Choose the right content type to ensure accurate tracking and change detection. Trackr supports four content types, each optimized for different tracking scenarios.
Understanding Content Types
Content types determine how Trackr extracts, compares, and reports changes in your tracked content. Selecting the correct type ensures optimal change detection and meaningful notifications.
Important Note
Content type cannot be changed after task creation. Choose carefully based on what you're tracking!
Text Content Type
Best for: Tracking plain text content like article titles, descriptions, status messages, or any text-based content.
How It Works
- Extracts and compares pure text content
- Ignores HTML tags and formatting
- Detects any text changes, additions, or removals
- Case-sensitive comparison
Use Cases
✓ Article headlines and titles
✓ Product descriptions
✓ Status messages
✓ Blog post excerpts
Number Content Type
Best for: Tracking numeric values like quantities, counts, ratings, or any number that changes over time.
How It Works
- Extracts numeric values from text
- Automatically strips non-numeric characters
- Compares numbers mathematically
- Can detect increases, decreases, or specific thresholds
Use Cases
✓ Stock quantities
✓ Rating scores
✓ View counts
✓ Available items count
Example: "Only 5 left in stock" → Extracts: 5
Price Content Type
Best for: Tracking prices, costs, or any monetary values with currency symbols and decimals.
How It Works
- Intelligently parses currency values
- Handles various currency formats ($, €, £, etc.)
- Supports decimal places and thousands separators
- Compares numeric price values
Supported Formats
$99.99
€1,299.00
£49.95
1299 USD
Use Cases
✓ Product prices
✓ Subscription costs
✓ Sale prices and discounts
✓ Service fees
HTML Content Type
Best for: Tracking complete HTML structures including formatting, links, images, and complex layouts.
How It Works
- Preserves full HTML structure and tags
- Detects changes in formatting, styling, and structure
- Tracks additions or removals of elements
- Shows detailed diff of HTML changes
Use Cases
✓ Rich text content with formatting
✓ Lists and tables
✓ Content with embedded media
✓ Complex structured content
Note on HTML Tracking
HTML tracking is more sensitive to changes. Minor formatting updates or whitespace changes will trigger notifications. Use this type only when you need to track structural changes.
How to Choose the Right Content Type
Decision Flow
- Is it a price or monetary value? → Use Price
- Is it a pure number (count, quantity)? → Use Number
- Do you need to track HTML structure and formatting? → Use HTML
- Is it plain text without special formatting? → Use Text
✓ Good Choices
- Track product price → Price
- Track article headline → Text
- Track items in stock → Number
- Track formatted blog content → HTML
✗ Poor Choices
- Track price as Text → Won't parse properly
- Track number as Text → Can't use numeric rules
- Track plain text as HTML → Too sensitive
- Track price as Number → Loses currency info
Quick Comparison
| Content Type | Extracts | Best For | Sensitivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Plain text only | Titles, descriptions | Medium |
| Number | Numeric values | Quantities, counts | Low |
| Price | Monetary values | Prices, costs | Low |
| HTML | Full HTML structure | Rich content, lists | High |
Quick Selection Guide
Ask yourself:
- 💰 Tracking money? → Price
- 🔢 Tracking numbers? → Number
- 📝 Tracking plain text? → Text
- 🎨 Tracking formatted content? → HTML
Remember:
- ✓ Cannot change after creation
- ✓ Choose based on content nature
- ✓ When in doubt, use Text
- ✓ Use HTML only when needed
Next Steps
Now that you understand content types, learn how to configure check frequency to balance timely updates with token usage.
Configure Check Frequency
