How to customize this automatic slug shortener with an overrwrite function

Question

I am using a slick little piece of code which I have included within my functions file which automatically takes any information entered into the title of a new post and create a slug with specific stop words automatically removed (code included below).

The problem is that sometimes after this slug is automatically created I wanted to click on the slug (under the title) and modify it directly.

My question to the community is... what would I need to change in the code below so that when I click on the slug (under the title) and modify it that whatever I enter there is used without the function below preventing that from happening. Here is the code:

// AUTOMATICALLY SANITIZE PAGE/POST SEO SLUG FROM SHORT WORDS
// SOURCE: http://www.vretoolbar.com/news/seo-slugs-wordpress-plugin
   add_filter('name_save_pre', 'seo_slugs', 0);
   function seo_slugs($slug) {
    // We don't want to change an existing slug
 if ($slug) return $slug;
 global $wpdb;
 $seo_slug = strtolower(stripslashes($_POST['post_title']));
 $seo_slug = preg_replace('/&.+?;/', '', $seo_slug); // kill HTML entities
    // kill anything that is not a letter, digit, space or apostrophe
 $seo_slug = preg_replace ("/[^a-zA-Z0-9 \']/", "", $seo_slug);
    // Turn it to an array and strip common words by comparing against c.w. array
 $seo_slug_array = array_diff (split(" ", $seo_slug), seo_slugs_stop_words());
    // Turn the sanitized array into a string
 $seo_slug = join("-", $seo_slug_array);
 return $seo_slug;
   }
   function seo_slugs_stop_words () {
   return array ("a", "able", "about", "above", "abroad", "according", "accordingly", "across", "actually", "adj", "after", "afterwards", "again", "against", "ago", "ahead", "ain't", "all", "allow", "allows", "almost", "alone", "along", "alongside", "already", "also", "although", "always", "am", "amid", "amidst", "among", "amongst", "an", "and", "another", "any", "anybody", "anyhow", "anyone", "anything", "anyway", "anyways", "anywhere", "apart", "appear", "appreciate", "appropriate", "are", "aren't", "around", "as", "a's", "aside", "ask", "asking", "associated", "at", "available", "away", "awfully", "b", "back", "backward", "backwards", "be", "became", "because", "become", "becomes", "becoming", "been", "before", "beforehand", "begin", "behind", "being", "believe", "below", "beside", "besides", "best", "better", "between", "beyond", "both", "brief", "but", "by", "c", "came", "can", "cannot", "cant", "can't", "caption", "cause", "causes", "certain", "certainly", "changes", "clearly", "c'mon", "co", "co.", "com", "come", "comes", "concerning", "consequently", "consider", "considering", "contain", "containing", "contains", "corresponding", "could", "couldn't", "course", "c's", "currently", "d", "dare", "daren't", "definitely", "described", "despite", "did", "didn't", "different", "directly", "do", "does", "doesn't", "doing", "done", "don't", "down", "downwards", "during", "e", "each", "edu", "eg", "eight", "eighty", "either", "else", "elsewhere", "end", "ending", "enough", "entirely", "especially", "et", "etc", "even", "ever", "evermore", "every", "everybody", "everyone", "everything", "everywhere", "ex", "exactly", "example", "except", "f", "fairly", "far", "farther", "few", "fewer", "fifth", "first", "five", "followed", "following", "follows", "for", "forever", "former", "formerly", "forth", "forward", "found", "four", "from", "further", "furthermore", "g", "get", "gets", "getting", "given", "gives", "go", "goes", "going", "gone", "got", "gotten", "greetings", "h", "had", "hadn't", "half", "happens", "hardly", "has", "hasn't", "have", "haven't", "having", "he", "he'd", "he'll", "hello", "help", "hence", "her", "here", "hereafter", "hereby", "herein", "here's", "hereupon", "hers", "herself", "he's", "hi", "him", "himself", "his", "hither", "hopefully", "how", "howbeit", "however", "hundred", "i", "i'd", "ie", "if", "ignored", "i'll", "i'm", "immediate", "in", "inasmuch", "inc", "inc.", "indeed", "indicate