How to use menu_order filter in WordPress

menu_order filter

A truthy value must first be passed to the *custom_menu_order* filter for this filter to work. Use the following to enable custom menu ordering:

To use *menu_order* 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.

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 `weplugins_modify_menu_order_defaults` which takes 1 parameter and we registered using `add_filter`. The first parameter *menu_order* is the name of the hook, the second parameter *weplugins_modify_menu_order_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 *menu_order* filter.

Parameters

Below the 1 parameter is required to use this hook.

• $menu_order : (array) An ordered array of menu items.

Live Examples

Enable Custom Menu Ordering

Use the following code to enable custom menu ordering:

add_filter( 'custom_menu_order', '__return_true' );
add_filter( 'menu_order', 'weplugins_custom_menu_order' );
function weplugins_custom_menu_order() {
    return array( 'index.php', 'edit.php', 'edit-comments.php' );
}

Modify Menu Order Defaults

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

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

Remove a Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below:

remove_filter( "menu_order", "weplugins_modify_menu_order_defaults", 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, please contact our WordPress Development Team and we’d be happy to assist you.