Update_field Does not Affect WP_Query Until Post is Saved in Backend

• pierre2

• August 11, 2020 at 2:49 am

Hello,

I have two content blocks (A and B) on my front page which I want to fill with post teasers. Each block has 6 positions, A1-A6 and B1-B6.

I created custom select field containing options with the values A1-B6 and an option with „X0 – not on front page“ which is the standard value.

Then I created two WP_Queries, one for each Block:

$args_a = array(
    'numberposts' => 6,
    'post_type' => 'post',
    'meta_key' => 'position',
    'meta_value' => '^A', 
    'meta_compare' => 'REGEXP',
    'order_by' => 'meta_key',
    'order' => 'ASC'
);

$args_b = array(
    'numberposts' => 6,
    'post_type' => 'post',
    'meta_key' => 'position',
    'meta_value' => '^B',
    'meta_compare' => 'REGEXP',
    'order_by' => 'meta_key',
    'order' => 'ASC'
);

And put them in two different loops, like it’s shown in the documentation. So far, everything works fine, when I change the position from A to B, the teaser appears in the other box.

Then I decided to try if the position changes could be automated somehow. I created another custom select field with the same options and named it „position_new“ and one datetime field named it „switchtime“. The switchtime is in the future and when it is reached, the field position should be updated with the value from position_new and after that the values of the fields switchtime and position_new have to be deleted.

First I created another WP_Query which gets all posts that are scheduled:

// Get Scheduled Posts
$scheduled = array(
    'numberposts' => -1,
    'post_type' => 'post',
    'order' => 'ASC',
    'order_by' => 'meta_value',
    'meta_key' => 'switchtime',
    'meta_type' => 'DATETIME'
);

Here is the first problem, there are all posts inside the loop, including the posts, where the field switchtime is empty. Deleting meta_key and meta_type from the args does not have an effect.

And then I wrote inside the loop (the first part of the if statement is there to get rid of empty values):

        if ( ( get_field("switchtime") != "" ) && ( current_time('Y-m-d H:i:s') > get_field("switchtime") ) ) {
            $postid = get_the_ID();
            $newpos = get_field("position_new");
            update_field('position', $newpos, $postid);
            delete_field('switchtime');
            delete_field('position_new');
           // wp_insert_post( array('ID' => $postid) );
        }

At first sight, it seems to work, the field position is updated and the other two fields are deleted on switchtime, but my teaser which I moved from A to B still appears in content block A. I displayed the field value in the frontend and it clearly says B, but the WP_Query from A fetches it anyway. I have to edit the post in the backend simply by saving it without changing anything and after that the teaser appears in B.

Therefore I wondered if that last line in the if statement which should save the post would solve the problem, but no.

Do you know what to do?

Cheers,
Pierre

• pierre2

• August 11, 2020 at 4:10 am

Sorry, I have picked the wrong category, please change it to frontend or what matches best.

And my third WP_Query initially was like this, but fetched empty values anyway:

$scheduled = array(
    'numberposts' => -1,
    'post_type' => 'post',
    'order' => 'ASC',
    'order_by' => 'meta_value',
    'meta_key' => 'switchtime',
    'meta_value' => '',
    'meta_compare' => '!=',
    'meta_type' => 'DATETIME'
);