Version 1.12.0 of Field Editor is now available and it includes a good bit of fixes and new features that have been in the work for a little while, which i’ll give a little more details about below.

Prevent saving empty meta in database

Basically what this does is it prevents any value for a meta field, that is an empty string, or an empty array, from being saved to the database, ultimately meaning your database should only store actual values.  The reason this was not something already done is because of the way the core WP Job Manager plugin works.  It does not check if the value should be saved based on “what” the value is, it just checks if it was submitted with the form and saves it.  For example, if you have a field that is not required, when it is submitted through the form, it is still saved to the database as an empty value (by the core WP Job Manager plugin).  This update adds handling in my plugin that will check every custom or customized field for this.  Please note you must have saved the field using my plugin for this functionality to work on the field.  Even if you don’t want to make any changes to the field, just click on Edit in my plugin, and then save, and it will save the field configuration and the field will now be a “customized” one (even if you didn’t change anything).

This should help alleviate unnecessary database rows and ultimately make your site run faster!  This handling works both in the admin and frontend.  If you want to see it in action, enable the Post Meta Inspector from Debug tab (Field Editor Configuration Page) and try it out in the admin area!

If you want to disable this in the Frontend or Admin area, just add this your child theme’s functions.php file (omit the <?php, there only needs to be one at the top of the functions.php file),  or using the Code Snippets plugin:

https://gist.github.com/tripflex/b2ef3cc6fc1363d0f9cc39af0ee47eac

Include Field Meta in REST API

As there are many mobile apps starting to come out soon (Cariera), some of them will use REST API (or maybe even you do for external services).  A new setting is available under the “Advanced” tab when editing a field, where you can enable this setting.  Please note you will not see this setting for any taxonomy fields as those should already be handled natively depending on how you setup/created custom taxonomies.

Multiple Meta Keys in Auto Populate

You can now use multiple meta key in the auto populate feature!  All you have to do is separate them by a space and the plugin will handle the rest.  As an example, if you wanted to populate a field with a user’s full name, you would just enter first_name last_name in the auto populate field (take note of the space).

Astoundify Companies Plugin

This release adds support for the Astoundify Companies Plugin (yes there’s another one out there), albeit in beta though so please make sure to report any issues you have!  Unfortunately for me with all of the different company plugins out there, and integrations in different themes, it makes it much more difficult to maintain compatibility (or even add it), as they are using different post types, or many other changes/differences that I have to make sure to account for.  This release adds the initial support for the Astoundify version, but there unfortunately is only about 3 or 4 auto output locations available (due to the plugin itself not having hooks in many locations).

If you’re still looking for a Companies plugin I would recommend the free MAS Companies one or the Cariera theme which has it built in, as Astoundify for some reason removed me from their Slack Channel.  Support for this plugin is provided for clients who are already using this plugin, if you are not already, i do not recommend it.

If anything I suggest the Cariera theme as this developer is very active and we stay in constant contact to maintain compatibility.

Other Updates

There’s numerous other updates and fixes included with this release, head on over to the changelog to check them out!