[Escalated to 2nd Tier] Delete child posts when parent is deleted

[Author]

Posts

[Gavin]

Tell us what you are trying to do?
When a user deletes a main 'event' entry on the frontend, I'd like all child posts to also be deleted automatically.

Is there any documentation that you are following?

Is this still up to date?

https://toolset.com/forums/topic/delete-child-posts-cascade-deletes/

add_action( 'delete_post', 'wpv_delete_child_posts', 10 );

function wpv_delete_child_posts( $pid ) {
global $wpdb;

//added the 'event' parent slug
$ids = $wpdb->get_results( "SELECT post_id, meta_value FROM $wpdb->postmeta WHERE meta_key = '_wpcf_belongs_event_id' AND meta_value = '".$pid."'" );

if(isset($ids)){
foreach ($ids as $key) {
wp_delete_post($key->post_id, true);
}
}

return true;
}

What is the link to your site?
hidden link --- just a test site.

[Nigel]

Hi Gavin

That code is out-of-date, it refers to the way post relationships were stored prior to Types 3.

Updated code would be something like this:

function ts_autodel_child_posts( $post_id ){

    $parent_post_type = 'parent-slug';
    $child_post_type = 'child-slug';
    $relationship = 'relationship-slug';

    $thepost = get_post( $post_id );

    if ( $thepost->post_type == $parent_post_type ) {

        $child_posts = toolset_get_related_posts( 
            $post_id,
            $relationship_slug,
            array(
                'query_by_role' => 'parent',
                'role_to_return' => 'child',
                'limit' => 9999
            )
        );

        foreach ($child_posts as $child_post) {
            wp_delete_post( $child_post, true );
        }
    }
}
add_action( 'delete_post', 'ts_autodel_child_posts' );

You'll need to edit the slugs at the start of that code.

[Gavin]

Thanks Nigel - this doesn't appear to be working. I want this to work using the frontend, but I've also tried deleting the parent in the backend, too.

Here's the code I changed:
$parent_post_type = 'event';
$child_post_type = 'event-date';
$relationship = 'event-event-date';

I also tried this:

array(
'query_by_role' => 'event', //parent
'role_to_return' => 'event-date', //child
'limit' => 9999

When I click the 'Delete' link, it starts but hangs on 'Deleting..'.

If I refresh the page, the event is no longer shown on that single event frontend. It's also not showing in the list view. However, in this list view, the child post still shows.

In the backend, the parent event still exists, as do any children.

Thanks.

[Nigel]

OK, let me check on an actual site, I wrote it on the fly but I may have missed something, I'll get back to you soon.

[Nigel]

Hi Gavin

I did identify a typo in the code sample above, on line 13 it should be $relationship not $relationship_slug.

But I'm still having problems getting this to work.

The toolset_get_related_posts function doesn't work when triggered by the delete_post hook (or the slightly earlier before_delete_post hook). There is a basic problem using it in the backend where you need to trash the parent posts before deleting them, and when they are trashed, toolset_get_related_posts no longer gets the connections.

It is possible—in the backend—to get around this by using the wp_trash_post hook instead, to delete the child posts when the parent is trashed.

But that doesn't help in the front-end. When using the cred_delete_post_link shortcode to delete posts and relying on the delete_post hooks the toolset_get_related_posts function doesn't work, it returns an empty array.

I need to consult with the developers about this to find a way past this impasse, and I'll get back to you.

[Gavin]

No problem - I look forward to hearing more. Cheers.

[Nigel]

Sorry, I'm still waiting for a reply, I'll nudge them again this morning.

[Nigel]

Hi Gavin

The feedback is that the toolset_get_related_posts API function should be updated to make the status of the origin post more flexible so that it can include trashed posts.

It's a small change which they should be able to provide pretty quickly, and once they have I can update the code to get this working.

I'll let you know as soon as I can.

[Gavin]

Thanks Nigel - that's great news. Looking forward to it 🙂