[Resolved] Manage with types not working as expected

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[Timothy]

I have a theme that has a single line custom field for Taglines, its key is listingproc_tagline. In Post Field Control I have set it to "manage with types" and have used this shortcode [wpv-post-field name="listingproc_tagline"] but the content will not appear on the front-end:

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I followed another post and added this custom field to an existing custom field group, but this just creates a new custom field so I'd have to reenter all the text into that which just defeats the purpose.

[Mateus Getulio]

Hello there,

Can you please try adding the prefix wpcf- to see if it brings any data?

[wpv-post-field name="wpcf-listingproc_tagline"]

If it doesn't help, I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to take better look at the issue. You will find the needed fields for this below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply. The information you will enter is private which means only you and I can see and have access to it.

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[Mateus Getulio]

Hello there,

Thank you for sharing that access.

I created a separate custom field group for the tagline, I assigned it to the Listings CPT as well so it now has 2 groups.

I changed the assignment of the custom field listingproc_tagline to the new group, letting it isolated in the new group I created.

Now when I checked the view you created, it is showing the content from this custom field, I edited it to 'test 2' just to confirm it is reflecting the changes.

Can you please check if it is working as expected now?

Thank you, please let us know.
Mateus

[Timothy]

But I thought the point of "manage with types" meant that whatever content is in the original field could now be accessed with a types shortcode. I don't want a spearate/new field, I want to access the content that is in the original field.

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[Mateus Getulio]

Hello there,

The function manage with types is for when you have a custom field registered elsewhere but you want Types to take over and use its own version of that custom fields. It is slightly different from what you need.

I checked it and in your case that text in the last screenshot was coming from a serialized post_meta under 'lp_listingpro_options'.

What you can do to access it with Views, is to retrieve its value using a shortcode, register this custom shortcode and use it within views.

I implemented a demonstration for you.

Inside your theme's function.php file I created the shortcode 'tagline_text':

function my_shortcode_callback( $atts ){    
    // Get the tagline from post_meta
    $myvals = maybe_unserialize(get_post_meta($atts['post_id'], 'lp_listingpro_options'));
	return $myvals[0]["tagline_text"];	
}
add_shortcode( 'tagline_text', 'my_shortcode_callback' );

In the code above, it gets the post_id passed as a param to the shortcode and return the tagline.

Then I went to Toolset > Settings > Front-end content > Third-party shortcode arguments and added the new shortcode I created tagline_text.

Finally, I went to the view 1 Listing Header Section and used the shortcode passing the current post_id of the loop as argument:

[tagline_text post_id="[wpv-post-id]"]  

When I check that view now, it seems to be pulling the data correctly from the Business Tagline Text fields.

Please note: the code provided is to be used as an informational one. remember that custom coding is out of the scope of our support so we can't create, debug or modify code for you and it's your responsibility to maintain it. we hope the one we used as an example could point you in the right direction.

Please give it a check if everything is working as expected now.

Best,
Mateus

[Timothy]

Excellent, yes this is exactly what I needed, I appreciate the custom code you wrote. Final question, how did you find that text was "coming from a serialized post_meta under 'lp_listingpro_options" in case I want to create other shortcodes for other custom fields from the theme.

Tim

[Mateus Getulio]

Hello Tim,

I created a temporary test view and added it to a draft page. In this view I added another custom shortcode where I just echoed out the contents of the post_meta of the same Listing ID you used in your view 1 Listing Header Section(post id: 26992):

Eg.:

function my_shortcode_callback( $atts ){    
    return get_post_meta(26992); 
}
add_shortcode( 'test_shortcode', 'my_shortcode_callback' );

When you call the function get_post_meta with only the post ID, it returns all post meta data: https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_post_meta/.

Then, when I accessed the view results, I was able to see how the post meta was set up and spotted that I needed to unserialize the data.

Best regards,
Mateus

[Timothy]

Sorry, I don't understand what "unserializing the data" means , I tried to recreate that test_shortcode to see exactly what you mean but nothing outputs except the word "array".

And if I want to do the same thing for another custom field from this theme, like price, do I just recreate the shortcode with the post_meta of that field, and then it here to Toolset > Settings > Front-end content > Third-party shortcode arguments.

Tim

[Mateus Getulio]

Hello Tim,

I understand your concerns and appreciate your patience as we navigate this issue together. It's important to clarify that the matter at hand isn't directly related to Toolset functionalities. WordPress employs a specific method for storing data, which is actually quite complex and worth understanding in depth. While I've found some resources that could shed light on this, such as these articles on serialized data in WordPress, the crux of the situation seems to stem from how your theme manages its custom fields:

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https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/maybe_serialize/
https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/maybe_unserialize/

Toolset is designed to enable you to work efficiently with custom fields created within our ecosystem. When it comes to custom fields generated by third-party themes or plugins, the integration often requires a more tailored approach. This is why I provided a custom code snippet to help bridge this gap, aiming to guide you towards a potential solution.

However, I recognize that implementing custom solutions might not be straightforward for everyone. If you find yourself needing more hands-on assistance, our Toolset Contractors are well-equipped to offer their expertise. They can provide personalized support to ensure your project's success, navigating through challenges like these with ease: https://toolset.com/contractors/

Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions or if there's anything else I can do to assist.

Kind regards,
Mateus

[Timothy]

Thanks, the shortcode you created works fine. I appreciate that. I was just curious how I could recreate the test_shortcode shortcode so I could also see the post meta data. I've added that code to the functions file and added the shortcode to the view, but I only see "array"

[Timothy]

If I recreate the steps you did it should output the post meta right?

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[Mateus Getulio]

Hello Tim.

That's correct.

You can use the WordPress function get_post_meta to echo out the meta data of a specific post. You need to specify the ID of the post and the meta key, if you omit the key, it will bring all data that belong to that post.

If you're having trouble echoing the data coming from the array, you might want to use the print_r function to check the array structure:

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[Timothy]

Right, I'm trying to output all the meta date that belongs to that post, 26992 by using the shortcode you provided and a test view:

function my_shortcode_callback3( $atts ){
return get_post_meta(26992);
}
add_shortcode( 'test_shortcode', 'my_shortcode_callback3' );

Test View:
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Output page:
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But all it is outputting is "array"

[Timothy]

Basically I want to retrieve that meta data because I've used your shortcode technique to get the address custom field, and this works fine. But when I do the same for the Price custom field nothing is returned, so I'm trying to figure out what I need to adjust in the shortcode code.

[Timothy]

Can you just verify that this shortcode is correct for outputting all the meta values?

function my_shortcode_callback3( $atts ){
return get_post_meta(26992);
}
add_shortcode( 'test_shortcode', 'my_shortcode_callback3' );