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 …

Yakov Shafranovich

Impossible Dreams Network

Adds basic support for external products to WooCommerce 
variations/variable products. This plugin allows you to define an external 
URL on any variation and will then open that link when the user 
clicks on the Add To Cart button. Because the Javascript is used for this, 
any adding to cart that is done via the backend such as with APIs will not 
redirect properly.
Note that as of 03/2023 this plugin is not longer under active development.
<h4>Shortcode support</h4>
This plugin provides two shortcodes that you can use within your site: 
1. [wcev_product_attr] – allows you to display an product attribute, use the “name” attribute to find the right attribute. 
2. [wcev_var_field] – allows you to display a custom field, attribute or data element for a variation, use the “id” attribute to point to the right field. 
The order of precendence is as follows: custom fields, attributes, then data elements. 
3. [wcev_var_postdate] – displays the formatted post date and time for a variation, doesn’t take attributes.
<h4>External SKU and status fields</h4>
In addition to the external URL field, a second field called “External SKU” is provided for each variation. 
You can set this field and then use the provided shortcode to display it. 
The purpose is to track the external SKU separately from the internal one.
There is now ability to specify the ‘Add to Button’ text in a specific variation. If the global setting is set, the variation-specific field will override it.
<h4>Settings</h4>
To change settings, go to WooCommerce Settings -> Products -> External Variations. The following are available: 
* Ability to change if links open in new or same window 
* Ability to change if links open when the ‘Add to Cart’ button is clicked or when the variation is selected 
* Ability to override the ‘Add to Cart’ button text for all external variations
<h4>More Details</h4>
Please note that this plugin has only been tested in a vanilla WordPress / WooCommerce 
installation without any other plugins. If you have other plugins that modify 
the functionality of the Add to Cart button, this plugin may not work or 
cause unintended consequences.
Source code for this plugin can be found at <a href="https://github.com/impossibledreams/wc-external-variations" rel="nofollow ugc">Github</a>
You can find this plugin at <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wc-external-variations/" rel="ugc">WordPress.org</a>
<h3>Known Issues</h3>
When the number of variations exceeds 30, the plugin stops working. This is due 
to a WooCommerce limit and can be bypassed by using a filter as described here: 
https://docs.woocommerce.com/document/change-limit-on-number-of-variations-for-dynamic-variable-product-dropdowns/

WC External Variations

A WordPress plugin that adds basic support for external products to WooCommerce variations/variable products. No longer under active development as of …

External Content vs WC External Variations