diff --git a/advanced.py b/advanced.py
index 8248dde..d2ffb8f 100644
--- a/advanced.py
+++ b/advanced.py
@@ -467,7 +467,8 @@ def layout_filter(self):
 
         categories = QComboBox()
         categories.addItem(_('All'), 'all')
-        categories.addItem(_('Non-aligned'), 'non_aligned')
+        if self.merge_enabled:
+            categories.addItem(_('Non-aligned'), 'non_aligned')
         categories.addItem(_('Translated'), 'translated')
         categories.addItem(_('Untranslated'), 'untranslated')
 
diff --git a/components/table.py b/components/table.py
index e453cca..d4341db 100644
--- a/components/table.py
+++ b/components/table.py
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def track_row_data(self, row):
         paragraph = self.paragraph(row)
         if paragraph.translation:
             before_aligned = paragraph.aligned
-            self.check_row_alignment(paragraph)
+            self.parent.merge_enabled and self.check_row_alignment(paragraph)
             # If the alignment of before and after is the same, do nothing.
             if before_aligned and not paragraph.aligned:
                 self.non_aligned_count += 1
diff --git a/lib/config.py b/lib/config.py
index f3b5002..a3babdb 100644
--- a/lib/config.py
+++ b/lib/config.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
     'filter_scope': 'text',
     'filter_rules': [],
     'element_rules': [],
+    'reserve_rules': [],
     'custom_engines': {},
     'glossary_enabled': False,
     'glossary_path': None,
diff --git a/lib/element.py b/lib/element.py
index 546407b..0a52778 100644
--- a/lib/element.py
+++ b/lib/element.py
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 from lxml import etree
 from calibre import prepare_string_for_xml as xml_escape
 
-from .utils import ns, css, uid, trim, sorted_mixed_keys, open_file
+from .utils import (
+    ns, uid, trim, sorted_mixed_keys, open_file, css_to_xpath, create_xpath)
 from .config import get_config
 
 
@@ -36,6 +37,9 @@ def __init__(self, element, page_id=None):
         self.original_color = None
         self.translation_color = None
 
+        self.remove_pattern = None
+        self.reserve_pattern = None
+
     def _element_copy(self):
         return copy.deepcopy(self.element)
 
@@ -60,6 +64,12 @@ def set_original_color(self, color):
     def set_translation_color(self, color):
         self.translation_color = color
 
+    def set_remove_pattern(self, pattern):
+        self.remove_pattern = pattern
+
+    def set_reserve_pattern(self, pattern):
+        self.reserve_pattern = pattern
+
     def get_name(self):
         return None
 
@@ -152,7 +162,7 @@ def add_translation(self, translation=None):
                 self.element.content = '%s %s' % (
                     translation, self.element.content)
             else:
-                self.element.content = '%s %s' %(
+                self.element.content = '%s %s' % (
                     self.element.content, translation)
 
 
@@ -175,11 +185,6 @@ def add_translation(self, translation=None):
 
 
 class PageElement(Element):
-    def _get_descendents(self, element, tags):
-        tags = (tags,) if isinstance(tags, str) else tags
-        xpath = './/*[%s]' % ' or '.join(['self::x:%s' % tag for tag in tags])
-        return element.xpath(xpath, namespaces=ns)
-
     def get_name(self):
         return get_name(self.element)
 
@@ -206,18 +211,16 @@ def _safe_remove(self, element, replacement=''):
 
     def get_content(self):
         element_copy = self._element_copy()
-        for noise in self._get_descendents(element_copy, ('rt', 'rp')):
-            self._safe_remove(noise)
-        # Reserve the <br> element instead of using a line break to prevent
-        # conflicts with the mechanism of merge translation.
-        target_elements = (
-            'img', 'code', 'br', 'hr', 'sub', 'sup', 'kbd', 'abbr', 'wbr', 'var',
-            'canvas', 'svg', 'script', 'style')
-        self.reserve_elements = self._get_descendents(
-            element_copy, target_elements)
+        if self.remove_pattern is not None:
+            for noise in element_copy.xpath(
+                    self.remove_pattern, namespaces=ns):
+                self._safe_remove(noise)
+        if self.reserve_pattern is not None:
+            self.reserve_elements = element_copy.xpath(
+                self.reserve_pattern, namespaces=ns)
         for eid, reserve in enumerate(self.reserve_elements):
             replacement = self.placeholder[0].format(format(eid, '05'))
-            if get_name(reserve) in ['sub', 'sup']:
+            if get_name(reserve) in ('sub', 'sup'):
                 parent = reserve.getparent()
                 if parent is not None and get_name(parent) == 'a' and \
                         parent.text is None and reserve.tail is None and \
@@ -423,6 +426,11 @@ def _create_table(self, translation=None):
 
