ACF file upload field not working

The ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) plugin is a powerful tool for creating custom fields in WordPress. One common issue that users may encounter is when the file upload field is not working as expected. This can happen due to various reasons, such as incorrect field settings or conflicts with other plugins or themes.

To troubleshoot and resolve this issue, you can follow these steps:

1. Verify Field Settings: Double-check the field settings in the ACF field group. Ensure that the field type is set to “File” and that the allowed file types and maximum file size are configured correctly.

2. Check File Permissions: Make sure that the directory where the uploaded files are stored has proper write permissions. You can set the directory permissions to 755 or 775 using an FTP client or file manager.

3. Test with Default Theme and Plugins: Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-One) and deactivate all other plugins except for ACF. This helps identify if there’s a conflict with the current theme or other plugins.

4. Debug for Errors: Enable debugging in WordPress to check for any error messages related to the file upload field. Add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

This code enables debugging, logs errors to a file, and hides them from being displayed on the website. Check the wp-content/debug.log file for any relevant error messages.

5. Increase PHP Upload Limits: If you’re trying to upload large files, you may need to increase the PHP upload limits. Add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file:

@ini_set( 'upload_max_size', '64M' );
@ini_set( 'post_max_size', '64M' );
@ini_set( 'max_execution_time', '300' );

These lines increase the maximum file upload size, maximum post size, and execution time for PHP. Adjust the values as per your requirements.

6. Use ACF Hooks: ACF provides hooks that allow you to modify its behavior. You can use the acf/upload_prefilter hook to perform custom validations or modifications before the file is uploaded. Here’s an example that restricts the file types to only images:

function wpsnippets_restrict_file_types( $file ) {
    $allowed_types = array( 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'png', 'gif' );
    $file_ext = pathinfo( $file['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION );

    if ( ! in_array( $file_ext, $allowed_types ) ) {
        $file['error'] = 'Invalid file type. Only JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF files are allowed.';
    }

    return $file;
}
add_filter( 'acf/upload_prefilter', 'wpsnippets_restrict_file_types' );

In this example, the wpsnippets_restrict_file_types function checks if the uploaded file has an allowed extension. If not, it sets an error message in the file array, preventing the upload.

By following these steps and using the provided code example, you should be able to troubleshoot and resolve issues with the ACF file upload field.

Examples

Example 1: Troubleshooting ACF file upload field not working

This example demonstrates how to troubleshoot and fix issues with the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) file upload field not working properly in WordPress.

function wpsnippets_acf_file_upload_field_not_working() {
    // Check if ACF is active
    if (function_exists('acf_add_local_field_group')) {
        // Check if ACF file upload field is not working
        if (!function_exists('acf_get_instance')) {
            // Load ACF
            include_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/acf.php');
        }
    }
}
add_action('init', 'wpsnippets_acf_file_upload_field_not_working');

In this code example, we first check if the ACF plugin is active by using the function_exists() function. If ACF is active, we then check if the ACF file upload field is not working by checking if the acf_get_instance() function exists. If the function does not exist, we include the ACF plugin file manually using include_once(). This ensures that the ACF file upload field functionality is properly loaded.

Example 2: Increasing maximum file upload size for ACF file upload field

This example demonstrates how to increase the maximum file upload size for the ACF file upload field in WordPress.

function wpsnippets_increase_acf_file_upload_size($size) {
    // Set the maximum file size in megabytes
    $max_size = 10;

    // Convert megabytes to bytes
    $max_size_bytes = $max_size * 1024 * 1024;

    // Return the new maximum file size
    return $max_size_bytes;
}
add_filter('upload_size_limit', 'wpsnippets_increase_acf_file_upload_size', 20);

In this code example, we use the upload_size_limit filter to increase the maximum file upload size for the ACF file upload field. We define the desired maximum file size in megabytes using the $max_size variable, and then convert it to bytes. Finally, we return the new maximum file size using the upload_size_limit filter.

Example 3: Validating file types for ACF file upload field

This example demonstrates how to validate the allowed file types for the ACF file upload field in WordPress.

function wpsnippets_validate_acf_file_upload_types($valid, $file, $field) {
    // Define the allowed file types
    $allowed_types = array('jpg', 'jpeg', 'png', 'gif');

    // Get the file extension
    $file_extension = pathinfo($file['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION);

    // Check if the file extension is allowed
    if (!in_array($file_extension, $allowed_types)) {
        $valid = false;
    }

    // Return the validation result
    return $valid;
}
add_filter('acf/upload_prefilter/name=your_field_name', 'wpsnippets_validate_acf_file_upload_types', 10, 3);

In this code example, we use the acf/upload_prefilter filter to validate the allowed file types for the ACF file upload field. We define the allowed file types in the $allowed_types array. Then, we get the file extension using pathinfo() and check if it is allowed. If the file extension is not allowed, we set the validation result to false. Finally, we return the validation result using the acf/upload_prefilter filter.