Show posts from category specified using a custom field

Question

I have a post that shows the titles and excerpts from a specific category underneath the content. Currently this is coded into a specific template like this:

<?php query_posts('category_name=dogs&showposts=5'); if (have_posts()) : ?>

This is fine but I need the client to be able to handle this themselves from a generic template so that I don't need to create a new one each time a category is created.

I want the client to create a new post as normal but then use a custom field to pull in posts from a specified category underneath.

For displaying the category name I would use something like this (assume we have a custom field name of "featured" and a value of "dogs":

<?php echo get_post_meta($post->ID, 'featured', true); ?>

So what I am guessing I need to do is replace the category_name=dogs part of my first example with something that pulls in the meta info.

And that is where my knowledge ends. I know I can post one into the other but I don't know how to resolve it.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease help!

thanks

James

ps using wordpress 3.2.1 and a custom theme

Answer 1

Finally solved it! I needed to add this at the end of each loop :)

<?php $my_query = new WP_Query(array( 'category_name' => get_post_meta($post->ID, 'featured', true), 'posts_per_page' => 5, )); if ($my_query->have_posts()): ?>
<?php while ($my_query->have_posts()) : $my_query->the_post(); ?> content etc goes here
<?php endwhile; ?> <?php endif; ?><?php wp_reset_query(); ?> 

many thanks

James

Answer 2

Try to avoid query_posts:

$my_query = new WP_Query(array(
  'category_name'  => get_post_meta($post->ID, 'featured', true),
  'posts_per_page' => 5,
));

if ($my_query->have_posts()){

   while ($my_query->have_posts()){

     $my_query->the_post();

     the_title();
     the_excerpt(); 
   }

 }