 
 class Extraction:
+    priority_elements = (
+        'p', 'pre', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'blockquote')
+    default_filter_rules = (
+        r'^[-\d\s\.\'\\"‘’“”,=~!@#$%^&º*|≈<>?/`—…+:–_(){}[\]]+$',)
+
     def __init__(
             self, pages, rule_mode, filter_scope, filter_rules, element_rules):
         self.pages = pages
@@ -438,9 +446,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.load_element_patterns()
 
     def load_filter_patterns(self):
-        default_rules = [
-            r'^[-\d\s\.\'\\"‘’“”,=~!@#$%^&º*|≈<>?/`—…+:–_(){}[\]]+$']
-        patterns = [re.compile(rule) for rule in default_rules]
+        patterns = [re.compile(rule) for rule in self.default_filter_rules]
         for rule in self.filter_rules:
             if self.rule_mode == 'normal':
                 rule = re.compile(re.escape(rule), re.I)
@@ -452,13 +458,9 @@ def load_filter_patterns(self):
         self.filter_patterns = patterns
 
     def load_element_patterns(self):
-        rules = ['pre', 'code']
-        rules.extend(self.element_rules)
-        patterns = []
-        for selector in rules:
-            rule = css(selector)
-            rule and patterns.append(rule)
-        self.element_patterns = patterns
+        default_selectors = ['pre', 'code']
+        self.element_patterns = css_to_xpath(
+            default_selectors + self.element_rules)
 
     def get_sorted_pages(self):
         pages = []
@@ -483,15 +485,20 @@ def need_ignore(self, element):
         return False
 
     def extract_elements(self, page_id, root, elements=[]):
-        priority_elements = [
-            'p', 'pre', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'blockquote']
+        """If the root matches the pattern, return an empty list; otherwise,
+        just break the recursion without doing anything.
+        """
+        if self.need_ignore(root):
+            return []
         for element in root.findall('./*'):
+            if self.need_ignore(element):
+                continue
             element_has_content = False
             if element.text is not None and trim(element.text) != '':
                 element_has_content = True
             else:
                 children = element.findall('./*')
-                if children and get_name(element) in priority_elements:
+                if children and get_name(element) in self.priority_elements:
                     element_has_content = True
                 else:
                     for child in children:
@@ -540,6 +547,9 @@ def __init__(self, placeholder, separator, position, merge_length=0):
         self.translation_color = None
         self.column_gap = None
 
+        self.remove_pattern = None
+        self.reserve_pattern = None
+
         self.elements = {}
         self.originals = []
 
@@ -559,6 +569,18 @@ def set_column_gap(self, values):
         if isinstance(values, tuple) and len(values) == 2:
             self.column_gap = values
 
