User (extended) pod type – HTML

Thanks for the response, @keraweb

Allow me to clarify:

I use Pods to extend my Users so I can add additional fields for the purpose of displaying that data in a staff directory on the front end of my website through a custom shortcode I wrote. One of the Fields is called staff_program and is a Relationship field related to a Simple (custom defined list). The Custom Defined Options contains the program/department names at my office. The Selection Type is Multiple Select and the Format is Checkboxes. If one of the Custom Defined Options has the & character (not the HTML entity) and I check that Option when creating a New User or editing an Existing User, it does not commit on Save. However, that has not always been the case.

For example:

I am adding a new User, Jack Black. Jack works in Administration & Finance so I check that Option in the staff_program field and Save.

I use a custom shortcode to output all users on the front-end of the website, filtered by the staff_program (see below):

[TCOG_Program_Staff program="Administration & Finance" columns="1"]

This shortcode should list all Users with the Administration & Finance checkbox selected from the staff_program field in a single column. Up until recently, it worked as expected, so user Jack Black would have displayed.

However, the Meta does not commit on save, and if I go back to edit user Jack Black it’s like I never checked the box. If I selected a different option that doesn’t contain the ampersand and then saved, it works.

In troubleshooting, I changed the option from Administration & Finance to Administration & amp; Finance (without the space in the HTML entity for ampersand), saved those changes and the meta was retained. But on the front end of the website in the directory, Jack Black still isn’t displayed with other existing users in the directory who I had previously assigned to the Administration & Finance option.

So I updated my custom shortcode to be:

[TCOG_Program_Staff program="Administration & amp; Finance" columns="1"]

and now ‘Jack Black’ appears in the directory on the front end but the others don’t. I’ve gone back in, re-added the Administration & amp; Finance option to the existing users and everyone appears as designed in the output on the front end.

===

So I’m assuming there was an update to the plugin’s code at some point fairly recently which does not like non-HTML ampersands in the options of a Custom Defined List relationship field.

Happy to try to re-explain again, lol.

// Displaying TCOG General Staff

function display_tcog_general_staff($atts) {
	$args = array(
		'role' => 'general_staff',
		'meta_key' => 'last_name',
		'orderby' => 'meta_value',
		'order' => 'ASC',
);
	$users = get_users($args);
	$current_col = 0;
	$colnums = 3; // Number of Columns (we want four per row)
	$v = '<div class="mfn_heading heading_lines align_center"><h4 class="title" style="color:#3a80f1;"><span class="line line_l" style="background:#000;"></span>Program Staff<span class="line line_r" style="background:#000;"></span></h4></div>';
	foreach ($users as $user) {
		// Let's make variables
    	$staff_name = esc_attr($user->user_firstname) . ' ' . esc_attr($user->user_lastname);
    	$staff_id = esc_attr($user->ID);
    	$staff_nickname = esc_attr($user->user_login);
    	$staff_email = esc_attr($user->user_email);
    	$staff_phone = esc_attr($user->staff_phone);
    	$staff_title = esc_attr($user->staff_title);
    	$staff_program = esc_attr($user->staff_program);
    	$staff_department = esc_attr($user->staff_department);
		$staff_role = esc_attr(array_shift($user->roles));
	//  $staff_bio = esc_attr($user->user_description); //User biography 
	if('' != pods_image($user->staff_picture, 'thumbnail')){
		$staff_avatar = pods_image_url($user->staff_picture, array(400,400), $default, true);}
	else {
		$staff_avatar = '[URL TO DEFAULT AVATAR REMOVED]';};
		$staff_department = esc_attr($user->staff_department);

		// Let's start displaying staff
			if($current_col == 0) {
					$v .= '<div class="wrap mcb-wrap one valign-top clearfix">';
			}
			$v .= do_shortcode('<div class="column mcb-column one-fourth">[our_team image="' . $staff_avatar . '" title="' . $staff_name . '" subtitle="' . $staff_title . '" email="' . $staff_email . '" phone="' . $staff_phone . '" style="circle"][/our_team]</div>');
			if ($current_col == $colnums) {
				$current_col = 0;
				$v .='</div><div class="column mcb-column one column_divider "><hr class="no_line"></div>';
			}
			else {
				$current_col += 1;
			}
		}
$v .='</div>';		
return $v;
}
add_shortcode('TCOG_General_Staff','display_tcog_general_staff');

Here’s the function for the shortcode.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Sean.

