Description
The PublishPress Future plugin allows you to schedule changes to posts, pages and other content types. With this plugin you can create automatic actions to unpublish, delete, trash, move a post to a new status and more. With the Pro version you can update your content using custom workflows with multiple steps and schedules.
Here’s an overview of what you can do with PublishPress Future:
- Select future action dates in the right sidebar when you are editing a post. This makes it very easy to schedule changes to your content.
- Receive email notifications when Future makes changes to your content.
- Build Action Workflows that allow you to update your content using custom workflows with multiple steps and schedules (available in the Pro version).
- Control post changes via integrations with Advanced Custom Fields and other plugins (available in the Pro version).
PublishPress Future Pro
Upgrade to PublishPress Future Pro
This plugin is the free version of the PublishPress Future plugin. The Pro version comes with all the features you need to schedule changes to your WordPress content. Click here to purchase the best plugin for scheduling WordPress content updates!
Options for Future Actions on Posts
With PublishPress Future, you can configure actions that will happen automatically to your content. Here are the changes you can choose for your posts:
- Change the status to “Draft”.
- Delete the post.
- Send the post to the Trash.
- Change the status to “Private”.
- Enable the “Stick to the top of the blog” option.
- Disable the “Stick to the top of the blog” option.
- Remove all existing categories, and add new categories.
- Keep all existing categories, and add new categories.
- Keep all existing categories, except for those specified in this change.
- Move the post to a custom status (available in the Pro version)
Click here for details on scheduling post changes.
Custom Workflows to Schedule Content Changes
With PublishPress Future Pro, you can build Action Workflows. These allow you to update your content using custom workflows with multiple steps and schedules. Here are some examples of what you can do with Action Workflows:
- Email the site admin when a post is updated.
- Change the post status to “Trash” a week after it was published.
- 15 days after the post is published, move the post to the “Draft” status and add a new category.
- 1 year after a post is published, send an email to the author asking them to check the content.
Click here for details on workflows for changes.
Display the Action Date in Your Content
PublishPress Future can automatically show the expiry or action date inside your articles. The date will be added at the bottom of your post.
Click here to see the Footer Display options.
You can use shortcodes to show the expiration date inside your posts. You can customize the shortcode output with several formatting options.
Click here to see the shortcode options.
Choose Actions Defaults for Post Types
PublishPress Future can support any post type in WordPress. Go to Settings > PublishPress Future > Defaults and you can choose default actions for each post type.
Click here to see the default options.
PublishPress Future Email Notifications
The PublishPress Future plugin can send you email notifications when your content is changed. You can control the emails by going to Settings > PublishPress Future > General Settings.
Click here to see the notification options.
Integrations With Other Plugins
In PublishPress Future Pro it is possible to schedule changes to your posts based on metadata. This makes it possible to integrate PublishPress Future with other plugins. For example, you can create a date field in the Advanced Custom Fields plugin and use that to control the date for Future Actions.
When you are using an integration, there are five types of data that you can update in PublishPress Future:
- Action Status: This field specifies if the action should be enabled.
- Action Date: This field stores the scheduled date for the action.
- Action Type: This field stores the type of action that will be executed.
- Taxonomy Name: The taxonomy name for being used when selecting terms.
- Taxonomy Terms: A list of term’s IDs for being used by the action.
Click here to see how to integrate Future with other plugins.
Import the Future Actions
PublishPress Future Pro supports imports from external data sources. You can import posts and automatically create Future Actions associated with those posts.
The best approach is to use the Metadata Scheduling feature. If you’re using a plugin such as WP All Import, you can match up the import tables with the fields you have selected in the Metadata Scheduling feature.
Click here to see how to import data for Future Actions.
Details on How Post Changes Works
For each expiration event, a custom cron job is scheduled. This can help reduce server overhead for busy sites. This plugin REQUIRES that WP-CRON is setup and functional on your webhost. Some hosts do not support this, so please check and confirm if you run into issues using the plugin.
Click here to see the technical details for this plugin.
Logs for All Your Post Changes
PublishPress Future Pro allows you to keep a detailed record of all the post updates. PublishPress Future records several key data points for all actions:
- The post that the action was performed on.
- Details of the post update.
- When the change was made to the post.
Click here to see more about the logs feature.
Join PublishPress and get the Pro plugins
The Pro versions of the PublishPress plugins are well worth your investment. The Pro versions have extra features and faster support. Click here to join PublishPress.
