• “Media price”: The cost of paid media in Telegram Stars. For a message without paid media, the value is 0.
• “View count”: The number of views of the original message.
• “Reposts / views, %”: The ratio of reposts to views of the original message.
• “Reactions / views, %”: The ratio of reactions to views of the original message.
• “Comments / views, %”: The ratio of comments to views of the original message.
• “Date and time”: The date and time of the original message. The full format is 2006-01-02 15:04:05. You can specify a date, a date range, or hours, for example 09:00-18:00.
• “Message ID”: the numeric ID of the original message.
• “Reply ID”: the numeric ID of the message that the original message replies to.
• “FWD Header”: The name of the person or source in a repost's header, which Telegram displays next to “Forwarded from”.
• “Topic ID”: The numeric ID of the topic if the source is in a group with topics. In a link such as t.me/c/1234567890/25/48, the topic ID is 25, and the message ID is 48.
• “Message ping (seconds)”: the time in seconds between the original message being sent and the listener account's session receiving it.
• “Group message number”: the media item's position in an album.

Search

This field defines the filter's search content. There are three search modes next to it:

• Text: the exact sequence of entered characters, including all spaces, indentation, brackets, and so on. Letter case does not matter.
• List: search alternatives separated by commas or new lines. One match is enough. Letter case does not matter.
• Regexp: a regular expression search. Read more about the syntax in the article “Regular expressions in filters and replacements”.

For numeric criteria, “Text” and “List” modes support exact numbers, ranges, and comparisons: 10, 10-20, >=1000. For ratios, you can enter >=2%.

Block or allow

• “Block” prevents messages containing the content of the “Search” field from being forwarded.
• “Allow” forwards only messages containing this content and blocks the rest.

Before or after processing

• “Before processing” checks the original message before translations, AI assistants, watermarks, merging, and subsequent filters and replacements.
• “After processing” checks the message after the main transformations, but before replacements set to “After processing”.

“After processing” is available for the “Message”, “Buttons”, and “Media price” criteria. The other criteria are checked before processing, and the switch is unavailable for them.

Description

Description: an optional comment for your convenience. It does not affect how the filter works.

Filtering media

To filter messages with media, select “Media” in the “Filter by” field. The service will search for the specified content in the attached media's name, type, and extension.

You can use the following types:

• photo: all photographs and images
• document: documents
• poll: polls
• geo: location
• video: videos
• voice: voice messages
• audio: audio
• round: round video messages
• sticker: stickers
• webpreview: web previews

Filtering senders

FLOWIN lets you link filters not only to forwards, but also to sender accounts, so you can choose who forwards a message containing the specified content.

Filters can be linked to sender accounts under the following conditions:

• The filter's action is set to “Allow”.
• The filter is set to “Before processing”.
• The filter is linked to a forward whose sender is set to “Senders rotation”.
• To choose between accounts, you need two or more connected senders with access to the destination.

For example, delivery and payment requests arrive from one source in a work group. Members distinguish the two streams by the sender: the “Alex” account posts requests labelled “Delivery:”, while the “Payment helper” bot posts those labelled “Payment:”. Other topics do not reach this group. We use example order numbers below.

1. On the “Forwards” page, open the destination settings for the forward you need. In the “Sender” field, select “Senders rotation” and save the change.

   

   

2. On the “Filters” page, click “Create”, enter the label Delivery: in the “Search” field, and select “Allow”. Create the filter and apply it to the forward you prepared.

   

   

   

3. Open “More” → “Apply” for this filter and select “Senders”, select the “Alex” account, and click “Save”. In the same way, create a second filter for the label Payment:, link it to the same forward, and select “Payment helper” as the sender.

   

   

   

4. Alex sends this request: “Delivery: order #1042 is delayed.” Payment helper sends: “Payment: an invoice is needed for order #1043.” The request “Return: order #1044 was unsuitable.” does not pass either sender filter and is not forwarded.

   

   

Available filter actions

The “Change” button with the pencil icon opens the filter's main settings. Other actions are available in the “More” menu:

• “Duplicate”: create a copy of the filter with the same settings.
• “Select project”: add the filter to a project.
• “Delete”: delete the filter.

The “Forwards [number]” button shows the number of linked forwards. Click it to change the selection, then save it.