+    def load_remove_rules(self, rules=[]):
+        default_rules = ('rt', 'rp')
+        self.remove_pattern = create_xpath(default_rules + tuple(rules))
+
+    def load_reserve_rules(self, rules=[]):
+        # Reserve the <br> element instead of using a line break to prevent
+        # conflicts with the mechanism of merge translation.
+        default_rules = (
+            'img', 'code', 'br', 'hr', 'sub', 'sup', 'kbd', 'abbr', 'wbr',
+            'var', 'canvas', 'svg', 'script', 'style')
+        self.reserve_pattern = create_xpath(default_rules + tuple(rules))
+
     def prepare_original(self, elements):
         count = 0
         for oid, element in enumerate(elements):
@@ -569,6 +591,8 @@ def prepare_original(self, elements):
             element.set_translation_color(self.translation_color)
             if self.column_gap is not None:
                 element.set_column_gap(self.column_gap)
+            element.set_remove_pattern(self.remove_pattern)
+            element.set_reserve_pattern(self.reserve_pattern)
             raw = element.get_raw()
             content = element.get_content()
             md5 = uid('%s%s' % (oid, content))
@@ -618,6 +642,8 @@ def prepare_original(self, elements):
             element.set_translation_color(self.translation_color)
             if self.column_gap is not None:
                 element.set_column_gap(self.column_gap)
+            element.set_remove_pattern(self.remove_pattern)
+            element.set_reserve_pattern(self.reserve_pattern)
             code = element.get_raw()
             content = element.get_content()
             content += self.separator
@@ -725,7 +751,7 @@ def get_page_elements(pages):
     config = get_config()
     rule_mode = config.get('rule_mode')
     filter_scope = config.get('filter_scope')
-    filter_rules = config.get('filter_rules')
+    filter_rules = config.get('filter_rules', [])
     element_rules = config.get('element_rules', [])
     extraction = Extraction(
         pages, rule_mode, filter_scope, filter_rules, element_rules)
@@ -747,4 +773,6 @@ def get_element_handler(placeholder, separator):
         handler.set_column_gap((gap_type, column_gap.get(gap_type)))
     handler.set_original_color(config.get('original_color'))
     handler.set_translation_color(config.get('translation_color'))
+    handler.load_remove_rules(config.get('element_rules', []))
+    handler.load_reserve_rules(config.get('reserve_rules', []))
     return handler
diff --git a/lib/utils.py b/lib/utils.py
index 9c971d0..d170f22 100644
--- a/lib/utils.py
+++ b/lib/utils.py
@@ -25,6 +25,19 @@ def css(seletor):
         return None
 
 
+def css_to_xpath(selectors):
+    patterns = []
+    for selector in selectors:
+        rule = css(selector)
+        rule and patterns.append(rule)
+    return patterns
+
+
+def create_xpath(selectors):
+    selectors = (selectors,) if isinstance(selectors, str) else selectors
+    return './/*[%s]' % ' or '.join(css_to_xpath(selectors))
+
+
 def uid(*args):
     md5 = hashlib.md5()
     for arg in args:
diff --git a/setting.py b/setting.py
index a00d996..7427289 100644
--- a/setting.py
+++ b/setting.py
@@ -1072,12 +1072,25 @@ def choose_filter_mode(btn_id):
         self.element_rules.setMinimumHeight(100)
         self.element_rules.insertPlainText(
             '\n'.join(self.config.get('element_rules')))
-
         element_layout.addWidget(QLabel(
             _('CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:')))
         element_layout.addWidget(self.element_rules)
         layout.addWidget(element_group)
 
+        # Reserve element
+        reserve_group = QGroupBox(_('Reserve Element'))
+        reserve_layout = QVBoxLayout(reserve_group)
+        self.reserve_rules = QPlainTextEdit()
+        self.reserve_rules.setPlaceholderText(
+            '%s %s' % (_('e.g.,'), 'span.footnote, a#footnote'))
+        self.reserve_rules.setMinimumHeight(100)
+        self.reserve_rules.insertPlainText(
+            '\n'.join(self.config.get('reserve_rules')))
+        reserve_layout.addWidget(QLabel(
+            _('CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:')))
+        reserve_layout.addWidget(self.reserve_rules)
+        layout.addWidget(reserve_group)
+
         # Ebook Metadata
         metadata_group = QGroupBox(_('Ebook Metadata'))
         metadata_layout = QFormLayout(metadata_group)
@@ -1280,6 +1293,18 @@ def update_content_config(self):
         self.config.delete('element_rules')
         element_rules and self.config.update(element_rules=element_rules)
 
+        # Reserve rules
+        rule_content = self.reserve_rules.toPlainText()
+        reserve_rules = [r for r in rule_content.split('\n') if r.strip()]
+        for rule in reserve_rules:
+            if css(rule) is None:
+                self.alert.pop(
+                    _('{} is not a valid CSS seletor.')
+                    .format(rule), 'warning')
+                return False
+        self.config.delete('reserve_rules')
+        reserve_rules and self.config.update(reserve_rules=reserve_rules)
+
         # Ebook metadata
         ebook_metadata = self.config.get('ebook_metadata').copy()
         ebook_metadata.clear()
diff --git a/tests/test_config.py b/tests/test_config.py
index 50271d1..11bc8be 100644
--- a/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_config.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ def test_default(self):
             'filter_scope': 'text',
             'filter_rules': [],
             'element_rules': [],
+            'reserve_rules': [],
             'custom_engines': {},
             'glossary_enabled': False,
             'glossary_path': None,
diff --git a/tests/test_element.py b/tests/test_element.py
index 9daccbe..f1d8ed8 100644
--- a/tests/test_element.py
+++ b/tests/test_element.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import re
 import unittest
 from unittest.mock import patch, Mock
 
