WP-Mix

Here is a quick example showing how to modify the main WP Query (Loop) using the pre_get_posts filter hook.

Most functions that hook into pre_get_posts tend to look very similar. Something like this:

function shapeSpace_modify_main_query($query) {
	
	if (!is_admin() && $query->is_main_query()) {
		
		$query->set('post_type', 'download');
		$query->set('orderby', 'ID');
		$query->set('order', 'ASC');
		
	}
	
}
add_action('pre_get_posts', 'shapeSpace_modify_main_query');

That’s the basic idea. Here is what is happening with the code:

1. The $query variable is passed to the function
2. Check if the query is not for an admin page, AND is the main query
3. If yes, then the set method is used several times to modify the query
4. Lastly the function is connected to the pre_get_posts hook via add_action()

So how is the query modified with this example? Let’s break it down:

• set(‘post_type’, ‘page’); — sets the post type to page
• set(‘orderby’, ‘ID’); — sets the orderby parameter to sort by ID
• set(‘order’, ‘ASC’); — sets the display order to ascending

And there are tons more parameters that can be customized. For a complete list, check out the WP_Query documentation at WordPress.org. Also here is the documentation for the pre_get_posts hook. And check out DigWP.com for even more ways to customize the WordPress Loop.