Custom Filters

Filters enable you to narrow down the list of shown packages by a variety of package attributes.

Synaptic Package Manager comes with a set of predefined filters.

Table 4. Predefined Filters

Filter Description
All packages Display all known packages.
Marked Changes Display all packages that are marked for a status change.
Pkg with Debconf Display all packages that can be configured through debconf (Debian only).
Broken Display only packages with broken dependencies.
Upgradable (upstream) Display all packages that can be upgraded to a later upstream version.

Because of some interface changes the set of predefined filters changed, too. The old and deprecated filters are not removed automatically by Synaptic.

Table 5. Deprecated Filters

Filter Description
Install Display only currently installed packages.
Not installed Display only currently not installed packages.
Upgradable Display only packages with a later version available.
Broken Display only packages with broken dependencies.
Programmed Changes Display only packages marked to be modified.
New in archive Display only new packages since the last repository update.
Residual Display only former installed packages that left data or configuration files on the system.
Pkg with Debconf Display only packages that can be configured through the debian package configuration system, so called debconf.
Obsolete or locally installed Display only packages that are not (for longer) included in one of the specified repositories.
Search Filter Display the results of the last package search.

To Apply Filters

To apply a filter follow these steps:

  1. Choose Custom Filters from the category combobox in the main window.

  2. Choose the wished filter from the category selector.

To Edit or Create Custom Filters

Filters can be created, deleted and modified in the filter editor:

Choose Preferences-> Filters from the menu.

Figure 7. Edit Filters


						Shows the filter editor.

The filter editor contains the following components:

List of Filter

Shows a list of available filters.

Rules

Rules allow you to define which packages should be shown in the list. A package has to fulfill all selected criteria.

Status

Allows you to search packages by status.

Section

Allows you to search packages by section.

Properties

Allows you to search packages by a variety of attributes e.g. name, dependencies or origin.

Keywords

Keywords are based on debtags. Only Debian GNU/Linux with installed "debtags" supports this feature.