Thorsten Frommen

Have you ever wanted to integrate external content such as a specific post of an external website into your WordPress website? But treat it like any other post? That is, have it appear as teaser or part of a specific (pseudo) archive?
This is exactly when External Content kicks in.
<h4>Usage</h4>
External Content registers a custom post type that, by default, supports title, content, excerpt and thumbnail. This can be customized, though. Managing your posts in your backend is no different from any other post type. Create a new post, give it a title, write some text, define an individual excerpt, and set a post thumbnail, if you wish. Then assign each post an individual external URL by means of the according meta box. This external URL will be used as the post’s permalink.
Filters
In order to customize certain aspects of the plugin, it provides you with several filters. For each of these, a short description as well as a code example on how to alter the default behavior is given below. Just put the according code snippet in your theme’s <code>functions.php</code> file or your customization plugin, or to some other appropriate place.
<code>external_content_args</code>
If you want to alter a specific post type argument but you can’t find a fitting filter, there’s <code>external_content_args</code>, which provides you with the complete args array.
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the post type args.
 *
 * @param array $args Post type args.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_args', function( $args ) {

 // Use hierarchical external content
 $args[ 'hierarchical' ] = TRUE;

 return $args;
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_description</code>
The post type description can be customized by using the <code>external_content_description</code> filter.
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the post type description.
 *
 * @param string $description Post type description.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_description', function() {

 // Provide a description
 return 'Simple post type for handling external content like any other post.';
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_labels</code>
In case you don’t like the labels, easily adapt them to your liking.
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the post type labels.
 *
 * @param array $labels Post type labels.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_labels', function( $labels ) {

 // A little more horror, please...
 $labels[ 'not_found' ] = 'ZOMG, no external content found!!1!!1!!oneone!!!1!eleven!1!';

 return $labels;
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_meta_key</code>
If you want to alter the meta key for the external URL, feel free to do it via this filter.
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the meta key.
 *
 * @param string $meta_key Meta key.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_meta_key', function() {

 // Let's Shrekify the meta key
 return 'far_far_away';
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_post_type</code>
Yes, you can also alter the post type (slug).
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the post type.
 *
 * @param string $post_type Post type.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_post_type', function() {

 return 'exotic_stuff';
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_supports</code>
This filter provides you with the post type supports.
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the post type supports.
 *
 * @param array $supports Post type supports.
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_supports', function( $supports ) {

 // If your theme uses the excerpt for teasers, just remove the editor to prevent confusion
 foreach ( $supports as $key => $value ) {
 if ( 'editor' === $value ) {
 unset( $supports[ $key ] );
 }
 }

 return $supports;
} );
</code></pre>
<code>external_content_use_external_url</code>
The permalink of external content is, by default, replaced with the post’s according external URL (i.e., post meta). To disable this behavior, just do the following:
<pre><code>/**
 * Filter the usage of the external URL as permalink.
 *
 * @param bool $use_external_url Use the external URL as permalink?
 */
add_filter( 'external_content_use_external_url', '__return_false' );
</code></pre>
<h4>Contribution</h4>
To contribute to this plugin, please see its <a href="https://github.com/tfrommen/external-content" rel="nofollow ugc">GitHub repository</a>.
If you have a feature request, or if you have developed the feature already, please feel free to use the Issues and/or Pull Requests section.
Of course, you can also provide me with translations if you would like to use the plugin in another not yet included language.

External Content

This plugin registers a custom post type to handle external content like any other post. The post permalink is replaced by a custom post meta that hol …

François-Régis Ferry

URL To Featured Image allows you to use an image hosted anywhere on the internet as the featured image (post thumbnail) for any post, page, or custom post type.
Perfect for: 
– Using CDN-hosted images as thumbnails. 
– Saving server space by not uploading large images. 
– Dynamically updating featured images from an external source.
Key Features: 
– Simple URL field in the post editor. 
– Works with posts, pages, and custom post types. 
– No extra database tables. 
– Fully compatible with WordPress themes and loops. 
– Uses standard WordPress functions like <code>the_post_thumbnail()</code>. 
– Ability to save the target image n the media libary if needed
How it works: 
When displaying the post, the plugin replaces the default WordPress featured image with the one provided via the URL.
<h3>Custom Hooks</h3>
<h4>Filters</h4>
<ul>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_post_type_exclusions</code> 
Filters the post types where the URL To Featured Image metabox should not appear. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(array) $exclusions_list List of post types where the metabox is excluded. </li>
<li>(object) $post Current post. 
Return: (array) Modified exclusions list.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_url_allowed</code> 
Filters whether an external image URL is allowed before fetching. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(bool) $authorization Whether the URL is allowed. </li>
<li>(string) $url The external image URL. </li>
<li>(array) $parts Parsed URL parts (from <code>wp_parse_url</code>). 
Return: (bool) True to allow, false to block.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_allowed_mime_types</code> 
Filters the allowed MIME types for external images. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(array) $mime_types Allowed MIME types. 
Return: (array) Modified list of MIME types.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_max_image_size</code> 
Filters the maximum allowed image size when fetching external images. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(int) $size Max file size in bytes. 
Return: (int) Modified maximum size.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_image_data</code> 
Filters the raw image data fetched from the external URL. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(string) $image_data Raw image data (string). </li>
<li>(int) $post_id Current post ID. 
Return: (string) Modified image data.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_external_featured_image_alt</code> 
Filters the alt text for the external featured image. 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(string) $alt_text The alt text (default: post title). </li>
<li>(int) $post_id Current post ID. 
Return: (string) Modified alt text.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<code>friss_utfi_external_featured_image_styles</code> 
Filters the inline CSS styles applied to the external featured image. 
By default, the plugin enforces responsive behavior (<code>max-width:100%; height:auto;</code>). 
Parameters:
<ul>
<li>(string) $default_styles The default style string. </li>
<li>(int) $post_id Current post ID. 
Return: (string) Modified CSS styles.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

URL To Featured Image

Set any external image URL as your post's featured image automatically.

External Content vs URL To Featured Image