Execute a WordPress shortcode in Genesis breadcrumbs - php

Question

I've created a shortcode [year] to show the current year dynamically. I enabled it in the post title by using this filter:
add_filter( 'the_title', 'do_shortcode' );
Shortcode executes successfully in the post title but displays as it is in the breadcrumbs. I'm using Genesis Framework so is there any way to make it work in the Genesis breadcrumbs too?

Answer 1

Using the_title filter like you have done, should actually work just fine (I just tested and confirmed it's working on a local site of mine).
As a matter of fact it can sometimes be a problematic filter because people expect it to filter just the page title, but in reality it filters the_title whenever it's pulled from the database, including the Page Title, Breadcrumbs, Menu Item Name, etc.
That said, if it's not working for some reason, Genesis has a handy Genesis_Breadcrumb class. Most notably it has the genesis_breadcrumb_args filter that lets you remove the "You are here:", etc. Provided the theme you're using is implementing Genesis Breadcrumbs and not some custom ones, you actually have access to the lesser utilized genesis_build_crumbs filter.
The build_crumbs() method returns an array of Page/Post Names that you can modify using a simple foreach loop or array_map.
Take the following function:
function so52299149_breadcrumbs( $crumbs ) {
$new_crumbs = array_map( function($val){
return do_shortcode( $val );
}, $crumbs);
return $new_crumbs;
}
add_filter( 'genesis_build_crumbs', 'so52299149_breadcrumbs' );
What it will do is run each element in the $crumbs array through the do_shortcode() function, giving you the desired output. Again, the way you have it, add_filter( 'the_title', 'do_shortcode' ); should be working - so check how the Child Theme you're using is implementing breadcrumbs, especially if the function above doesn't work - if that's the case there's likely something else at play.