How to use pre_comment_approved filter in WordPress

pre_comment_approved filter

Filters a comment’s approval status before it is set.

To use the pre_comment_approved 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_pre_comment_approved_defaults which takes 2 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter pre_comment_approved is the name of the hook. The second parameter weplugins_modify_pre_comment_approved_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 pre_comment_approved filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

• $approved : (int|string|WP_Error) The approval status. Accepts 1, 0, ‘spam’, ‘trash’, or WP_Error.
• $commentdata : (array) Comment data.

Live Example 1: Basic Usage

Below is an example of how you can use this hook to modify the comment approval status.

add_filter( 'pre_comment_approved' , 'weplugins_filter_handler' , '99', 2 );
function weplugins_filter_handler( $approved , $commentdata )
{
  // Insert code here to inspect $commentdata and determine 'approval', 'disapproval', 'trash', or 'spam' status
  return $approved;
}

Live Example 2: Custom Approval Logic

In this example, we update the $approved variable according to specific website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $approved variable conditionally as well.

function weplugins_modify_pre_comment_approved_defaults($approved, $commentdata) { 
  // Custom approval logic
  return $approved; 
}
// Add the filter
add_filter( "pre_comment_approved", "weplugins_modify_pre_comment_approved_defaults", 10, 2 );

Live Example 3: Removing the Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below. Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

remove_filter( "pre_comment_approved", "weplugins_modify_pre_comment_approved_defaults", 10, 2 );