@keraweb sorry for the delayed response as I have been out of office over the last week.

Oops! I pasted the wrong function. The below code includes the program argument and $atts variable.

// Displaying TCOG Program Staff in # columns based on program parameter [TCOG_Program_Staff program="Program Name" columns="#"]

function display_tcog_program_staff($atts) {
	extract( shortcode_atts( array('program'=>'program','columns'=>'columns'), $atts) );
	// $program = esc_attr($program);
	$column_count = esc_attr($columns);
	$col_class = $column_count;
	switch ($col_class) {
		default:
			$col_class = 'one-third';
		case '1':
			$col_class = 'one';
			break;
		case '2':
			$col_class = 'one-second';
			break;
		case '3':
			$col_class = 'one-third';
			break;
		case '4':
			$col_class = 'one-fourth';
			break;
		case '5':
			$col_class = 'one-fifth';
			break;
		case '6':
			$col_class = 'one-sixth';
			break;
	}
	$args = array(
		'role__not_in' => array( 'senior_leadership', 'program_manager', 'executive_director' ),
		'meta_key' => 'staff_program',
		'meta_value' => $program,
		'meta_query' => array( 'lastname' => array('key' => 'last_name') ),
		'orderby' => 'lastname',
		'order' => 'ASC',
);
	$users = get_users($args);
	$current_col = 0;
	$colnums = $column_count - 1; // Number of Columns
	// $column_count += 1;
	$v = '<div class="mfn_heading heading_lines align_center"><h4 class="title" style="color:#3a80f1;"><span class="line line_l" style="background:#000;"></span>Program Staff<span class="line line_r" style="background:#000;"></span></h4></div>';
	foreach ($users as $user) {
		// Let's make variables
    	$staff_name = esc_attr($user->user_firstname) . ' ' . esc_attr($user->user_lastname);
    	$staff_id = esc_attr($user->ID);
    	$staff_nickname = esc_attr($user->user_login);
    	$staff_email = esc_attr($user->user_email);
    	$staff_phone = esc_attr($user->staff_phone);
    	$staff_title = esc_attr($user->staff_title);
    	$staff_program = esc_attr($user->staff_program);
    	$staff_department = esc_attr($user->staff_department);
		$staff_role = esc_attr(array_shift($user->roles));
	    $staff_bio = esc_attr($user->user_description); //User biography 
	if('' != pods_image($user->staff_picture, 'thumbnail')){
		$staff_avatar = pods_image_url($user->staff_picture, array(400,400), $default, true);}
	else {
		$staff_avatar = '[URL TO DEFAULT AVATAR REMOVED]';};
		$staff_department = esc_attr($user->staff_department);

		// Let's start displaying staff
			if($current_col == 0) {
					$v .= '';
			}
			$v .= do_shortcode('<div class="column mcb-column ' . $col_class . '">[our_team image="' . $staff_avatar . '" title="' . $staff_name . '" subtitle="' . $staff_title . '" email="' . $staff_email . '" phone="' . $staff_phone . '" style="circle"]<p>' . $staff_bio . '</p>[/our_team]</div>');
			if ($current_col == $colnums) {
				$current_col = 0;
				$v .='<div class="column mcb-column one column_divider"><hr class="no_line"></div>';
			}
			else {
				$current_col += 1;
			}
		}
return $v;
}
add_shortcode('TCOG_Program_Staff','display_tcog_program_staff');

Yes, since I began using this function with Pods as a shortcode, I have used the special character & in the meta value for staff_program field as well as in the shortcode to display program staff. I’ve never converted it. As mentioned, now if the ampersand character is an option in the choice field the value does not save when I update a user.

It now only works if I use the encoded HTML entity & on both the user entry side and the display side on the front end. (If you suggest I should always be using the encoded entity rather than the special char please let me know, PHP is not my native language, lol).

For the $args, I have several custom user roles defined. I use roles to differentiate between our different levels of management. In the function above, I am looking for get_users() who don’t have a management role and who match a program specified in the shortcode. IE: [TCOG_Program_Staff program="Administration & Finance" columns="1"] will find all users with Administration & Finance meta_value in the staff_program field/meta_key. The users will be displayed in 1 column ordered by last_name.