Custom Fields in a dynamic css file using .php

You should be able to simply link to your stylesheet in the head?

Are your links to the stylesheet(s) valid? Do you use pretty permalinks? What does your actual CSS link look like in the theme file? Are you using relative or absolute paths?

I’m using absolute paths as this is a test on a local install. The CSS link looks like a normal css <link>: I basically check to see if there is a $key “post_css” and if there is I assign the value to $css. If $css is NOT empty I put in the <link> to the post-css.php file that is in my child theme directory.

$css = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'post_css', true);
if(!empty($css)){?>

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-content/themes/simo-portfolio&blog/post-css.php" media="screen" />

In the post-css.php file I’ve got the following code:

<?php header("Content-type: text/css");

$css = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'post_css', true);
 echo $css;
}
?>

Any ideas?

bump

So, after some extensive testing I’ve pinpointed where my code is breaking down. I must say, I didn’t expect it at all (it was the last thing I tested..)

So in the header I’m using:

$css = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'post_css', true);
if(!empty($css)){?>

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-content/themes/simo-portfolio&blog/post-css.php?post-id=<?php echo $post->ID; ?>" media="screen" />

<?php } ?>

And the code I’m using in post-css.php is:

<?php header('Content-type: text/css'); ?>

<?php
  $id = $_GET['post-id'];
  echo get_post_meta($id, 'post_css', true);
?>

As far as I can tell, the get_post_meta function isn’t working. Like, just flat out isn’t working. I tested each line prior to this and the values were being passed successfully. I used a constant in place of $id, and nothing. I assigned get_post_meta to another variable, attempted to echo the new variable, and nothing.

So, my new question, is there a function call I need to make to gain access to this function? I don’t consider myself a php developer so I’m halfway clueless here. The post-csss.php file is sitting in my theme folder, I assumed that is all I needed to do to gain access to all of the lovely WP functions. Anyone know why the get_post_meta stopped working? Or an idea on how to gain access to WP functions that aren’t really part of the WP architecture? Or even better, how to get this working?

Sorry for the super long post, but I do appreciate any insight!
Thanks,
Matthew Simo

You can’t get access to the WordPress functions in that file because you are not running it through the framework. If you hit a URL like this directly …

https://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-content/themes/simo-portfolio&blog/post-css.php?post-id=1

… it doesn’t run through WordPress at all so it has no access to the functions. Just like if you hit …

https://localhost:8888/wordpress/wp-content/themes/simo-portfolio&blog/single.php

… directly, nothing will happen. It has to run through a WordPress URL.

I’m still not sure why you are not wanting to add the styles to the HEAD of the document. That is a completely valid, standards-based approach. If you have custom CSS that applies to one single page of the site, abstracting that out into a separate file (that isn’t really a file) just does not make any sense: creating a fake re-usable file that won’t ever be re-used is horribly inefficient. (One extra unnecessary server request, too.) Especially if you have to query the database to figure out if it has custom values in the header.php and then have to query the database again in the post-css.php to output it.

Here’s the tutorial that walks through how to do it this way …

https://www.wprecipes.com/how-to-embed-css-in-your-posts-with-a-custom-field

… though I would recommend adding it to functions.php and wp_head() instead of directly in header.php.

Hey mattsimo,
I’m doing something similar to your post. In my research, I came across your post. I have a solution for you.

In your PHP file that you’re using as a CSS file, add the following after your header() declaration:

require_once('../../../../wp-load.php');
require_once('../../../../wp-includes/post.php');

The backslashes aren’t great, but can be neatened up at a later stage. The only requirement is that you make sure the number of ‘../’ is relative to the position of your PHP file in the filesystem.

The above lines performs the general WordPress load, allowing for access to various variables, etc, some of which are required by the second line, which is the location of the get_post_meta() function.

The rest, as you’ve written it using get_post_meta(), should be cool.

I hope this helps. ??

Cheers,
Matt.

Trying to do the same thing. Mattyza’s post was really helpful. The only thing keeping my get_post_meta() from working is the fact that it doesn’t have access to the ID of the post that’s currently being displayed. This happens only because the PHP file that i’m using as a CSS is running outside the wordpress system / framework. How do i give it access to the ID? Tried a lot of different things but nothing worked. ??