", "indicated", "indicates", "inner", "inside", "insofar", "instead", "into", "inward", "is", "isn't", "it", "it'd", "it'll", "its", "it's", "itself", "i've", "j", "just", "k", "keep", "keeps", "kept", "know", "known", "knows", "l", "last", "lately", "later", "latter", "latterly", "least", "less", "lest", "let", "let's", "like", "liked", "likely", "likewise", "little", "look", "looking", "looks", "low", "lower", "ltd", "m", "made", "mainly", "make", "makes", "many", "may", "maybe", "mayn't", "me", "mean", "meantime", "meanwhile", "merely", "might", "mightn't", "mine", "minus", "miss", "more", "moreover", "most", "mostly", "mr", "mrs", "much", "must", "mustn't", "my", "myself", "n", "name", "namely", "nd", "near", "nearly", "necessary", "need", "needn't", "needs", "neither", "never", "neverf", "neverless", "nevertheless", "new", "next", "nine", "ninety", "no", "nobody", "non", "none", "nonetheless", "noone", "no-one", "nor", "normally", "not", "nothing", "notwithstanding", "novel", "now", "nowhere", "o", "obviously", "of", "off", "often", "oh", "ok", "okay", "old", "on", "once", "one", "ones", "one's", "only", "onto", "opposite", "or", "other", "others", "otherwise", "ought", "oughtn't", "our", "ours", "ourselves", "out", "outside", "over", "overall", "own", "p", "particular", "particularly", "past", "per", "perhaps", "placed", "please", "plus", "possible", "presumably", "probably", "provided", "provides", "q", "que", "quite", "qv", "r", "rather", "rd", "re", "really", "reasonably", "recent", "recently", "regarding", "regardless", "regards", "relatively", "respectively", "right", "round", "s", "said", "same", "saw", "say", "saying", "says", "second", "secondly", "see", "seeing", "seem", "seemed", "seeming", "seems", "seen", "self", "selves", "sensible", "sent", "serious", "seriously", "seven", "several", "shall", "shan't", "she", "she'd", "she'll", "she's", "should", "shouldn't", "since", "six", "so", "some", "somebody", "someday", "somehow", "someone", "something", "sometime", "sometimes", "somewhat", "somewhere", "soon", "sorry", "specified", "specify", "specifying", "still", "sub", "such", "sup", "sure", "t", "take", "taken", "taking", "tell", "tends", "th", "than", "thank", "thanks", "thanx", "that", "that'll", "thats", "that's", "that've", "the", "their", "theirs", "them", "themselves", "then", "thence", "there", "thereafter", "thereby", "there'd", "therefore", "therein", "there'll", "there're", "theres", "there's", "thereupon", "there've", "these", "they", "they'd", "they'll", "they're", "they've", "thing", "things", "think", "third", "thirty", "this", "thorough", "thoroughly", "those", "though", "three", "through", "throughout", "thru", "thus", "till", "to", "together", "too", "took", "toward", "towards", "tried", "tries", "truly", "try", "trying", "t's", "twice", "two", "u", "un", "under", "underneath", "undoing", "unfortunately", "unless", "unlike", "unlikely", "until", "unto", "up", "upon", "upwards", "us", "use", "used", "useful", "uses", "using", "usually", "v", "value", "various", "versus", "very", "via", "viz", "vs", "w", "want", "wants", "was", "wasn't", "way", "we", "we'd", "welcome", "well", "we'll", "went", "were", "we're", "weren't", "we've", "what", "whatever", "what'll", "what's", "what've", "when", "whence", "whenever", "where", "whereafter", "whereas", "whereby", "wherein", "where's", "whereupon", "wherever", "whether", "which", "whichever", "while", "whilst", "whither", "who", "who'd", "whoever", "whole", "who'll", "whom", "whomever", "who's", "whose", "why", "will", "willing", "wish", "with", "within", "without", "wonder", "won't", "would", "wouldn't", "x", "y", "yes", "yet", "you", "you'd", "you'll", "your", "you're", "yours", "yourself", "yourselves", "you've", "z", "zero");
   }

Answer 1

This is just a first idea: Check if it is the AJAX request.

if ( defined( 'DOING_AJAX' ) && DOING_AJAX ) 
    return $slug;

or:

if (
       isset( $_POST['action'] ) 
       && 'sample-permalink' === $_POST['action']
   ) return $slug;

depending on the level of detail you need.

