updated_post_meta & date fields

I don’t see why a timestamp would be handled differently either!

I know the function is being called because ‘field-meta-updated’ values are created when other non-date fields are changed. Following your suggestion, I changed my snippet to include a single line field as well (custom-field-2) and added various statements using error_log(). I then changed both fields on the frontend, both fields updated correctly in the database I’ve noted the results within the code so it’s hopefully clearer what happened.

add_action('updated_post_meta','func_meta_changed', 10, 4);
function func_meta_changed($meta_id, $post_id, $meta_key, $meta_value) {

    $the_keys = array ($meta_key);
    
    foreach ( $the_keys as $each ) {
        error_log('meta changed: ' . $each, 1, '[email protected]');
        //OUTCOME: report created for custom-field-2 (and an expected hidden meta key I have no control over)
        //COMMENT: report should have been created for custom-field-1 too
    }
    
    $type = get_post_type( $post_id );
    if ( empty( $type) ) {
        error_log("post type not available", 1, "[email protected]");
        //OUTCOME: no report generated
    }
        
    if ( $type  == 'my-custom-post' ) {
            
        if ('custom-field-1' != $meta_key) {
            add_post_meta($post_id, 'field-meta-updated', 'Field 1');
            error_log("custom-field-1 not meta_key", 1, "[email protected]");
            //OUTCOME: report generated
        }

        if ('custom-field-1' == $meta_key) {
            add_post_meta($post_id, 'field-meta-updated', 'Field 1');
            error_log("custom-field-1 change recorded", 1, "[email protected]");
            //OUTCOME: no report generated
        }

        if ('custom-field-2' != $meta_key) {
            add_post_meta($post_id, 'field-meta-updated', 'Field 2');
            error_log("custom-field-2 not meta_key", 1, "[email protected]");
            //OUTCOME: report generated
            //COMMENT: clearly not right!
        }

        if ('custom-field-2' == $meta_key) {
            add_post_meta($post_id, 'field-meta-updated', 'Field 2');
            error_log("custom-field-2 change recorded", 1, "[email protected]");
            //OUTCOME: report generated
        }
    }
}

I think my logic for the error_log() statements is correct but don’t understand why I’m getting confirmation that custom-field-1 (the date field) was changed AND that it wasn’t yet the data for custom-field-2 is correct. Can you see anything that might be skewing the error reports?

I’d appreciate any further insight or suggestions you might have to get to the bottom of this.

Hello again – thanks for your response.

So this seems to indicate that the action does not fire at all when a timestamp is saved for key ‘custom-field-1’. Is this your conclusion as well?

I don’t know/can’t tell if the function isn’t firing for ‘custom-field-1’; it could be firing but simply not “picking up” the change in value??

But it does fire for ‘custom-field-2’

Yes, when just ‘custom-field-2’ is updated or when it’s updated at the same time as ‘custom-field-1’.

And saving some non-timestamp value for ‘custom-field-1’ does cause the action to fire. Is that what is happening?

Although where the database is concerned, this is simply a value of some sort, I’m not able to test this scenario because the field was set up as a ‘date type’ and is validated on form submission accordingly and in any event the data entry method for the field on the frontend is a datepicker. I can’t change the validation because I’m using a plugin to create custom fields and frontend submission forms and that performs validation functions in addition to any I might choose to include via the field and form settings.

Where is the ‘custom-field-1’ value being entered? The custom fields meta box on post edit screen? Do you get the same result if you hooked ‘update_post_meta’

Both fields are updated via a form on the frontend (not in wp-admin). The ‘update_post_meta’ hook works OK.

I’ve taken on board everything else you’ve said and actually realised that when you referred to logging values you meant the post values and not the ‘meta-changed’ values (my blond moment). So, I re-wrote my snippet to email me a list of updated keys and their values instead of using error_log(), I then changed both custom fields on the frontend and the email contained data for the hidden field I mentioned and the single line but nothing for the date field!

It’s really very strange. I’ve double-checked my field names and the form and I’ve inspected the metadata for the post in the database itself in case of oddities or unexpected content but there isn’t any. The test site I’m experiencing this on is a multi site install so I also tried it on a single site install on a different domain and the behaviour is the same.

Is there any chance at all that you could test the scenario yourself please? If you can’t replicate the issue then I think I need to look at contacting the plugin developers (unless you have any other ideas?)

Many thanks

Hi

Re the update_post_meta hook, it works in that the ‘field-meta-updated’ field is updated correctly in the database.

It’s a paid plugin so code not freely available unfortunately. Your theory is an interesting one so I’ve asked the question in the developer’s support forum. I’ll let you know what they say.