@@ -5,7 +6,7 @@
 
 from calibre.ebooks.oeb.base import TOC, Metadata
 
-from ..lib.utils import ns
+from ..lib.utils import ns, create_xpath
 from ..lib.cache import Paragraph
 from ..lib.element import (
     get_string, get_name, Extraction, ElementHandler, ElementHandlerMerge,
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ class TestFunction(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_get_string(self):
         markup = '<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">' \
                  '<p class="a">abc</p> def</div>'
-        element = etree.XML(markup).find('x:p', namespaces=ns)
+        element = etree.XML(markup).find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns)
         self.assertEqual(
             '<p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="a">abc</p>',
             get_string(element, False))
@@ -115,6 +116,8 @@ def test_create_element(self):
         self.assertIsNone(self.element.translation_lang)
         self.assertIsNone(self.element.original_color)
         self.assertIsNone(self.element.translation_color)
+        self.assertIsNone(self.element.remove_pattern)
+        self.assertIsNone(self.element.reserve_pattern)
 
     def test_set_ignored(self):
         self.element.set_ignored(True)
@@ -144,6 +147,14 @@ def test_set_translation_color(self):
         self.element.set_translation_color('green')
         self.assertEqual('green', self.element.translation_color)
 
+    def test_set_remove_pattern(self):
+        self.element.set_remove_pattern('.//*[self::x:sup]')
+        self.assertEqual('.//*[self::x:sup]', self.element.remove_pattern)
+
+    def test_set_reserve_pattern(self):
+        self.element.set_reserve_pattern('.//*[self::x:sup]')
+        self.assertEqual('.//*[self::x:sup]', self.element.reserve_pattern)
+
     def test_get_name(self):
         self.assertIsNone(self.element.get_name())
 
@@ -363,6 +374,9 @@ def setUp(self):
 </html>""")
         self.paragraph = self.xhtml.find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns)
         self.element = PageElement(self.paragraph, 'p1')
+        self.element.remove_pattern = create_xpath(('rt',))
+        self.element.reserve_pattern = create_xpath(
+            ('img', 'sup', 'br', 'code'))
         self.element.placeholder = Base.placeholder
         self.element.position = 'below'
 
@@ -407,15 +421,16 @@ def test_get_content_with_sup_sub(self):
         </p>
     </body>
 </html>""")
-        self.element = PageElement(xhtml.find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns), 'p1')
-        self.element.placeholder = Base.placeholder
+        element = PageElement(xhtml.find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns), 'p1')
+        element.reserve_pattern = create_xpath(('sup',))
+        element.placeholder = Base.placeholder
         content = (
             'a{{id_00000}} b{{id_00001}} x cx {{id_00002}} d{{id_00003}} x')
-        self.assertEqual(content, self.element.get_content())
-        self.assertEqual('a', get_name(self.element.reserve_elements[0]))
-        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(self.element.reserve_elements[1]))
-        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(self.element.reserve_elements[2]))
-        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(self.element.reserve_elements[3]))
+        self.assertEqual(content, element.get_content())
+        self.assertEqual('a', get_name(element.reserve_elements[0]))
+        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(element.reserve_elements[1]))
+        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(element.reserve_elements[2]))
+        self.assertEqual('sup', get_name(element.reserve_elements[3]))
 
     def test_get_attributes(self):
         self.assertEqual('{"class": "abc"}', self.element.get_attributes())
@@ -634,6 +649,7 @@ def test_add_translation_line_break_below(self):
 </html>""")
 
         element = PageElement(xhtml.find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns), 'p1')
+        element.reserve_pattern = create_xpath(('sup', 'img', 'br'))
         element.placeholder = Base.placeholder
         element.position = 'below'
         element.get_content()
@@ -665,6 +681,7 @@ def test_add_translation_line_break_above(self):
 </html>""")
 
         element = PageElement(xhtml.find('.//x:p', namespaces=ns), 'p1')
+        element.reserve_pattern = create_xpath(('sup', 'img', 'br'))
         element.placeholder = Base.placeholder
         element.position = 'above'
         element.get_content()
@@ -725,6 +742,26 @@ def setUp(self):
         self.extraction = Extraction(
             [self.page_3, self.page_2, self.page_1], 'normal', 'text', [], [])
 
