Multi Select – Get all choices for Query Args

• rhand

• October 28, 2021 at 9:58 pm

I want to grab all even categories chosen by user in an ACF Gutenberg Block where they can multi select categories. I now only grab the first slug in the acf field array which is one of the event_categories. I need to grab all to filter the posts loaded.

Here is my code now

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_category_field = get_field('events_category');
print_r($event_category_field);
// $event_object = get_field_object('events_category');
// print_r($event_object);
// $event_cat_name = $event_object['value'];
$event_cat_slug = $event_category_field[0]->slug;
// print_r($event_cat_slug);

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    'event_category' => $event_cat_slug
);

As you can see $event_cat_slug = $event_category_field[0]->slug; only grabs the first slug (event category lower case) for the first key. How do I grab slug for all keys and use that for event_category that only takes a slug as a string?

• rhand

• October 28, 2021 at 11:47 pm

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_object = get_field_object('events_category');
// print_r($event_object);
$event_cat_name = $event_object['value'];
// print_r($event_cat_name);
$cat_names = array_column($event_cat_name, 'slug');
print_r($cat_names);
// $event_cat_slug = $event_cat_name[0]->slug;
// print_r($event_cat_slug);

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    'tax_query' => array(
        array(
            'taxonomy' => 'event_category',
            'terms' => $cat_names
        )
    )
);

Still does not filter though $cat_names does print cats selected in multi select like when I choose onsite only: Array ( [0] => onsite )

terms should accept an array I understand but JS states

Error: Syntax error, unrecognized expression: Array
(
    [0] => onsite
)

            <h2>Event 4 Virtual</h2>
            <h2>Event 3</h2>
            <h2>Event Two</h2>

• rhand

• October 29, 2021 at 1:53 am

Reading https://support.advancedcustomfields.com/forums/topic/filtering-with-posts-that-are-using-multiple-select/ it seems I may need meta_query

When you allow multiple values the values saved is no longer a single text value. Instead it is stored in the DB as a serialized array. You need to alter the meta query

but tried a few things and not yet sure how..

• John Huebner

• October 29, 2021 at 9:52 am

No, you would use a tax_query. The tax query you tried requires an array of term ID values by default. To use slugs you would need to include the “field” argument in the tax_query. https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_query/#taxonomy-parameters

• rhand

• October 29, 2021 at 9:46 pm

I was yesterday recommend to use something similar:

'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => block_value('event-category')->name,
    ], 

So to work with ACF fields I would then use

<?php
/**
 * Events CPT Block
 *
**/

// Create id attribute allowing for custom "anchor" value.
$id = 'pm-' . $block['id'];
if( !empty($block['anchor']) ) {
	$id = $block['anchor'];
}

// Create class attribute allowing for custom "className" and "align" values.
$className = 'block-pm';
if( !empty($block['className']) ) {
	$className .= ' ' . $block['className'];
}
if( !empty($block['align']) ) {
	$className .= ' align' . $block['align'];
}

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_object = get_field_object('events_category');
// print_r($event_object);
$event_cat_name = $event_object['value'];
$event_cat_slug = $event_cat_name[0]->slug;
// print_r($event_cat_slug);

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    // 'event_category' => $event_cat_slug
    'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => $event_cat_slug, // 
    ], 
);
$the_query = new WP_Query( $args ); ?>

<?php if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : ?>

    <?php while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>
        <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
    <?php endwhile; ?>

    <?php wp_reset_postdata(); ?>

<?php endif; ?>

not sure yet how to get term ids loaded from the events_category field. So far I have only been able to get arrays:

print_r($event_cat_name);
Array ( [0] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 179 [name] => Virtual [slug] => virtual [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 179 [taxonomy] => event_category [description] => [parent] => 0 [count] => 3 [filter] => raw [meta] => Array ( ) ) [1] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 180 [name] => Local [slug] => local [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 180 [taxonomy] => event_category [description] => [parent] => 0 [count] => 1 [filter] => raw [meta] => Array ( ) ) )

or the first slug of slugs given by chosen event categories:

print_r($event_cat_slug);
virtual

I can switch from term object to term id. But still, how to load the term ids chosen in a variable I can add to terms in the tax_query? Any suggestions?

