All directory elements are recursively loaded in a snapshot view. To exclude some elements from loading into a base ClearCase® snapshot view, you can use an element rule in the config spec that selects the initial version of an element. For all Rational® ClearCase elements, the initial version, version 0, on the main branch (illustrated in the figure below) contains no data.
For example, to load all elements in the design VOB except elements below the interface directory, you can create a load rule that specifies the design VOB and an element rule that selects the initial, or empty, version of the interface directory. When you specify the initial version of the interface directory, the entire subtree below it is no longer selected by the config spec and is not loaded.