I have taken over a site from someone. He has a list of businesses on the site, each one has a URL, saved as a field:

$iframe_url = get_field(‘manufacturer_url’);

It seems he used to manage this URL on a custom post-type page, but the actual field to edit the URL has disappeared – maybe in some recent WordPress update.

I have made sure on the edit page, all the elements are checked off on the ‘screen options’ tab. But i still cannot see where this field is, where i can change the URL. Any ideas?

Using Version 5.8.7 of the plugin WP version: WordPress 5.1.4 running Chameleon-Child theme.

I have taken over a site from someone. He has a list of businesses on the site, each one has a URL, saved as a field:

$iframe_url = get_field(‘manufacturer_url’);

It seems he used to manage this URL on a custom post-type page, but the actual field to edit the URL has disappeared – maybe in some recent WordPress update.

I have made sure on the edit page, all the elements are checked off on the ‘screen options’ tab. But i still cannot see where this field is, where i can change the URL. Any ideas?

Using Version 5.8.7 of the plugin WP version: WordPress 5.1.4 running Chameleon-Child theme.

• advanced-custom-fields

• Are you using the Block Editor? Some old meta fields need to be explicitly set to show in the REST API so they work with the new Editor. – WebElaine Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 22:12
• @WebElaine - yes, I'm using the block editor. Can you explain what should be done? Thanks – kneidels Commented Feb 8, 2020 at 21:01

2 Answers 2

To expose a postmeta field in the Block Editor, you need to register it and enable it to show in the REST API.

With your field being named "manufacturer_url" you would use something like this:

<?php
// Use "init" hook
add_action('init', 'wpse_register_mfr_postmeta');
function wpse_register_mfr_postmeta() {
    // Make sure to set your CPT slug as the first argument
    register_post_meta('mycptslug', 'manufacturer_url', array(
        // Critical part: show in REST API
        'show_in_rest' => true,
        // You're probably storing a string but double-check first:
        'type' => 'string',
        // If you only allow 1 manufacturer_url per post, use this
        'single' => true
    ));
}
?>

You can place this in a custom or child theme's "functions.php" file, or as its own custom plugin just by adding a comment with "Plugin Name" at the top. (Since you probably don't want the data disappearing if you switch themes, setting it up as a plugin is likely the best approach.)

Followup for any future questioner.

It seems like the Field Group of ACF had been deleted. As soon as i created a new group and field named 'manufacturer_url' the fields all became accessible again. Thank you.