• rhand

• October 29, 2021 at 10:41 pm

When I switch to term id for the field and use

$event_cats_ids = get_field('events_category');
var_dump($event_cats_ids);

I get this array

array(2) { [0]=> int(179) [1]=> int(180) }

So the situation is similar. I get an array. Using that in

'terms' => $event_cats_ids,

does not work. When I choose one local event I get the last virtual event. So I think this does not work.I need array(id, id), based on variable input somehow.

• rhand

• October 29, 2021 at 11:17 pm

Reading https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/taxonomy/#template-usage via one of the threads you helped with @hube2 I realized I can of course loop through the array:

<?php 
$terms = get_field('events_category');
if( $terms ): ?>

    <?php foreach( $terms as $term ): ?>
        <?php echo esc_html( $term->slug ); ?>
            <?php endforeach; ?>
<?php endif; ?>

and then I do get local virtual .Just not with commas to use in wp_query terms yet. Will need some formatting to be used as variable in

'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => $event_cat_slugs,

That and I wonder if there is a quicker way to get these for my variable. A foreach loop seems a bit much..

• rhand

• October 30, 2021 at 12:04 am

Do now have this

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$terms = get_field('events_category');
$term_slugs ='';
foreach ( $terms as $term ):
    $term_slugs .= esc_html( $term->slug ) . ',';
    endforeach;
echo $term_slugs;

which almost works for loading this is terms => array(terms):

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    // 'event_category' => $term_slugs
    'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => array($term_slugs),
    ],
);

but I need a comma after each term except for the last one

• rhand

• October 30, 2021 at 12:15 am

I think this is closer now:

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$terms = get_field('events_category');
$term_slugs ='';
foreach ( $terms as $term ):
    $term_slugs .= esc_html( $term->slug ) . ',';
    endforeach;
$term_slugs = substr($term_slugs, 0, -1); //Removes very last comma.
// echo $term_slugs;
// local,virtual,

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    // 'event_category' => $term_slugs
    'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => array($term_slugs),
    ],
);

but if I added term names I need to quote them as well still. So testing

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$terms = get_field('events_category');
$term_slugs ='';
foreach ( $terms as $term ):
    $term_slugs .= "'" . esc_html( $term->slug ) . "'" . ',';
    endforeach;
$term_slugs = substr($term_slugs, 0, -1); //Removes very last comma.
echo $term_slugs;
// 'local','virtual'
$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    // 'event_category' => $term_slugs
    'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        'terms'            => array($term_slugs),
    ],
);

Seems though when I use local as category which has only one post and select 4 as the number of posts I still see all four.

• rhand

• November 1, 2021 at 1:44 am

Saw something funny happening to the quotes so used decimal code for quotes:

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$terms = get_field('events_category');
// print_r($terms);
// $term_slugs = $terms()->slug;
$term_slugs ='';
foreach ( $terms as $term ):
    $term_slugs .= "＇" . esc_html( $term->slug ) . "＇" . ',';
    endforeach;
$term_slugs = substr($term_slugs, 0, -1); //Removes very last comma.
// print_r($term_slugs);
// local,virtual,

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'event',
    'posts_per_page' => $number_of_events,
    // 'event_category' => $term_slugs
    'tax_query' => [
        'taxonomy'         => 'event_category',
        'include_children' => false,
        'field'            => 'name',
        // 'terms'            => array_values($term_slugs),
    ],
);

still no filtering on event category..

• jarvis

• November 1, 2021 at 8:02 am

Does something like the below work:

$event_cat_ids = array( 37, 47 );

$args = array(
		'post_type' 		=> 'event',
		'post_status'		=> 'publish',
		'posts_per_page'	=> -1, // show all posts.
		'order'				=> 'DESC',
);
			
$args['tax_query'] = array(
	'relation' 		=> 'OR', 

	array(
		'taxonomy'	=> 'event_category',
		'field'		=> 'term_id',
		'terms'		=> $event_cat_ids
	),			
		
);

$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if( $query->have_posts() ) : 

	while( $query->have_posts() ): $query->the_post(); ?>
	<h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
	<?php endwhile;  wp_reset_postdata();

endif;

Replace the values in the array to some cat IDs just to test the code.

