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MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies

This extension helps you create custom post types and custom taxonomies with a user-friendly interface.

Creating post types​

To create a new custom post type, go to Meta Box » Post Types and click New Post Type:

create a new custom post type

There are several settings divided into tabs. In most cases, you only need to enter the plural name, singular name, and slug in the General tab and click the Publish button to register the post type.

Post type settings​

If you want to customize the post type such as changing the menu icon or disabling the block editor (Gutenberg) for it, please see the settings below.

tip

From our experience, the most important settings are in the Advanced tab.

creating a post type

NameDescription
Plural nameGeneral name for the post type, usually plural. Required.
Singular nameName for one object of this post type. Required.
SlugPost type key. Must not exceed 20 characters and may only contain lowercase alphanumeric characters, dashes, and underscores.

When entering a singular name for the post type, the slug is automatically generated. You can manually change the slug if necessary.

Getting PHP code​

If you're familiar with PHP, you might want to get the PHP code to register the post type. To do that, click the Get PHP Code button and copy the generated code. Then can insert it into your theme's functions.php file (or your plugin's file). After inserting, you can deactivate the extension to make your site a little bit faster.

Creating taxonomies​

To create a new custom taxonomy, go to Meta Box » Taxonomies and click Add New:

create a new taxonomy

There are several settings divided into tabs. In most cases, you only need to enter the plural name, singular name, and slug in the General tab and click the Publish button to register the taxonomy.

The settings are similar to creating post types above.

Taxonomy settings​

If you want to customize the taxonomy such as setting the hierarchy or showing it in the post type list table, please see the settings below.

tip

From our experience, the most important settings are in the Advanced tab.

create taxonomies

NameDescription
Plural nameGeneral name for the taxonomy, usually plural. Required.
Singular nameName for one object of this taxonomy. Required.
SlugTaxonomy key, must not exceed 32 characters and may only contain lowercase alphanumeric characters, dashes, and underscores.

When entering a singular name for the taxonomy, the slug is automatically generated. You can manually change the slug if necessary.

Getting PHP code​​

If you're familiar with PHP, you might want to get the PHP code to register the taxonomy. To do that, click the Get PHP Code button and copy the generated code. Then can insert it into your theme's functions.php file (or your plugin's file). After inserting, you can deactivate the extension to make your site a little bit faster.

Video tutorial​

The video below shows you the steps and explains the settings for a custom post type (and also custom taxonomy):

Notes​

Custom capabilities for custom post types​

When creating custom post types, you have 3 options to set capabilities: copy from "post", copy from "page" or create custom capabilities. While copying from "post" or "page" is clear (the plugin applies the same capabilities from post or page for this custom post type), creating custom capabilities might be confusing.

When you select "custom" for capabilities, the plugin does the following (assumming we have a post type book):

  • Set 'capability_type' => array( 'book', 'books' ),, and
  • Set 'map_meta_cap' => true

These 2 steps will create the following capabilities for the post types:

[edit_post]              => 'edit_book'
[read_post]              => 'read_book'
[delete_post]            => 'delete_book'

// Primitive capabilities used outside of map_meta_cap():

[edit_posts]             => 'edit_books'
[edit_others_posts]      => 'edit_others_books'
[publish_posts]          => 'publish_books'
[read_private_posts]     => 'read_private_books'

// Primitive capabilities used within map_meta_cap():

[read]                   => 'read',
[delete_posts]           => 'delete_books'
[delete_private_posts]   => 'delete_private_books'
[delete_published_posts] => 'delete_published_books'
[delete_others_posts]    => 'delete_others_books'
[edit_private_posts]     => 'edit_private_books'
[edit_published_posts]   => 'edit_published_books'
[create_posts]           => 'edit_books'

And thanks to map_meta_cap, the admin role can edit the posts types.

Block templates with MB Blocks​

Sometimes you want to load default blocks created by MB Blocks when creating a new post. Block templates allow specifying a default initial state for an editor session. Use the argument template when registering the post type:

'template' => [ ['meta-box/{$block_id}'] ]

Reserved terms​

There is a complete set of reserved keywords, or terms, in WordPress that should not be used in certain circumstances as they may conflict with core functionality. See more in the documentation.

FAQ​

Why do I see 404 errors (not found) for my custom post type?

The problem is that WordPress hasn't refreshed the rewrite rules for the custom post type. Please go to Settings » Permalink and re-save the settings.

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How do I customize the permalink for custom post types?

Meta Box only supports changing the rewrite slug for custom post types. If you want more customization for the permalink, you'll need a plugin like Custom Post Type Permalinks or if you're a developer, you can follow this guide.

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How do I add custom taxonomies to the permalink of custom post types?

Similar to the question above, Meta Box only supports changing the rewrite slug for custom post types. If you want to add custom taxonomies to the permalink of custom post types, you'll need a plugin like Custom Post Type Permalinks or if you're a developer, you can follow this guide.

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How do I change a post type slug without losing posts?

After changing your post type slug, you can use the plugin Post Type Switcher to switch the posts from the old post type to the new one.

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Will my posts be deleted if I remove a post type?

No, they're still in the database, but not visible. To show them again, create a post type with the old slug.

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Can I change the back-end UI for selecting taxonomy to radio buttons?

The default WordPress UI can't be changed to radio buttons. However, you can remove the default WordPress UI and create a taxonomy field with Meta Box, which supports many ways to display and choose terms, including radio buttons. See this video for how to do that:

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Can I use this extension without Meta Box?

Yes! This extension can work independently without Meta Box. If you only need custom post types and/or custom taxonomies (no custom fields), then you can install the extension for free from WordPress.org.

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