ACF custom field not saving

In some cases, you may encounter issues with Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) where custom fields are not being saved properly. This can be frustrating, but there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve this issue.

First, make sure that you have correctly set up your ACF field group and assigned it to the appropriate post type or page template. Double-check that the field name and key are unique and not conflicting with any other fields.

Next, check if there are any JavaScript errors on the page that could be interfering with the saving process. Open your browser’s developer console and look for any error messages related to ACF or jQuery. Resolve any JavaScript conflicts or errors that you find.

If the issue persists, you can try disabling other plugins or themes temporarily to see if there is a conflict causing the custom field not to save. If the field saves correctly with other plugins or themes disabled, you can narrow down the conflicting plugin or theme and troubleshoot further.

If none of the above steps resolve the issue, you can try using the acf/save_post action hook to manually save the custom field data. Here’s an example code snippet that demonstrates how to use this hook:

function wpsnippets_save_custom_field( $post_id ) {
    // Check if this is an autosave
    if ( defined( 'DOING_AUTOSAVE' ) && DOING_AUTOSAVE ) {
        return;
    }

    // Check if the current user has permission to save the post
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'edit_post', $post_id ) ) {
        return;
    }

    // Get the custom field value
    $custom_field_value = get_field( 'your_custom_field_name', $post_id );

    // Perform any necessary data validation or manipulation here

    // Update the post meta with the custom field value
    update_post_meta( $post_id, 'your_custom_field_name', $custom_field_value );
}
add_action( 'acf/save_post', 'wpsnippets_save_custom_field', 20 );

In this code snippet, we’re using the acf/save_post action hook to trigger the wpsnippets_save_custom_field function when a post is saved. Inside the function, we first check if it’s an autosave or if the user has the necessary permissions. Then, we retrieve the value of the custom field using the get_field function and perform any necessary validation or manipulation. Finally, we update the post meta with the custom field value using the update_post_meta function.

By using this code snippet, you can ensure that the custom field data is saved correctly even if there are any issues with the default saving process of ACF.

Examples

Example #1: Saving ACF custom field using update_field() function

This example demonstrates how to save an ACF custom field using the update_field() function. The update_field() function is a built-in function provided by the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin, which allows you to update the value of a custom field for a specific post or page.

update_field('field_name', $field_value, $post_id);

In the code example above, replace 'field_name' with the name of your ACF custom field, $field_value with the value you want to save, and $post_id with the ID of the post or page you want to update.

Example #2: Saving ACF custom field using update_post_meta() function

This example demonstrates an alternative method to save an ACF custom field using the update_post_meta() function. The update_post_meta() function is a core WordPress function that allows you to update the value of a custom field for a specific post or page.

update_post_meta($post_id, 'field_name', $field_value);

In the code example above, replace $post_id with the ID of the post or page you want to update, 'field_name' with the name of your ACF custom field, and $field_value with the value you want to save.

Example #3: Saving ACF custom field using wp_update_post() function

This example demonstrates another alternative method to save an ACF custom field using the wp_update_post() function. The wp_update_post() function is a core WordPress function that allows you to update various fields of a post or page, including custom fields.

$my_post = array(
    'ID' => $post_id,
    'meta_input' => array(
        'field_name' => $field_value
    )
);
wp_update_post($my_post);

In the code example above, replace $post_id with the ID of the post or page you want to update, 'field_name' with the name of your ACF custom field, and $field_value with the value you want to save.