How to render a template file using shortcode inside a plugin

Question

I have this plugin I created that has a custom post type and a template file that renders the posts. I want to be able to render the template in any page using a short code. So what I created was this piece of code which I am sure is wrong and would totally appreciate it if someone could answer how I am supposed to render the template

function display_timeline(){

    ob_start();  
    locate_template(plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/timelines.php', true, false);  
    $ret = ob_get_contents();  
    ob_end_clean();  

    return $ret;    

}

add_shortcode( 'wptimeline_display', 'display_timeline' );

Also, the template and the plugin functions are both in the same directory.

Answer 1

locate_template() only look for a specific template in themes, not in plugins, so your function wil never work. This also goes for get_template_part() which is in essence just a wrapper function for locate_template().

You will need to use funtions like file_exists() to check whether or not the required template exists and then use something like include() to load your template. You can use the above to write your own function like locate_template(), this is at least what I will do, and have a fallback to lacate a template in themes should the template not exist in the plugin.

Just a note, always always first check if a value/template/condition exists before doing something with it. This will avoid unnecessary bugs and issues should a failure occur. Also, have something in place like returning false, adding a redirect, exiting etc etc to safely handle your code should you have a failure

Answer 2

Please try using get_template_part('timelines'); instead of locate_template(plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/timelines.php', true, false); I just given it a try and it works fine. Let me know if this solves your problem.