How to use dashboard_secondary_items filter in WordPress

dashboard_secondary_items filter

Filters the number of secondary link items for the ‘WordPress Events and News’ dashboard widget.

To use dashboard_secondary_items 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_dashboard_secondary_items_defaults which takes 1 parameter and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter dashboard_secondary_items is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_modify_dashboard_secondary_items_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 dashboard_secondary_items filter.

Parameters

Below the 1 parameter is required to use this hook.

• $items : (string) How many items to show in the secondary feed.

Live Example 1

Applying the Filter

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

    function weplugins_modify_dashboard_secondary_items_defaults($items) { 
        // Update the $items variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. 
        // You can modify the $items variable conditionally too if you want.
        return $items; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "dashboard_secondary_items", "weplugins_modify_dashboard_secondary_items_defaults", 10, 1 );
    

Live Example 2

Removing the Filter

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_filter( "dashboard_secondary_items", "weplugins_modify_dashboard_secondary_items_defaults", 10, 1 );
    

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

Live Example 3

Conditional Modification

This example shows how you can conditionally modify the number of items shown in the secondary feed.

    function weplugins_conditionally_modify_dashboard_secondary_items($items) { 
        if ( is_user_logged_in() ) {
            $items = 5; // Show more items for logged-in users
        } else {
            $items = 2; // Show fewer items for visitors
        }
        return $items; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "dashboard_secondary_items", "weplugins_conditionally_modify_dashboard_secondary_items", 10, 1 );
    

Contact Us

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