Forum:Remove all categories with AWB

A question related to AWB usage. Can I remove all categories from a page, or I need to use a more advanced program?


 * I'm kinda new to AutoWikiBrowser, but you can remove a category by going to the "Options" bar (not the top options but the options in the middle left side), in "Source" choose "Category" and below it write the name of the category, then click "make a list". Then go to More, and go to the categories section at the buttom. choose "remove category", and write the category you'd like to remove. Then go to "bot" (you need to login first, of course), and mark at the top "auto save", and change the number of edits you want the bot to do from "Max edits". I also recommend changing the delay to 0. Then go to "Start" and click "start" (click "stop" to stop).
 * Penguin-Pal  (talk)  13:39, July 26, 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks for informations. But I should have been more clear in my description. Surely I can remove a certain kind of category through that Remove Category section, but I have to remove all any categories existing in the page.


 * Yesterday I modified my infoboxes so they add categories automatically, that's why I got to remove all categories which are already there, to prevent to have duplicated category or something like that.


 * You don't technically need to remove the categories then. There is no problem related to "duplicate" categories. In fact, on a few wikis I work on, we intentionally leave the categories on the page even if they're also added by templates for transparency. Because to me, I think it feels weird if a category appears while reading the page and then you go to edit it and it's not there in the editor. Ghost categories, so to speak.


 * I feel like understanding what you described, ghost categories, but I think I should somehow for next two reasons:
 * If I don't remove old categories, when/if I eventually need modifying the name of category, some pages will contain "duplicate" categories. (the correct one and the old one) In any way, I'll have to clear them once.
 * Other contributors of the wiki could think that they should add categories manually, if they haven't read the guideline carefully enough.
 * Well, I removed them yesterday by hand. This time they were only 300, but I'd like to learn the automatic way for the future.

You can also add a temporary category to the template, using, for example  , and then make a list. You can then pick the real category you'd like to remove, and start the bot. Penguin-Pal  (talk)  17:07, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Umm.. I can get them listed as they already have a category in common. But they also have less shared categories like Category:Born in XXXX. As people's birth year is different from each other, there are as many kind of categories as their number. Which means that I have to run the bot 100+ times (1900~2000). That's why I'm wondering if I can insert a kind of mask like Remove Category: *