TIAA Quick Edit Fields

Version: 1.5.2 Updated: 2026-05-10 Location in repo: plugins/tiaa-quick-edit/ Plugin slug: tiaa-quick-edit Text domain: tiaa-quick-edit

What This Does

Adds two fields to the WordPress Quick Edit panel for posts in the hot-topics and discourse-categories categories, and for all Pages. Adds a sortable Sort Order column to the Posts and Pages list tables.

Fields are shown only for posts that belong to a target category (or for Pages). All other posts see an em-dash in the Sort Order column and no Sort Order field in Quick Edit.

File Structure

tiaa-quick-edit/
├── tiaa-quick-edit.php          # Main plugin file — hooks, AJAX, save
├── tiaa-quick-edit.js           # Quick Edit population + post-save cell update
├── tiaa-quick-edit.css          # Admin styles (badge, fieldset, inputs)
├── tiaa-quick-edit-debug.js     # Optional diagnostic script (see Debugging below)
├── readme.txt                   # WP plugin repository standard readme
└── README.md                    # This file

WordPress Hooks Used

Note on v1.5.2 fix: manage_posts_columns and manage_posts_custom_column are broad filters that fire for all post types, including Elementor templates (elementor_library), WooCommerce products, and any other CPT. They were replaced with the post-type-specific variants (manage_post_posts_columns, manage_page_posts_columns, etc.) to prevent the Sort Order column appearing on unrelated admin screens.

Installation

1. Copy the tiaa-quick-edit/ folder into wp-content/plugins/.
2. In WordPress Admin → Plugins, activate TIAA Quick Edit Fields.
3. Go to Posts or Pages — the Sort Order column and Quick Edit fields are active.

How to Use

Updating Sort Order

1. Hover over any post row → click Quick Edit.
2. The Sort Order field pre-fills with the current value (blank if unset or zero).
3. Enter a number. Leave blank to make no change.
4. Click Update.

Tip: Use gaps between values (10, 20, 30) so you can insert new items later without renumbering everything.

Updating Excerpt

1. Hover over any post row → click Quick Edit.
2. The Excerpt field pre-fills with the current text.
3. Edit the text. Saving an empty excerpt will clear it.
4. Click Update.

Category Configuration

Target categories are defined as a constant in tiaa-quick-edit.php:

define( 'TIAA_QE_CATEGORY_SLUGS', array( 'hot-topics', 'discourse-categories' ) );

To add or remove a category, edit this array and save. No other changes needed.

Debugging

A diagnostic script is included at tiaa-quick-edit-debug.js. To use it:

1. Temporarily enqueue it by adding to the tiaa_qe_enqueue_scripts() function:

   wp_enqueue_script(
       'tiaa-quick-edit-debug',
       plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ) . 'tiaa-quick-edit-debug.js',
       array( 'tiaa-quick-edit' ),
       '1.0',
       true
   );

2. Open Posts, open browser DevTools → Console.
3. Click Quick Edit on any post.
4. Review console output for load confirmation, AJAX responses, and field population.

Remove the enqueue line when done — do not leave debug script active in production.

Known Issues and Constraints

• Sort Order blank for value 0: WordPress stores menu_order as 0 by default. The plugin treats 0 as unset and leaves the field blank to avoid confusing editors. Entering 0 explicitly and saving will store 0.
• Excerpt save clears value if blank: Saving an empty Excerpt field will clear the stored excerpt. This is intentional — use with care.
• Pages show both fields always: The Sort Order field is shown for all Pages regardless of category. This is expected — Pages don't use categories.

Changelog

1.5.2 — 2026-05-10

• Fixed: Sort Order column was appearing on Elementor Saved Templates (elementor_library post type) and other custom post type list screens.
• Root cause: manage_posts_columns and manage_posts_custom_column filters fire for all post types, not just post and page.
• Fix: Replaced manage_posts_columns with manage_post_posts_columns + manage_page_posts_columns, and manage_posts_custom_column with manage_post_posts_custom_column + manage_page_posts_custom_column. Column now only appears on the standard Posts and Pages list screens.
• Also added manage_edit-page_sortable_columns alongside manage_edit-post_sortable_columns for consistency.

1.5.1 — 2026-03-27

• Fixed: JS loading in Elementor editor context caused an inlineEditPost TypeError that interrupted Elementor's widget config AJAX request, leaving the editor sidebar greyed out on first load. Opening a template and closing it was a workaround that forced re-initialisation.
• Fix 1 (PHP): Tightened $typenow check — ! empty( $typenow ) now correctly treats an empty $typenow as 'post' (safe on edit.php) while still blocking non-target post types.
• Fix 2 (JS): Added inlineEditPost === 'undefined' guard at top of script as belt-and-suspenders defence against loading in the wrong admin context.

1.5.0 — 2026-03-27

• Added Excerpt Quick Edit field and Excerpt column for all Pages (page post type).
• Extended enqueue to load on the Pages list screen in addition to Posts.

1.4.0 — 2026-03-17

• Added post-save Sort Order cell update — column refreshes after Quick Edit save without a full page reload.
• Added full PHPDoc blocks on all functions.
• Added JSDoc blocks on all JavaScript functions.
• Added CSS file-level docblock with design token references.

1.3.0 — 2026-03-06

• Added tiaa-quick-edit-debug.js diagnostic helper.

1.2.0 — 2026-03-06

• Improved AJAX error handling and console logging.

1.1.0 — 2026-03-06

• Added tiaa-quick-edit.css with TIAA design tokens (Navy, Teal, Coral).
• Styled Sort Order badge and Quick Edit fieldset.
• Category-scoped display: Sort Order field visible only for target-category posts.

1.0.0 — 2026-03-06

• Initial release.
• Sort Order (menu_order) and Excerpt (post_excerpt) fields in Quick Edit.
• Sort Order column in Posts list table (sortable).
• AJAX pre-fill of current values when Quick Edit opens.
• Category-scoped display: fields visible only for target-category posts.