get_posts with meta_compare='LIKE' not working

Question

I am using the following code:

$tolettpe = "Sale";//default
if($_REQUEST['tolettype']) $tolettpe = $_REQUEST['tolettype'];
else if($_REQUEST['srch_type']) $tolettpe = $_REQUEST['srch_type'];
$args = array(
    'numberposts'  => $latestcount,
    'category'     => $catidstr,
  'meta_key'     => 'property_type',
  'meta_compare' => 'LIKE',
  'meta_value'   => $tolettpe.'%'
 );
$post_content = get_posts($args);

The value in the database is 'Sale||' and there are no query string variables in the request.

But the query returns no results.

If I use the exact value and no meta_compare, it works.

Any ideas how to make this work?

Answer 1

meta_compare Possible values are '!=', '>', '>=', '<', or '<='. Default value is '='

if you want to use LIKE you need to create a meta_query eg:

$tolettpe = "Sale";//default
if($_REQUEST['tolettype']) $tolettpe = $_REQUEST['tolettype'];
else if($_REQUEST['srch_type']) $tolettpe = $_REQUEST['srch_type'];
$args = array(
    'numberposts'  => $latestcount,
    'category'     => $catidstr,
    'meta_query' => array(
        array(
            'key' => 'property_type',
            'value' => $tolettpe,
            'compare' => 'LIKE'
        )
    )
);
$posts = get_posts($args);

The generated query puts the search term between two % signs, so there is no need to add any in the code.