Title: Using do_shortcode()
Last modified: May 15, 2020

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# Using do_shortcode()

 *  [jakeransom1504](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jakeransom1504/)
 * (@jakeransom1504)
 * [6 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/using-do_shortcode-2/)
 * Hello,
    Apologies if this is in the wrong forum section.
 * I am trying to automatically refresh a function for a number calculation, I’ve
   added a shortcode to this function for ease of adding to a page. I want this 
   function to update after X amount of seconds rather than reloading entire page.
 * The current way I’m trying this is using .load(‘/file.php’) wrapped in a set 
   interval function. This then loads a php file containing echo do_shortcode(‘[
   shortcodename]’);
    The refresh function works great when loading in the .php 
   file containing basic text as a test, however adding the do_shortcode function
   flags using fatal error: undefined function do_shortcode.
 * What am I missing to make sure do_shortcode function is recognised ?
 * Thanks in advance! Still a novice when it comes to wordpress

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  [Matt Robinson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattyrob/)
 * (@mattyrob)
 * [6 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/using-do_shortcode-2/#post-12839390)
 * [@jakeransom1504](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jakeransom1504/)
 * If I’m understanding this correctly you are using a jQuery `.load()` call to 
   reference a PHP file but in that file you want to run `do_shortcode()`.
 * It seems quite likely that your ‘file.php’ is operating outside of WordPress 
   so you need to find a way in include all of the WordPress functions you require.
 * `do_shortcode()` is located in wp-includes/shortcodes.php so in your file.php
   file you may need something like this before your first call to `do_shortcode()`:
 *     ```
       if ( ! function_exists( 'do_shortcode' ) ) {
       	require 'wp-includes/shortcodes.php';
       }
       ```
   
 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [6 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/using-do_shortcode-2/#post-12840667)
 * Requiring shortcodes.php might work in this instance, but generally speaking 
   it’s poor practice. Many WP files are dependent upon many others and resolving
   dependencies is often difficult. IMO you really ought to load the entire WP environment
   if you want to use WP resources at all. There are really only a few ways to properly
   do this. Either make a custom page template out of your file, add a WP page that
   uses it, and request that page; or send requests through admin-ajax.php or admin-
   post.php.
 * admin-ajax.php of course requires JS Ajax techniques on the requesting page. 
   admin-post.php is similar in that you add an action to have your PHP execute,
   but no JS is required. Despite its name, GET request will also work. I think 
   admin-post.php is really useful for executing custom code, yet it’s little documented.
   There’s really not that much to it. Reading the file’s source might be enough
   of an explanation.
 * It may seem like overkill in some cases to load all of WP just to use a particular
   function. That may well be. Consider if your code really needs WP resources. 
   If you can get by without WP resources without too much effort then you should
   do so. Otherwise load the whole thing, it’s not as an onerous load on servers
   as it might seem.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The topic ‘Using do_shortcode()’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [do_shortcode](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/do_shortcode/)
 * [jquery](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/jquery/)

 * In: [Developing with WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/wp-advanced/)
 * 2 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * Last activity: [6 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/using-do_shortcode-2/#post-12840667)
 * Status: not resolved

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