Function/filter or plugin to change post status based on custom field value

Question

I am looking for a way to change the post status of some posts based on custom field value, from published to pending for example. How might this be possible?

My solution:

$post_ids = array( 1235, 1234, 1228, 1221, 1211, 1212, 1208, 1200 );

foreach($post_ids as $post_id) {
    $post = array( 'ID' => $post_id, 'post_status' => 'pending' );
    wp_update_post($post);
}

Answer 1

Paste this onto any page and load the page (or make it a function in functions.php and call that function somewhere)

$args = array(
    'nopaging' => true, // Loop through all posts at once
    'meta_key' => 'YOUR_CUSTOM_FIELD_NAME', // Replace with the name of your custom field
    'meta_value' => 'YOUR_CUSTOM_FIELD_VALUE', // The value of that field you're matching for
);

$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {

    while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {
        $the_query->the_post();

        // Change the status of each post to pending
        $updated = wp_update_post( array('ID' => $the_query->post->ID, 'post_status' => 'pending' ));

        // Check to see if loop is returning posts, and if they were updated
        echo 'Post #' . $the_query->post->ID . ' - ' . $updated;
    }
}