+    def test_create_extraction(self):
+        self.assertEqual(
+            ('p', 'pre', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'blockquote'),
+            Extraction.priority_elements)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            (r'^[-\d\s\.\'\\"‘’“”,=~!@#$%^&º*|≈<>?/`—…+:–_(){}[\]]+$',),
+            Extraction.default_filter_rules)
+        self.assertIsInstance(self.extraction, Extraction)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            [self.page_3, self.page_2, self.page_1], self.extraction.pages)
+        self.assertEqual('normal', self.extraction.rule_mode)
+        self.assertEqual('text', self.extraction.filter_scope)
+        self.assertEqual([], self.extraction.filter_rules)
+        self.assertEqual([], self.extraction.element_rules)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            [re.compile(Extraction.default_filter_rules[0])],
+            self.extraction.filter_patterns)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            ['self::x:pre', 'self::x:code'], self.extraction.element_patterns)
+
     def test_get_sorted_pages(self):
         self.assertEqual(
             [self.page_1, self.page_2], self.extraction.get_sorted_pages())
@@ -804,27 +841,64 @@ def test_extract_elements(self):
     </div>
 </body>
 </html>""")
-        root = xhtml.find('x:body', namespaces=ns)
+        root = xhtml.find('.//x:body', namespaces=ns)
         elements = self.extraction.extract_elements('p1', root, [])
-        self.assertEqual(9, len(elements))
+        self.assertEqual(8, len(elements))
         self.assertEqual('h2', elements[0].get_name())
         self.assertFalse(elements[0].ignored)
-        self.assertEqual('pre', elements[-2].get_name())
-        self.assertTrue(elements[-2].ignored)
         self.assertEqual('p', elements[-1].get_name())
         self.assertFalse(elements[-1].ignored)
 
+    def test_extract_elements_root_wihout_elements(self):
         xhtml = etree.XML(b"""<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <!DOCTYPE html>
 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
 <head><title>Document</title></head>
 <body>123456789</body>
 </html>""")
-        root = xhtml.find('x:body', namespaces=ns)
+        root = xhtml.find('.//x:body', namespaces=ns)
+
         elements = self.extraction.extract_elements('test', root, [])
         self.assertEqual(1, len(elements))
         self.assertEqual('123456789', elements[0].element.text)
 
+    def test_extract_elements_ignore_root(self):
+        xhtml = etree.XML(b"""<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+<head><title>Document</title></head>
+<body class="test"><p>a</p></body>
+</html>""")
+        root = xhtml.find('.//x:body', namespaces=ns)
+        self.extraction.element_rules = ['.test']
+        self.extraction.load_element_patterns()
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            [], self.extraction.extract_elements('test', root, []))
+
+    def test_extract_elements_ignore_certain_elements(self):
+        xhtml = etree.XML(b"""<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+<head><title>Document</title></head>
+<body>
+    <div><p>a</p></div>
+    <div class="test"><p>b</p><p class="test">c</p></div>
+    <div><p>d</p></div>
+    <div id="test"><p>e</p></div>
+</body>
+</html>""")
+        root = xhtml.find('.//x:body', namespaces=ns)
+        self.extraction.element_rules = ['.test', '#test']
+        self.extraction.load_element_patterns()
+
+        elements = self.extraction.extract_elements('test', root, [])
+        self.assertEqual(2, len(elements))
+        self.assertEqual(
+            xhtml.find('.//x:div[1]/x:p', namespaces=ns), elements[0].element)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            xhtml.find('.//x:div[3]/x:p', namespaces=ns), elements[1].element)
+
     def test_filter_content(self):
         def elements(markups):
             return [
@@ -935,6 +1009,8 @@ def test_create_element_handler_merge(self):
         self.assertIsNone(self.handler.original_color)
         self.assertIsNone(self.handler.translation_color)
         self.assertIsNone(self.handler.column_gap)
+        self.assertIsNone(self.handler.remove_pattern)
+        self.assertIsNone(self.handler.reserve_pattern)
         self.assertEqual({}, self.handler.elements)
         self.assertEqual([], self.handler.originals)
 
