How to use dashboard_glance_items action in WordPress

dashboard_glance_items action

Prior to 3.8.0, the widget was named ‘Right Now’. Each element is wrapped in list-item tags on output.

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

At WePlugins, we 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 execute_on_dashboard_glance_items_event which takes 1 parameter and we registered using add_action. The first parameter dashboard_glance_items is the name of the hook, the second parameter execute_on_dashboard_glance_items_event 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_action to remove dashboard_glance_items action.

Parameters

Below the 1 parameter is required to use this hook.

• $items : (string[]) Array of extra ‘At a Glance’ widget items.

Live Example

Example 1: Adding Custom Post Counts

In this example, we add custom post counts to the dashboard using the dashboard_glance_items hook.

  function wpdocs_add_custom_post_counts() {
      $post_types = array('weplugins-project');
      foreach ($post_types as $cpt) {
          $cpt_info = get_post_type_object($cpt);
          $num_posts = wp_count_posts($cpt);
          $num = number_format_i18n($num_posts->publish);
          $text = _n($cpt_info->labels->singular_name, $cpt_info->labels->name, intval($num_posts->publish));
          echo '<li class="page-count ' . esc_attr($cpt_info->name) . '-count"><a href="edit.php?post_type=' . esc_attr($cpt) . '">' . $num . ' ' . $text . '</a></li>';
      }
  }
  add_action('dashboard_glance_items', 'wpdocs_add_custom_post_counts');
  

Example 2: Custom Function Execution

Below is an example of how you can use this hook to execute a custom function.

  function weplugins_execute_on_dashboard_glance_items_event($items) {
      // You can write code here to be executed when this action occurs in WordPress.
      // Use the parameters received in the function arguments & implement the required additional custom functionality according to your website requirements.
  }
  // Add the action
  add_action('dashboard_glance_items', 'weplugins_execute_on_dashboard_glance_items_event', 10, 1);
  

Example 3: Removing a Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

  remove_action('dashboard_glance_items', 'weplugins_execute_on_dashboard_glance_items_event', 10, 1);
  

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

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook or need customization, please Contact Us and we’d be happy to assist you.