If that works, you then need to adjust to suit your needs i.e. use your field value.

• jarvis

• November 1, 2021 at 12:26 pm

Hi @rhand

If your ACF field Event Categories is a taxonomy and its set to return the Term Object (and you have Load and Save terms selected), replace:
$event_cat_ids = array( 37, 47 );
With:

$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
$event_cat_ids = wp_list_pluck( $event_categories, 'term_id' );

So now looks like:

<?php
$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
$event_cat_ids = wp_list_pluck( $event_categories, 'term_id' );

#$event_cat_ids = array( 1, 31 );

$args = array(
		'post_type' 		=> 'event',
		'post_status'		=> 'publish',
		'posts_per_page'	=> -1, // show all posts.
		'order'				=> 'DESC',
);
			
$args['tax_query'] = array(
	'relation' 		=> 'OR', 

	array(
		'taxonomy'	=> 'event_category',
		'field'		=> 'term_id',
		'terms'		=> $event_cat_ids
	),			
		
);

$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if( $query->have_posts() ) : 

	while( $query->have_posts() ): $query->the_post(); ?>
	<p><?php the_title(); ?></p>
	<?php endwhile;  wp_reset_postdata();

endif;
?>

I’ve tested this code and can confirm it works, returning the posts of the selected categories in your multi select

• rhand

• November 2, 2021 at 12:10 am

@jarvis Thanks for that. Did add the option to choose number of posts as well so adjusted the code and am now using:

/ Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
$event_cat_ids = wp_list_pluck( $event_categories, 'term_id' );

#$event_cat_ids = array( 1, 31 );

$args = array(
		'post_type' 		=> 'event',
		'post_status'		=> 'publish',
		'posts_per_page'	=> $number_of_events,
		'order'				=> 'DESC',
);
			
$args['tax_query'] = array(
	'relation' 		=> 'OR', 

	array(
		'taxonomy'	=> 'event_category',
		'field'		=> 'term_id',
		'terms'		=> $event_cat_ids
	),			
		
);

$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if( $query->have_posts() ) : 

	while( $query->have_posts() ): $query->the_post(); ?>
	<?php the_title(); ?>

	<?php endwhile;  wp_reset_postdata();

endif;
?>

I see two times the one and only post for event category local.

This when I choose 1 event and category local. So somehow things repeat themselves. Two, I see a warning

Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in /Users/jasper/code/site/wp-includes/class-wp-list-util.php on line 164

and when I print print_r($event_cat_ids); I see

Array ( [0] => 180 )
Event Two Local

Array ( [0] => 180 )
Event Two Local

so closer, but not quite.

• rhand

• November 2, 2021 at 12:42 am

$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
var_dump($event_categories);

gives us

array(2) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#4557 (11) { [“term_id”]=> int(179) [“name”]=> string(7) “Virtual” [“slug”]=> string(7) “virtual” [“term_group”]=> int(0) [“term_taxonomy_id”]=> int(179) [“taxonomy”]=> string(14) “event_category” [“description”]=> string(0) “” [“parent”]=> int(0) [“count”]=> int(3) [“filter”]=> string(3) “raw” [“meta”]=> array(0) { } } [1]=> object(WP_Term)#4445 (11) { [“term_id”]=> int(180) [“name”]=> string(5) “Local” [“slug”]=> string(5) “local” [“term_group”]=> int(0) [“term_taxonomy_id”]=> int(180) [“taxonomy”]=> string(14) “event_category” [“description”]=> string(0) “” [“parent”]=> int(0) [“count”]=> int(1) [“filter”]=> string(3) “raw” [“meta”]=> array(0) { } } }

and

array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#4581 (11) { [“term_id”]=> int(180) [“name”]=> string(5) “Local” [“slug”]=> string(5) “local” [“term_group”]=> int(0) [“term_taxonomy_id”]=> int(180) [“taxonomy”]=> string(14) “event_category” [“description”]=> string(0) “” [“parent”]=> int(0) [“count”]=> int(1) [“filter”]=> string(3) “raw” [“meta”]=> array(0) { } } }

with two categories chosen and three for number of events.

