How to use attribute_escape filter in WordPress

attribute_escape filter

Text passed to esc_attr() is stripped of invalid or special characters before output.

To use attribute_escape filter, first you have to register it using add_filter. You can write this code into the functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function modify_attribute_escape_defaults which takes 2 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter attribute_escape is the name of the hook, The second parameter modify_attribute_escape_defaults is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook so you can use remove_filter to remove attribute_escape filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

• $safe_text: (string) The text after it has been escaped.
• $text: (string) The text prior to being escaped.

Live Example

Example 1: Basic Usage

Below is an example of how you can use this hook.

    function weplugins_modify_attribute_escape_defaults($safe_text, $text) { 
        // Update the $safe_text variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $safe_text variable conditionally too if you want.
        return $safe_text; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter("attribute_escape", "weplugins_modify_attribute_escape_defaults", 10, 2);
    

Example 2: Conditional Modification

In this example, we conditionally modify the escaped text.

    function weplugins_modify_attribute_escape_conditional($safe_text, $text) { 
        if ($text === 'special') {
            $safe_text = 'custom_escape';
        }
        return $safe_text; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter("attribute_escape", "weplugins_modify_attribute_escape_conditional", 10, 2);
    

Example 3: Removing a Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_filter("attribute_escape", "weplugins_modify_attribute_escape_defaults", 10, 2);
    

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Contact Us

If you need any customization, feel free to contact us.