How can I write a custom shortcode that takes a single string as an argument?

Question

I'm trying to create a shortcode that takes a single string as an argument, and then returns a hyperlink based on the string. In the code below, the value of $content passed to my function is always null and I can't figure out why. Where am I going wrong?

function add_objective_hyperlink($atts, $content = null) {
    // var_dump($content);
    $the_objective = strtolower($content);
    $the_objective = str_replace(' ','-', $the_objective);
    $the_objective = preg_replace('/[^a-z0-9-]+/', '-', $the_objective);
    $the_hyperlink = '<a href="https://example.com/objective/' . $the_objective . '">' . $content . '</a>';
    return $the_hyperlink;      
}

add_shortcode('obj', 'add_objective_hyperlink');

I'm passing my shortcode in like this within my post content: [obj "The Thing I Want to Do"], and I'm expecting to see a hyperlink appear in my post. My var_dump($content) always returns string(0) "", though, which of course means there's no hyperlink in my page.

Relevant: Add WordPress shortcode which sends parameters and Shortcode wordpress with parameter and Pass argument to short code function in WordPress and Shortcode parameter not working in WordPress and How to pass parameter that ends up being part of a class name with wordpress shortcode — mickmackusa
– mickmackusa ♦, Commented Dec 20, 2023 at 2:16
and How to handle parameters in shortcode function and How to send page title as parameter in shortcode and How to add category option to shortcode and Wordpress, is it possible to add custom parameters to shortcode any widget and Wordpress : ShortCode and variable — mickmackusa
– mickmackusa ♦, Commented Dec 20, 2023 at 2:21
slugify: return sprintf('<a href="https://example.com/objective/%s">%s</a>', preg_replace('/[^a-z\d\- ]+/', '-', strtolower($obj)), $obj); — mickmackusa
– mickmackusa ♦, Commented Dec 20, 2023 at 2:26

the_meter413 · Accepted Answer · 2023-12-20 01:44:47Z

0

I managed to get my own code working by changing the inputs to my function from ($atts, $content) to simply ($input) (which is an array), then grabbing the first element of the array, converting it to a string, and then the rest of my code works as intended.

function add_objective_hyperlink($input) {
    $the_content = (string)$input[0];
    $the_objective = $the_content;
    $the_objective = strtolower($the_objective);
    $the_objective = str_replace(' ','-', $the_objective);
    $the_objective = preg_replace('/[^a-z0-9-]+/', '-', $the_objective);
    $the_hyperlink = '<a href="https://patrickmichaelregan.com/objective/' . $the_objective . '">' . $the_content . '</a>';
    return $the_hyperlink;      
}
add_shortcode('obj', 'add_objective_hyperlink');

This allows me to use [obj "The Thing I Want To Do"] as my shortcode.

edited Dec 20, 2023 at 1:44

answered Dec 17, 2023 at 22:57

the_meter413

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3 Comments

the_meter413 Over a year ago

But I still don't understand why the $content bit in my original code did not work as intended. I'm missing something in the WP functions docs.

esqew Over a year ago

$content is a string representation of the enclosed content between [shortcode] and [/shortcode] (if used in this form). It doesn't ever include any information about attributes passed as part of the shortcode. See docs for add_shortcode()

mickmackusa Over a year ago

@esqew I feel like you understand this content well. Please find a suitable dupe target to close with.

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