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I have php set up in a template file to check a form and see if 1 or more of 5 categories is selected. Based on which one is selected, I want the custom query I'm using to change in that the array for "category_name" changes depending on what is selected.

I have gotten as far as defining the variables from the form but I can't figure out how to get the multiple variables to put themselves into an array. Here is an example of what I'm trying to do:

        if (isset($_POST['showvideo']) && ($_POST['showvideo'] == 'true')) :
        $video='user-video,';
    endif;
    if (isset($_POST['showimage']) && ($_POST['showimage'] == 'true')) :
        $image='user-image,';
    endif;
    if (isset($_POST['showaudio']) && ($_POST['showaudio'] == 'true')) :
        $audio='user-audio,';
    endif;
    if (isset($_POST['showwriting']) && ($_POST['showwriting'] == 'true')) :
        $writing='user-writing,';
    endif;
    if (isset($_POST['showevent']) && ($_POST['showevent'] == 'true')) :
        $event='user-event';
    endif;

And then, I don't know how to get each of those values to put themselves into a correct array to use inside my custom query as the 'category_name' array.

This is obviously wrong:

$upostcat= array ($video . $image . $audio . $writing . $event);

Can someone help me with how to do this?

Updated WORKING code based on answer below (thanks!):

    if (isset($_POST['showvideo']) && ($_POST['showvideo'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-video';
} elseif (isset($_POST['showimage']) && ($_POST['showimage'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-image';
} elseif (isset($_POST['showaudio']) && ($_POST['showaudio'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-audio';
} elseif (isset($_POST['showwriting']) && ($_POST['showwriting'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-writing';
} elseif (isset($_POST['showevent']) && ($_POST['showevent'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-event';
};

if (!empty($cats) {
  $upostcat = implode(',',$cats);
};
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1
  • The commas that appear after each variable value are only there because I'm not sure how to do the separators in the array. I'm sure that's totally wrong too...
    – Eckstein
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 19:58

1 Answer 1

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1

To make an array, separate your values with commas rather than concatenate them with periods.

$upostcat= array (
  $video,
  $image,
  $audio,
  $writing,
  $event
);

That part is pure PHP. However, I notice you want to use the category_name "array". If you are talking about WP_Query, category_name does not accept an array-- really this is the only WordPress part of your question, by the way. What you actually want is a string with values separated by commas, like this from the Codex:

$query = new WP_Query( 'category_name=staff,news' );

For that you do need to concatenate. What you've done should mostly work except that you have a high probability of having a trailing comma. Imagine that one or more of the first four are set and the last one isn't. There is an easier way.

if (isset($_POST['showvideo']) && ($_POST['showvideo'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-video';
} 
if (isset($_POST['showimage']) && ($_POST['showimage'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-image';
} 
if (isset($_POST['showaudio']) && ($_POST['showaudio'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-audio';
} 
if (isset($_POST['showwriting']) && ($_POST['showwriting'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-writing';
} 
if (isset($_POST['showevent']) && ($_POST['showevent'] == 'true')) {
    $cats[]='user-event';
};
if (!empty($cats)) {
  $upostcat = implode(',',$cats);
}
Improve this answer
5
  • Thanks for you response! Makes sense about the array, that was dumb of me. I have tried this code but it is throwing an error. I updated the code on the original question. Does it look right?
    – Eckstein
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 20:39
  • Its a typo :( One of the lines near the end was missing a ")".
    – s_ha_dum
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 20:53
  • Ah, I see it now. So the error is gone, but the output of $upostcat seems to only be the word 'array' and not the array itself. I realize at this point that this isn't Wordpress related, so feel free to answer if you have any other advice, otherwise I can go post on a more appropriate board. Thanks again for your help though.
    – Eckstein
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 21:13
  • You've recreated $upostcats as an array at the bottom of your code. Don't do that. You need a string, which is what my code gives you.
    – s_ha_dum
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 21:41
  • I had to make one more change to get what I wanted, which was to make sure that multiple categories could be displayed at once. To achieve this, I just changed the elseifs to ifs and it works perfectly. Just FYI for anyone looking to do this.
    – Eckstein
    Commented Dec 9, 2012 at 22:08

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