Join PublishPress and you’ll get access to these Pro plugins:
- PublishPress Authors Pro allows you to add multiple authors and guest authors to WordPress posts.
- PublishPress Blocks Pro has everything you need to build professional websites with the WordPress block editor.
- PublishPress Capabilities Pro is the plugin to manage your WordPress user roles, permissions, and capabilities.
- PublishPress Checklists Pro enables you to define tasks that must be completed before content is published.
- PublishPress Future Pro is the plugin for scheduling changes to your posts.
- PublishPress Permissions Pro is the plugin for advanced WordPress permissions.
- PublishPress Planner Pro is the plugin for managing and scheduling WordPress content.
- PublishPress Revisions Pro allows you to update your published pages with teamwork and precision.
- PublishPress Series Pro enables you to group content together into a series.
- PublishPress Shortlinks Pro allows you to create custom URLs for your posts and external links.
- PublishPress Statuses Pro enables you to create additional publishing steps for your posts.
Together, these plugins are a suite of powerful publishing tools for WordPress. If you need to create a professional workflow in WordPress, with moderation, revisions, permissions and more… then you should try PublishPress.
Bug Reports
Bug reports for PublishPress Future are welcomed in our repository on GitHub. Please note that GitHub is not a support forum, and that issues that are not properly qualified as bugs will be closed.
Screenshots
Installation
Install from within WordPress
- Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin.
- Search for “PublishPress Future”.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
Install manually
- Unzip the plugin contents to the
/wp-content/plugins/post-expirator/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
After activating
Open a post and look for the Future panel in the right sidebar to set your first action date. To apply an action to a whole post type by default, go to Settings > PublishPress Future > Defaults.
This plugin requires WP-Cron to be working on your host, because each scheduled change is a cron event. See the FAQ below.
FAQ
-
What can PublishPress Future do to a post when the date arrives?
-
Change the status to Draft or Private, send the post to the Trash, delete it, turn the “Stick to the top of the blog” option on or off, or change its categories — replacing them, adding to them, or removing only the ones you name. The Pro version can also move a post to a custom status.
-
How do I schedule a change to a post?
-
While editing it. The Future panel in the right sidebar sets the action and the date, and it works with the block editor, the Classic Editor and most page builders.
-
Can I schedule changes to a lot of posts at once?
-
Yes. Action dates can be set through Quick Edit and Bulk Edit on the posts list, so you can apply the same action to as many posts as you need without opening each one.
-
Can I set a default action for a whole post type?
-
Yes. Go to Settings > PublishPress Future > Defaults and choose the action and timing for each post type, so new content gets it without anyone remembering.
-
Which post types does it work with?
-
Any of them. Posts and pages, WooCommerce products, LearnDash courses, and any custom post type — you enable each one under Future > Post Types.
-
Can I schedule changes to WooCommerce Products?
-
Yes. Go to Future > Post Types and check the “Active” box in the “Product” area.
-
Can I schedule changes to Elementor posts?
-
Yes. Go to Future > Post Types and check the “Active” box for the post type you are using with Elementor.
-
Will I be told when a change happens?
-
Yes, if you want to be. PublishPress Future can email you when it acts on your content, and the notifications are controlled under Settings > PublishPress Future > General Settings.
-
Can I show the scheduled date to my readers?
-
Yes, in two ways. The footer display adds the date to the bottom of the post automatically, and a shortcode puts it anywhere in the content, with formatting options for how the date reads.
-
Does this plugin need WP-Cron?
-
Yes, and this is the first thing to check if a scheduled change does not happen. Each action is scheduled as its own cron event, which keeps the load down on busy sites, but it does mean the plugin requires WP-Cron to be working on your host. Some hosts disable it.
-
Is there a record of what was changed?
-
PublishPress Future Pro keeps a log of every action: which post it ran on, what was changed, and when.
-
Can I use a date from Advanced Custom Fields to control the action?
-
Yes, in the Pro version. Metadata Scheduling lets a date field from ACF, or another plugin, supply the action date, along with the action status, action type and taxonomy terms.
-
Can I import posts that already have action dates?
-
Yes, in the Pro version. Importers such as WP All Import can map their columns onto the Metadata Scheduling fields, so imported posts arrive with their Future Actions already set.
-
What do I get in the Pro version?
-
Action Workflows with multiple steps and schedules, custom post statuses, the action log, Metadata Scheduling and its plugin integrations, and imports.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
“Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories” has been translated into 21 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
The full changelog can be found on GitHub.