How to use phpmailer_init filter in WordPress

phpmailer_init filter

Fires after PHPMailer is initialized. To use the phpmailer_init 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.

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 modify_phpmailer_init_defaults which takes 1 parameter, and we registered it using add_filter. The first parameter phpmailer_init is the name of the hook. The second parameter modify_phpmailer_init_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 phpmailer_init filter.

Parameters

Below is the 1 parameter required to use this hook.

• $phpmailer : (PHPMailer) The PHPMailer instance (passed by reference).

Live Example 1: Setting Up PHPMailer with SMTP

Here’s an example of setting up PHPMailer with SMTP.

    function weplugins_my_phpmailer_example($phpmailer) {
        $phpmailer->isSMTP();
        $phpmailer->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
        $phpmailer->SMTPAuth = true;
        $phpmailer->Port = 25;
        $phpmailer->Username = 'yourusername';
        $phpmailer->Password = 'yourpassword';
    }
    add_filter("phpmailer_init", "weplugins_my_phpmailer_example", 10, 1);
    

Live Example 2: Modifying Default PHPMailer Settings

Below is an example of how you can use this hook to modify the default PHPMailer settings.

    function weplugins_modify_phpmailer_init_defaults($phpmailer) {
        // Update the $phpmailer variable according to your website requirements
        return $phpmailer;
    }
    add_filter("phpmailer_init", "weplugins_modify_phpmailer_init_defaults", 10, 1);
    

Live Example 3: Removing a Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_filter("phpmailer_init", "weplugins_modify_phpmailer_init_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 need any customization or help with this hook, feel free to contact us.