Adding custom meta into wordpress search - php

Question

I'm currently trying to add my theme posts custom meta values into search query, but it's not working for me. For example _My_meta_value_key3 is product code, but if i try to search it, wp don't find the match. I really want to make this without any plugins so any suggestions are welcome. Also, this code is currently located in theme functions.
function My_custom_search_query( $query ) {
if ($query->is_search()) {
$query->set('meta_query', array(
array(
'key' => '_My_meta_value_key',
'value' => $query->query_vars['s'],
'compare' => 'LIKE'
),
array(
'key' => '_My_meta_value_key2',
'value' => $query->query_vars['s'],
'compare' => 'LIKE'
),
array(
'key' => '_My_meta_value_key3',
'value' => $query->query_vars['s'],
'compare' => 'LIKE'
)
));
return $query;
};}
add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'My_custom_search_query');

Answer 1

I've spent an hour searching for a solution and there was nothing that works so I had to write the solution on my own. It is tested and working with Wordpress 5.3.1 and is the only solution that solves this problem I could find on the internet.
Place the following code in your functions.php file to hook into posts_clauses filter.
/**
* Include meta fields in search
*
* #author Mindaugas // meevly.com
* #link https://meevly.com/services/custom-wordpress-themes-and-plugins/
*
* #param array $pieces query pieces.
* #param WP_Query $args query object.
* #return array
*/
function mv_meta_in_search_query( $pieces, $args ) {
global $wpdb;
if ( ! empty( $args->query['s'] ) ) { // only run on search query.
$keywords = explode(' ', get_query_var('s'));
$escaped_percent = $wpdb->placeholder_escape(); // WordPress escapes "%" since 4.8.3 so we can't use percent character directly.
$query = "";
foreach ($keywords as $word) {
$query .= " (unique_postmeta_selector.meta_value LIKE '{$escaped_percent}{$word}{$escaped_percent}') OR ";
}
if ( ! empty( $query ) ) { // append necessary WHERE and JOIN options.
$pieces['where'] = str_replace( "((({$wpdb->posts}.post_title LIKE '{$escaped_percent}", "( {$query} (({$wpdb->posts}.post_title LIKE '{$escaped_percent}", $pieces['where'] );
$pieces['join'] = $pieces['join'] . " INNER JOIN {$wpdb->postmeta} AS unique_postmeta_selector ON ({$wpdb->posts}.ID = unique_postmeta_selector.post_id) ";
}
}
return $pieces;
}
add_filter( 'posts_clauses', 'mv_meta_in_search_query', 20, 2 );
And your query should look like the following. Please note that suppress_filters => false is mandatory! It will not work without it.
$search_posts_array = array(
'suppress_filters' => false,
's' => $keyword,
);
$search_results = get_posts( $search_posts_array );
Please do not hesitate to credit if I saved you tons of time! :)

Answer 2

Found this http://wpdevsnippets.com/extend-search-include-custom-fields-without-plugin/ :
function custom_search_where($pieces) {
// filter to select search query
if (is_search() && !is_admin()) {
global $wpdb;
$custom_fields = array('field1','field2'); // Array for custom meta fields
$keywords = explode(' ', get_query_var('s'));
$query = "";
foreach ($custom_fields as $field) {
foreach ($keywords as $word) {
$query .= "((mypm1.meta_key = '".$field."')";
$query .= " AND (mypm1.meta_value LIKE '%{$word}%')) OR ";
}
}
if (!empty($query)) {
// add to where clause
$pieces['where'] = str_replace("(((wp_posts.post_title LIKE '%", "( {$query} ((wp_posts.post_title LIKE '%", $pieces['where']);
$pieces['join'] = $pieces['join'] . " INNER JOIN {$wpdb->postmeta} AS mypm1 ON ({$wpdb->posts}.ID = mypm1.post_id)";
}
}
return ($pieces);
}
add_filter('posts_clauses', 'custom_search_where', 20, 1);