Triggering a Manual Snapshot / Forcing a Refresh
When you edit a competitor's URL or CSS selector, you don't have to wait for the next scheduled cycle to verify it's working correctly. KompWatch gives you a way to trigger a fresh snapshot on demand.
How to Request a Manual Snapshot
- Go to kompwatch.com/competitors
- Click the competitor's name to open its detail page
- Click Re-scan now (top-right of the detail page)
- A new snapshot will be captured within 30–60 seconds
The new snapshot appears in the Snapshot History tab as soon as it completes. You can preview the captured screenshot and HTML to confirm KompWatch is capturing the right content.
Note: Manual snapshots do not affect your scheduled monitoring cycle. Your next scheduled snapshot still runs at its normal time.
When to Use a Manual Snapshot
| Situation | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Just updated a URL | Verify the new URL loads correctly and the CSS selector still matches |
| Just changed a CSS selector | See what content the new selector targets before the next cycle |
| Suspected bot block cleared | Confirm KompWatch can reach the page again |
| Added a competitor and want early baseline | Get a fresh snapshot to confirm the setup looks right |
| Investigating a "no content captured" warning | Re-test immediately after making a fix |
Plan Limits for Manual Snapshots
| Plan | Manual re-scans per competitor per day |
|---|---|
| Free | 1 |
| Pro | 5 |
| Team | Unlimited |
If you've reached your daily limit, the Re-scan now button will be greyed out until midnight UTC when the limit resets.
Does a Manual Snapshot Trigger Change Detection?
Yes — if the re-scan result differs from the previous snapshot, a change record will be created and (if it meets your severity threshold) included in your next digest.
This is intentional: if you fix a broken URL and the first new snapshot captures a very different page from the last one, KompWatch will flag it as a change. You can dismiss false-positive changes from the change detail view.
Why Isn't My Re-Scan Showing Content?
If the manual snapshot preview is blank or shows a bot challenge:
- Check the URL — confirm it's publicly accessible in a private/incognito browser window
- Check your CSS selector — if the class no longer exists on the page, the selector returns empty. Reset to
bodyto capture the full page, then refine. See CSS Selectors FAQ. - Check for bot protection — see What Happens When a Competitor Blocks Scraping?
Questions? Email support@kompwatch.com and we'll respond within 24 hours.