@@ -963,8 +1039,24 @@ def test_set_column_gap(self):
         self.handler.set_column_gap(('percentage', 2))
         self.assertEqual(('percentage', 2), self.handler.column_gap)
 
+    def test_load_remove_rules(self):
+        self.handler.load_remove_rules()
+        self.assertEqual(
+            './/*[self::x:rt or self::x:rp]', self.handler.remove_pattern)
+
+    def test_load_reserve_rules(self):
+        self.handler.load_reserve_rules()
+        self.assertRegex(
+            self.handler.reserve_pattern, r'^\.//\*\[self::x:img.*style\]$')
+
     @patch('calibre_plugins.ebook_translator.lib.element.uid')
     def test_prepare_original(self, mock_uid):
+        self.handler.translation_lang = 'en'
+        self.handler.original_color = 'red'
+        self.handler.translation_color = 'green'
+        self.handler.column_gap = ('percentage', 20)
+        self.handler.load_remove_rules()
+        self.handler.load_reserve_rules()
         mock_uid.side_effect = ['m1', 'm2', 'm3', 'm4', 'm5']
         self.assertEqual([
             (0, 'm1', '<p id="a">a</p>', 'a', False, '{"id": "a"}', 'p1'),
@@ -975,6 +1067,19 @@ def test_prepare_original(self, mock_uid):
              '{"id": "c", "class": "c"}', 'p1'),
             (4, 'm5', '<p></p>', '', True, None, 'p1')],
             self.handler.prepare_original(self.elements))
+        for element in self.elements:
+            with self.subTest(element=element):
+                self.assertEqual(Base.placeholder, element.placeholder)
+                self.assertEqual('below', element.position)
+                self.assertEqual('en', element.translation_lang)
+                self.assertEqual('red', element.original_color)
+                self.assertEqual('green', element.translation_color)
+                self.assertEqual(('percentage', 20), element.column_gap)
+                self.assertEqual(
+                    './/*[self::x:rt or self::x:rp]',
+                    self.handler.remove_pattern)
+                self.assertRegex(
+                    element.reserve_pattern, r'^\.//\*\[self::x:img.*style\]$')
 
     def test_prepare_translation(self):
         pass
@@ -1146,17 +1251,36 @@ def test_align_paragraph(self):
 
         self.handler.position = 'above'
         self.assertEqual(
-            [('a', 'A\n\nB'),('b', None), ('c', None)],
+            [('a', 'A\n\nB'), ('b', None), ('c', None)],
             self.handler.align_paragraph(paragraph))
 
     @patch('calibre_plugins.ebook_translator.lib.element.uid')
     def test_prepare_original_merge_separator(self, mock_uid):
         mock_uid.return_value = 'm1'
         self.handler.separator = Base.separator
+        self.handler.translation_lang = 'en'
+        self.handler.original_color = 'red'
+        self.handler.translation_color = 'green'
+        self.handler.column_gap = ('percentage', 20)
+        self.handler.load_remove_rules()
+        self.handler.load_reserve_rules()
         self.assertEqual([(
             0, 'm1', '<p id="a">a</p>\n\n<p id="b">b</p>\n\n<p id="c" '
             'class="c">c</p>\n\n', 'a\n\nb\n\nc\n\n', False)],
             self.handler.prepare_original(self.elements))
+        for element in [e for e in self.elements if not e.ignored]:
+            with self.subTest(element=element):
+                self.assertEqual(Base.placeholder, element.placeholder)
+                self.assertEqual('below', element.position)
+                self.assertEqual('en', element.translation_lang)
+                self.assertEqual('red', element.original_color)
+                self.assertEqual('green', element.translation_color)
+                self.assertEqual(('percentage', 20), element.column_gap)
+                self.assertEqual(
+                    './/*[self::x:rt or self::x:rp]',
+                    self.handler.remove_pattern)
+                self.assertRegex(
+                    element.reserve_pattern, r'^\.//\*\[self::x:img.*style\]$')
 
