Ordering custom post type by custom field without a title

Question

My custom posts don't have a title, rather they rely on custom fields, and all the solutions I've tried so far seem to work if the title is present.

<?php
$paged = (get_query_var('paged')) ? get_query_var('paged') : 1;

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'people',
    'posts_per_page' => 40,
    'meta_key' => 'surname',
    'orderby' => 'meta_value',
    'order' => 'ASC',
    'paged' => $paged
);
// The Query
query_posts( $args );
?>

This should work (and it works for other custom post types that have a title), but I can't seem to get it working on the ones without. surname is a custom field on the custom post type people.

Answer 1

As far as I know, you can't actually publish a post without a title. WP might erroneously say your posts are published, but I'm pretty sure they're still viewed as drafts, which is why you don't get any post results.

First, make sure your custom post type supports your custom field:

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'people',
    'posts_per_page' => 40,
    'meta_key' => 'surname',
    'orderby' => 'meta_value',
    'order' => 'ASC',
    'paged' => $paged,
    'supports' => array( 'title', 'editor', 'custom-fields')
);

Then, you could auto populate the title or create it from meta data:

Set post title from two meta fields