Use meta data from your theme or another plugin in the grid

Once of the powerful built-in options with Essential Grid is the ability to add custom meta data. This post data can be created from within the grid plugin itself, or you can also pull in meta data that’s already available in your posts via your theme or another plugin.

 

To pull in meta data that already exists via another plugin or your theme, it needs to be connected to the Essential Grid plugin with a Meta Reference. To do that, visit the plugin’s “Meta Data Handling” section:

 

Then select the “Meta References / Aliases” tab, and then click the “Add New Meta Reference” button:

 

Next, fill out the form that pops up, and then click the “Add Meta” button:

• Name – The name of the new meta tag that will be selectable in the Item Skin Editor.
• Internal – The custom alias name that will be used internally. This can be named anything (avoid using spaces and special characters).
• Original – The original meta data alias that you want to pull into the grid. This name/alias will be already assigned via your theme or plugin.  Click here to learn how you can get a full list of your post’s meta names.
• Sort Type – A grid can be sorted by custom meta data. Options for sorting are “Alphabetic” or “Numeric”. If you plan to use this meta data for sorting, “Alphabetic” is good for sorting any type of text, and “Numeric” is good for sorting data such as calendar dates.

 

 

Then click the “Meta References / Aliases” tab again, and you’ll see the new Meta Reference listed:

 

Next, visit your list of Grid’s, and select “Edit Skin”:

 

And now the meta reference will be available when adding an element to your grid’s skin:

 

 

And you can also sort the grid by this new Meta Data Reference if you wish in the grid’s main settings page, in the “Nav-Filter-Sort” section: