How to use pre_delete_attachment filter in WordPress

pre_delete_attachment filter

Filters whether an attachment deletion should take place.

To use the pre_delete_attachment 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_delete_attachment_defaults which takes 3 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter pre_delete_attachment is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_modify_pre_delete_attachment_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_delete_attachment filter.

Parameters

Below are the 3 parameters required to use this hook:

• $delete: (WP_Post|false|null) Whether to go forward with deletion. @TODO description
• $post: (WP_Post) Post object.
• $force_delete: (bool) Whether to bypass the Trash.

Live Example

apply_filters( 'pre_delete_attachment', WP_Post|false|null $delete, WP_Post $post, bool $force_delete )

Example 1: Basic Usage

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

        function weplugins_modify_pre_delete_attachment_defaults($delete, $post, $force_delete) { 
            // Update the $delete variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $delete variable conditionally too if you want.
            return $delete; 
        }
        // Add the filter
        add_filter("pre_delete_attachment", "weplugins_modify_pre_delete_attachment_defaults", 10, 3);
    

Example 2: Conditional Deletion

This example shows how to conditionally modify the $delete variable.

        function weplugins_conditional_pre_delete_attachment($delete, $post, $force_delete) { 
            if ($post->post_type == 'specific_type') {
                $delete = false; // Prevent deletion
            }
            return $delete; 
        }
        // Add the filter
        add_filter("pre_delete_attachment", "weplugins_conditional_pre_delete_attachment", 10, 3);
    

Example 3: Removing the Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

        remove_filter("pre_delete_attachment", "weplugins_modify_pre_delete_attachment_defaults", 10, 3);
    

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 customization or are having any trouble using this hook, please contact us.