How to apply a custom query var to multiple query loops in Bricks

In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to apply a PHP filter to modify the query var of multiple query loops in a single function

Introduction

In my last project, I needed to create multiple query loops with a custom query var that couldn’t be achieved within the builder: I needed to order the query loop by multiple dynamic values. So, instead of creating a filter for each element, I shared the same custom query var option with multiple elements.

Let’s see how to achieve it.

The code

In my case, I wanted to order the query loops by two different custom fields value: one called featured and the other one called order. In bricks, you are only able to order your loop by one single dynamic data inside the builder. So, I needed to use the bricks/posts/query_vars filter (here is the documentation) to achieve my goal.

Target ID’s

First of all, I created an array with all the IDs of the query loop elements that I wanted to modify.

Then I checked if the $element_id is part of the array, else the function stops.

And finally, I applied my custom meta_query and orderby options to the query var.

Now all the query loops listed in my array inherit from my custom query var in a single function.

add_filter( 'bricks/posts/query_vars', function( $query_vars, $settings, $element_id ) {

   // list all the elements' IDs here
   $elements = array(
       'ovkyjc',
       'flmjqp',
       'wyxffa',
       'almdys',
   );

   // Check if the element_id is inside the array
   if ( !in_array($element_id, $elements)) {
      return $query_vars;
   }

   // Apply the custom query var
   $query_vars['meta_query'] = array(
      'relation' => 'AND',
         'featured_clause' => array(
             'key' => 'featured',
             'compare' => 'EXISTS',
             'type'    => 'numeric',
         ),
         'order_clause' => array(
             'key' => 'order',
             'compare' => 'EXISTS',
             'type'    => 'numeric',
         ),
   );
   $query_vars['orderby'] = array(
      'featured_clause' => 'DESC',
      'order_clause' => 'DESC',
   );

   // return the modified query var
   return $query_vars;
}, 10, 3 );

Target a class

We can also target classes instead of IDs.

Set a class on the query loop element. In this example we use the class my-special-class.

Then we set the variable $class with our class in the following code:

add_filter( 'bricks/posts/query_vars', function( $query_vars, $settings, $element_id ) {

   // Set your class here
   $class = 'my-special-class';
   
   // Check if the element has the correct class set
   if ( !isset( $settings['_cssClasses'] ) || !$settings['_cssClasses'] === $class ) {
      return $query_vars;
   }

   // Apply the custom query var
   $query_vars['meta_query'] = array(
      'relation' => 'AND',
         'featured_clause' => array(
             'key' => 'featured',
             'compare' => 'EXISTS',
             'type'    => 'numeric',
         ),
         'order_clause' => array(
             'key' => 'order',
             'compare' => 'EXISTS',
             'type'    => 'numeric',
         ),
   );
   $query_vars['orderby'] = array(
      'featured_clause' => 'DESC',
      'order_clause' => 'DESC',
   );

   // return the modified query var
   return $query_vars;
}, 10, 3 );

And then we’re done.