How to use comment_author filter in WordPress

comment_author filter

Filters the comment author’s name for display.

To use the comment_author filter, first, you have to register it using add_filter. You can write this code into 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 weplugins_modify_comment_author_defaults which takes 2 parameters, and we registered it using add_filter. The first parameter comment_author is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_modify_comment_author_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 the comment_author filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

• $author: (string) The comment author’s username.
• $comment_ID: (string) The comment ID as a numeric string.

Live Example

apply_filters( 'comment_author', string $author, string $comment_ID )

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

Example 1: Basic Modification

This example shows how to modify the author’s name before displaying it.

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

Example 2: Conditional Modification

This example shows how to modify the author’s name based on specific conditions.

  function weplugins_modify_comment_author_conditional($author, $comment_ID) { 
      if ($comment_ID % 2 == 0) {
          $author = 'Guest';
      }
      return $author; 
  }
  // add the filter
  add_filter( "comment_author", "weplugins_modify_comment_author_conditional", 10, 2 );
  

Example 3: Removing the Filter

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

  remove_filter( "comment_author", "weplugins_modify_comment_author_defaults", 10, 2 );
  

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

If you’re having any trouble using this hook, please contact our WordPress Development Team and we’d be happy to assist you.