     @patch('calibre_plugins.ebook_translator.lib.element.uid')
     def test_prepare_original_merge_separator_multiple(self, mock_uid):
diff --git a/translations/es.po b/translations/es.po
index 2d6c325..81bac4d 100644
--- a/translations/es.po
+++ b/translations/es.po
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2023-04-17 14:17+0800\n"
 "Last-Translator: Automatically generated\n"
 "Language-Team: none\n"
@@ -709,6 +709,12 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr ""
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr ""
 
diff --git a/translations/fr.po b/translations/fr.po
index 0849d3b..226ce62 100644
--- a/translations/fr.po
+++ b/translations/fr.po
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2023-10-01 15:35-0400\n"
 "Last-Translator: <a href=\"https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?"
 "u=90932\">PoP</a>\n"
@@ -720,6 +720,12 @@ msgstr "Ignorer l'élément"
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr "Sélecteurs CSS pour exclure des éléments. Une règle par ligne:"
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr "Metadata du ebook"
 
diff --git a/translations/message.pot b/translations/message.pot
index baf9fa9..d426b21 100644
--- a/translations/message.pot
+++ b/translations/message.pot
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Input Format"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:236 advanced.py:683 batch.py:58 setting.py:369
+#: advanced.py:236 advanced.py:684 batch.py:58 setting.py:369
 msgid "Target Language"
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -91,127 +91,127 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "All"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:470
+#: advanced.py:471
 msgid "Non-aligned"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:471 advanced.py:773 components/table.py:94
+#: advanced.py:472 advanced.py:774 components/table.py:94
 msgid "Translated"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:472 components/table.py:83
+#: advanced.py:473 components/table.py:83
 msgid "Untranslated"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:475
+#: advanced.py:476
 msgid "keyword for filtering"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:554
+#: advanced.py:555
 msgid "Total items: {}"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:555 lib/translation.py:233
+#: advanced.py:556 lib/translation.py:233
 msgid "Character count: {}"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:564
+#: advanced.py:565
 msgid "Non-aligned items: {}"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:598 cache.py:92 cache.py:182 components/engine.py:202
+#: advanced.py:599 cache.py:92 cache.py:182 components/engine.py:202
 #: components/table.py:139
 msgid "Delete"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:599
+#: advanced.py:600
 msgid "Translate All"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:600
+#: advanced.py:601
 msgid "Translate Selected"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:625 advanced.py:636
+#: advanced.py:626 advanced.py:637
 msgid "Stop"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:631
+#: advanced.py:632
 msgid "Stopping..."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:661
+#: advanced.py:662
 msgid "Cache Status"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:664
+#: advanced.py:665
 msgid "Disabled"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:664
+#: advanced.py:665
 msgid "Enabled"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:671 setting.py:328
+#: advanced.py:672 setting.py:328
 msgid "Translation Engine"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:677 batch.py:58 setting.py:368
+#: advanced.py:678 batch.py:58 setting.py:368
 msgid "Source Language"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:689
+#: advanced.py:690
 msgid "Custom Ebook Title"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:694
+#: advanced.py:695
 msgid "By default, title metadata will be translated."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:723
+#: advanced.py:724
 msgid "Output Ebook"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:725
+#: advanced.py:726
 msgid "Output"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:774
+#: advanced.py:775
 msgid "The ebook has not been translated yet."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:778
+#: advanced.py:779
 msgid ""
 "The number of lines in some translation units differs between the original "
 "text and the translated text. Are you sure you want to output without "
 "checking alignment?"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:813
+#: advanced.py:814
 msgid "No translation yet"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:866 components/engine.py:208 setting.py:98
+#: advanced.py:867 components/engine.py:208 setting.py:98
 msgid "Save"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:922
+#: advanced.py:923
 msgid "Your changes have been saved."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:935
+#: advanced.py:936
 msgid "Translation log"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:946
+#: advanced.py:947
 msgid "Error log"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:966
+#: advanced.py:967
 msgid "Are you sure you want to translate all {:n} paragraphs?"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: advanced.py:992
+#: advanced.py:993
 msgid "Are you sure you want to stop the translation progress?"
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Unknown"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: batch.py:160 cache.py:130 setting.py:1136
+#: batch.py:160 cache.py:130 setting.py:1149
 msgid "The specified path does not exist."
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Feedback"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: components/lang.py:34 engines/base.py:70 setting.py:1198
+#: components/lang.py:34 engines/base.py:70 setting.py:1211
 msgid "Auto detect"
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -871,7 +871,7 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Original Text Color"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:894 setting.py:912 setting.py:1071
+#: setting.py:894 setting.py:912 setting.py:1071 setting.py:1085
 msgid "e.g.,"
 msgstr ""
 