So as these are two arrays with arrays we get

NULL
Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in /Users/jasper/code/site/wp-includes/class-wp-list-util.php on line 164

• rhand

• November 2, 2021 at 1:49 am

Hmm

// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
$event_cat_ids = wp_list_pluck( $event_categories, 'term_id' );

#$event_cat_ids = array( 1, 31 );

$args = array(
		'post_type' 		=> 'event',
		'post_status'		=> 'publish',
		'posts_per_page'	=> $number_of_events,
		'order'				=> 'DESC',
);
			
$args['tax_query'] = array(
	'relation' 		=> 'OR', 

	array(
		'taxonomy'	=> 'event_category',
		'field'		=> 'term_id',
		'terms'		=> $event_cat_ids
	),			
		
);

$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if( $query->have_posts() ) : 

	while( $query->have_posts() ): $query->the_post(); ?>
	<?php the_title(); ?>

	<?php endwhile;  wp_reset_postdata();

endif;
?>

does work now. Virtual 3 shows me `Event 4 Virtual Event 3 Virtual Event One Virtual
` Only display of block on page in editor is hidden all the time on save. Perhaps related to

Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'addEventListener') at toggle.js?ver=5.8.1:7

• rhand

• November 2, 2021 at 1:51 am

Hmm

<?php
// Variables
$number_of_events = get_field( 'number_of_events' );
// print_r($number_of_events);
$event_categories = get_field('event_categories');
$event_cat_ids = wp_list_pluck( $event_categories, 'term_id' );

#$event_cat_ids = array( 1, 31 );

$args = array(
		'post_type' 		=> 'event',
		'post_status'		=> 'publish',
		'posts_per_page'	=> $number_of_events,
		'order'				=> 'DESC',
);
			
$args['tax_query'] = array(
	'relation' 		=> 'OR', 

	array(
		'taxonomy'	=> 'event_category',
		'field'		=> 'term_id',
		'terms'		=> $event_cat_ids
	),			
		
);

$query = new WP_Query( $args );
if( $query->have_posts() ) : 

	while( $query->have_posts() ): $query->the_post(); ?>
	<?php the_title(); ?>

	<?php endwhile;  wp_reset_postdata();

endif;
?>?>

does work now. Virtual 3 shows me

Event 4 Virtual Event 3 Virtual Event One Virtual

Only display of block on page in editor is hidden all the time on save. Perhaps related to

Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'addEventListener') at toggle.js?ver=5.8.1:7

Not sure yet.

• jarvis

• November 2, 2021 at 5:10 am

@rhand

Those warnings are for a foreach loop, my code didn’t include a foreach loop, so something else is causing the issue.

Can you switch to the default twenty-twentyone theme and add the code (probably index.php)

See if that works?

The code I supplied was tried and tested. So something else is causing your issue, especially a toggle.js issue as again, this isn’t linked to my code

• rhand

• November 4, 2021 at 12:18 am

I replaced the local database with the latest one to be sure I had no leftover blocks experimenting with all. Still I see

TypeError: null is not an object (evaluating 'e.addEventListener')
Global Code — toggle.js:7
Selected Element
<div class="block-editor-block-list__layout is-root-container" data-is-drop-zone="true" data-select2-id="3">…</div>

so perhaps it is caused by another block. Annoying though as it kills display of my new block in the editor. Seems to be related to a WordPress default block as the class is called block-editor-block-list__layout. Will try to see what it is.

Checking console in Firefox Developer I now see

Uncaught TypeError: can't access property "addEventListener", e is null
    <anonymous> https://site.test/wp-content/themes/theme/blocks/pricing-toggle/toggle.js?ver=5.8.1:7

So will see if that block error is causing my block not to display well in the editor.

• rhand

• November 4, 2021 at 2:27 am

Fixed the toggle.js issue with some if(){{} checks for a value or an object. Also can see the block now that I added some html and styling.

@hube2 @jarvis Thanks for all the help!