If you put this in the beginning of the function (maybe below the first test if ($slug) return $slug; then the function should just quit.

If you still want to filter that input as well, for the AJAX request, you need to retrieve it from $_POST['new_title'] instead of $_POST['post_title']. That's the reason why it deletes your input via AJAX editing.

Answer 2

I ended up using the following code within my functions.php file to get the desired functionality:

// AUTOMATICALLY SANITIZE PAGE/POST SEO SLUG FROM SHORT WORDS
// SOURCE: http://www.vretoolbar.com/news/seo-slugs-wordpress-plugin
   add_filter('name_save_pre', 'seo_slugs', 0);
   function seo_slugs($slug) {
    // We don't want to change an existing slug
    if ($slug) return $slug;
    global $wpdb;
    $seo_slug = strtolower(stripslashes($_POST['post_title']));
    $seo_slug = preg_replace('/&.+?;/', '', $seo_slug); // kill HTML entities
    // kill anything that is not a letter, digit, space or apostrophe
    $seo_slug = preg_replace ("/[^a-zA-Z0-9 \']/", "", $seo_slug);
    // Turn it to an array and strip common words by comparing against c.w. array
    $seo_slug_array = array_diff (split(" ", $seo_slug), seo_slugs_stop_words());
    // Turn the sanitized array into a string
    $seo_slug = join("-", $seo_slug_array);
    return $seo_slug;
   }
   function seo_slugs_stop_words () {
   return array ("a", "able", "about", "above", "abroad", "according", "accordingly", "across", "actually", "adj", "after", "afterwards", "again", "against", "ago", "ahead", "ain't", "all", "allow", "allows", "almost", "alone", "along", "alongside", "already", "also", "although", "always", "am", "amid", "amidst", "among", "amongst", "an", "and", "another", "any", "anybody", "anyhow", "anyone", "anything", "anyway", "anyways", "anywhere", "apart", "appear", "appreciate", "appropriate", "are", "aren't", "around", "as", "a's", "aside", "ask", "asking", "associated", "at", "available", "away", "awfully", "b", "back", "backward", "backwards", "be", "became", "because", "become", "becomes", "becoming", "been", "before", "beforehand", "begin", "behind", "being", "believe", "below", "beside", "besides", "best", "better", "between", "beyond", "both", "brief", "but", "by", "c", "came", "can", "cannot", "cant", "can't", "caption", "cause", "causes", "certain", "certainly", "changes", "clearly", "c'mon", "co", "co.", "com", "come", "comes", "concerning", "consequently", "consider", "considering", "contain", "containing", "contains", "corresponding", "could", "couldn't", "course", "c's", "currently", "d", "dare", "daren't", "definitely", "described", "despite", "did", "didn't", "different", "directly", "do", "does", "doesn't", "doing", "done", "don't", "down", "downwards", "during", "e", "each", "edu", "eg", "eight", "eighty", "either", "else", "elsewhere", "end", "ending", "enough", "entirely", "especially", "et", "etc", "even", "ever", "evermore", "every", "everybody", "everyone", "everything", "everywhere", "ex", "exactly", "example", "except", "f", "fairly", "far", "farther", "few", "fewer", "fifth", "first", "five", "followed", "following", "follows", "for", "forever", "former", "formerly", "forth", "forward", "found", "four", "from", "further", "furthermore", "g", "get", "gets", "getting", "given", "gives", "go", "goes", "going", "gone", "got", "gotten", "greetings", "h", "had", "hadn't", "half", "happens", "hardly", "has", "hasn't", "have", "haven't", "having", "he", "he'd", "he'll", "hello", "help", "hence", "her", "here", "hereafter", "hereby", "herein", "here's", "hereupon", "hers", "herself", "he's", "hi", "him", "himself", "his", "hither", "hopefully", "how", "howbeit", "however", "hundred", "i", "i'd", "ie", "if", "ignored", "i'll", "i'm", "immediate", "in", "inasmuch", "inc", "inc.", "indeed", "indicate", "indicated", "indicates", "inner", "inside", "insofar", "instead", "into", "inward", "is", "isn't", "it", "it'd", "it'll", "its", "it's", "itself", "i've", "j", "just", "k", "keep", "keeps", "kept", "know", "known", "knows", "l", "last", "lately", "later", "latter", "latterly", "least", "less", "lest", "let", "let's", "like", "liked", "likely", "likewise", "little", "look", "looking", "looks", "low", "lower", "ltd", "m", "made", "mainly", "make", "makes", "many", "may", "maybe", "mayn't", "me", "mean", "meantime", "meanwhile", "merely", "might", "mightn't", "mine", "minus", "miss", "more", "moreover", "most", "mostly", "mr", "mrs", "much", "must", "mustn't", "my", "myself", "n", "name", "namely", "nd", "near", "nearly", "necessary", "need", "needn't", "needs", "neither", "never", "neverf", "neverless", "nevertheless", "new", "next", "nine", "ninety", "no", "nobody", "non", "none", "nonetheless", "noone", "no-one", "nor", "normally", "not", "nothing", "notwithstanding", "novel", "now", "nowhere", "o", "obviously", "of", "off", "often", "oh", "ok", "okay", "old", "on", "once", "one", "ones", "one's", "only", "onto", "opposite", "or", "other", "others", "otherwise", "ought", "oughtn't", "our", "ours", "ourselves", "out", "outside", "over", "overall", "own", "p", "particular", "particularly", "past", "per", "perhaps", "placed", "please", "plus", "possible", "presumably", "probably", "provided", "provides", "q", "que", "quite", "qv", "r", "rather", "rd", "re", "really", "reasonably", "recent", "recently", "regarding", "regardless", "regards", "relatively", "respectively", "right", "round", "s", "said", "same", "saw", "say", "saying", "says", "second", "secondly", "see", "seeing", "seem", "seemed", "seeming", "seems", "seen", "self", "selves", "sensible", "sent", "serious", "seriously", "seven", "several", "shall", "shan't", "she", "she'd", "she'll", "she's", "should", "shouldn't", "since", "six", "so", "some", "somebody", "someday", "somehow", "someone", "something", "sometime", "sometimes", "somewhat", "somewhere", "soon", "sorry", "specified", "specify", "specifying", "still", "sub", "such", "sup", "sure", "t", "take", "taken", "taking", "tell", "tends", "th", "than", "thank", "thanks", "thanx", "that", "that'll", "thats", "that's", "that've", "the", "their", "theirs", "them", "themselves", "then", "thence", "there", "thereafter", "thereby", "there'd", "therefore", "therein", "there'll", "there're", "theres", "there's", "thereupon", "there've", "these", "they", "they'd", "they'll", "they're", "they've", "thing", "things", "think", "third", "thirty", "this", "thorough", "thoroughly", "those", "though", "three", "through", "throughout", "thru", "thus", "till", "to", "together", "too", "took", "toward", "towards", "tried", "tries", "truly", "try", "trying", "t's", "twice", "two", "u", "un", "under", "underneath", "undoing", "unfortunately", "unless", "unlike", "unlikely", "until", "unto", "up", "upon", "upwards", "us", "use", "used", "useful", "uses", "using", "usually", "v", "value", "various", "versus", "very", "via", "viz", "vs", "w", "want", "wants", "was", "wasn't", "way", "we", "we'd", "welcome", "well", "we'll", "went", "were", "we're", "weren't", "we've", "what", "whatever", "what'll", "what's", "what've", "when", "whence", "whenever", "where", "whereafter", "whereas", "whereby", "wherein", "where's", "whereupon", "wherever", "whether", "which", "whichever", "while", "whilst", "whither", "who", "who'd", "whoever", "whole", "who'll", "whom", "whomever", "who's", "whose", "why", "will", "willing", "wish", "with", "within", "without", "wonder", "won't", "would", "wouldn't", "x", "y", "yes", "yet", "you", "you'd", "you'll", "your", "you're", "yours", "yourself", "yourselves", "you've", "z", "zero");
   }

Also note that you NEED to have SLUG Metaboxes enabled for this to work. As I did not want the screen options or the actual metabox to show I added the following to an admin style sheet to remove them:

[for="slugdiv-hide"] { 
    display: none; 
    }

#slugdiv { 
    display: none; 
    }