@@ -935,67 +935,75 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Ignore Element"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1077
+#: setting.py:1076
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1082
+#: setting.py:1081
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+#: setting.py:1090
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
+#: setting.py:1095
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1086
+#: setting.py:1099
 msgid "Append target language to title metadata"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1088
+#: setting.py:1101
 msgid "Set target language code to language metadata"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1091
+#: setting.py:1104
 msgid "Subjects of ebook (one subject per line)"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1092
+#: setting.py:1105
 msgid "Language Mark"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1093
+#: setting.py:1106
 msgid "Language Code"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1094
+#: setting.py:1107
 msgid "Append Subjects"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1115 setting.py:1150
+#: setting.py:1128 setting.py:1163
 msgid "Proxy host or port is incorrect."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1117
+#: setting.py:1130
 msgid "The proxy is available."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1118
+#: setting.py:1131
 msgid "The proxy is not available."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1208
+#: setting.py:1221
 msgid "the prompt must include {}."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1237 setting.py:1244
+#: setting.py:1250 setting.py:1257
 msgid "Invalid color value."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1253
+#: setting.py:1266
 msgid "The specified glossary file does not exist."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1265
+#: setting.py:1278
 msgid "{} is not a valid regular expression."
 msgstr ""
 
-#: setting.py:1277
+#: setting.py:1290 setting.py:1302
 msgid "{} is not a valid CSS seletor."
 msgstr ""
 
diff --git a/translations/pt.po b/translations/pt.po
index 8c7ef31..bd0647e 100644
--- a/translations/pt.po
+++ b/translations/pt.po
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
 "Language-Team: none\n"
@@ -723,6 +723,12 @@ msgstr "Ignorar Elemento"
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr "Seletores CSS para excluir elementos. Uma regra por linha:"
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr "Metadados dos ebooks"
 
diff --git a/translations/tr.po b/translations/tr.po
index bdcf188..5a984a1 100644
--- a/translations/tr.po
+++ b/translations/tr.po
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2024-03-23 15:12+0300\n"
 "Last-Translator: DogancanYr <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
 "Language-Team: Turkish <LL@li.org>\n"
@@ -722,6 +722,12 @@ msgstr "Öğeyi Yoksay"
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr "Öğeleri dışlamak için CSS seçicileri. "
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr "E-kitap Meta Verisi"
 
diff --git a/translations/zh_CN.mo b/translations/zh_CN.mo
index a5f578a..190abe4 100644
Binary files a/translations/zh_CN.mo and b/translations/zh_CN.mo differ
diff --git a/translations/zh_CN.po b/translations/zh_CN.po
index c365b62..fa361a5 100644
--- a/translations/zh_CN.po
+++ b/translations/zh_CN.po
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2023-04-17 14:17+0800\n"
 "Last-Translator: Automatically generated\n"
 "Language-Team: none\n"
@@ -709,6 +709,12 @@ msgstr "忽略元素"
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr "用来排除元素的 CSS 选择器。一行一条规则："
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr "保留元素"
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr "用来保留元素的 CSS 选择器。一行一条规则："
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr "电子书元数据"
 
diff --git a/translations/zh_TW.po b/translations/zh_TW.po
index 372ff8d..7ad5f3b 100644
--- a/translations/zh_TW.po
+++ b/translations/zh_TW.po
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: Ebook Translator Calibre Plugin\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: bookfere@gmail.com\n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 00:18+0800\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2024-04-08 23:03+0800\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2023-04-25 15:36+0800\n"
 "Last-Translator: Automatically generated\n"
 "Language-Team: none\n"
@@ -705,6 +705,12 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "CSS selectors to exclude elements. One rule per line:"
 msgstr ""
 
+msgid "Reserve Element"
+msgstr ""
+
+msgid "CSS selectors to reserve elements. One rule per line:"
+msgstr ""
+
 msgid "Ebook Metadata"
 msgstr ""