Title: Exclude meta_key from wp_query
Last modified: August 21, 2016

---

# Exclude meta_key from wp_query

 *  [Markgoessens](https://wordpress.org/support/users/markgoessens/)
 * (@markgoessens)
 * [13 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/exclude-meta_key-from-wp_query/)
 * Hi everybody,
 * I’m struggling for hours now with the following problem. What I’m trying to do
   is ‘exclude reduced items from a wp-query array’
 * This is the code I allready have:
 *     ```
       echo View::render('page-home.twig', array(
        'wp_query' => $wp_query,
        'posts' => aviators_properties_get_most_recent(4),
        'meta_key' => '_property_reduced',
        'meta_compare' => '!=',
        'meta_value' => true
          )
       );
       ```
   
 * I know that the meta_key and meta_value is right. The first three lines is a 
   part of the template which I use. So this is right too. But I’m not sure about
   the rest.
 * I tried several alternatives like: meta_compare IN / NOT IN / EXISTS / NOT EXISTS/
   = / LIKE
 * I also tried to put the meta things in an extra array. Like this:
 *     ```
       echo View::render('page-home.twig', array(
        'wp_query' => $wp_query,
        'posts' => aviators_properties_get_most_recent(4),
        'meta_query' => array(
               array(
               'meta_key' => '_property_reduced',
               'meta_compare' => '!=',
               'meta_value' => true
           )
          )
         )
       );
       ```
   
 * All of this doesn’t work. Nothing changes at all.
 * The page where I’m working on is:[http://www.theoquaedackers.nl/test](http://www.theoquaedackers.nl/test)
   At the bottom of this page you see ‘recent toegevoegd’ In this array I want to
   exclude reduced items.
 * Does anyone know what I’m doing wrong?
 * Greets Mark

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [13 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/exclude-meta_key-from-wp_query/#post-3937343)
 * Your first attempt should have sufficed, except that instead of `true`, you probably
   need `'true'`, a string value, not a boolean value. The datatype for meta values
   is longtext, not mixed. As such, watch for case, because `true==True` but `'true'!
   ='True'`
 *  Thread Starter [Markgoessens](https://wordpress.org/support/users/markgoessens/)
 * (@markgoessens)
 * [13 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/exclude-meta_key-from-wp_query/#post-3937362)
 * Hi bcworkz,
 * Thanks for your reply. I put the first code back and changed the meta value to‘
   true’ or “true”
    But infortunitaly, this doesn’t work either. I don’t know what
   you mean with the last sentence. I tried ‘True’ with capital ‘t’ also. I also
   tried == instead of != But all of these combinations won’t work.
 * It’s very strange. Because there is another page on this website which uses this
   array:
 *     ```
       $properties = array(
       'post_type' => 'property',
       'posts_per_page' => aviators_settings_get_value('properties', 'properties', 'per_page'),
       'paged' => $paged,
       'tax_query' => array(),
       'meta_query' => array(
       	array(
       		'key' => '_property_reduced',
       		'value' => true,
       		'compare' => 'NOT EXISTS',
       		),
       	array(
       		'key' => '_property_featured',
       		'value' => true,
       		'compare' => 'NOT EXISTS',
       		)
       	)
       );
       ```
   
 * And that works on that page. Of course I also tried ‘NOT EXISTS’, like on that
   other page, but this don’t work in this case.
 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [13 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/exclude-meta_key-from-wp_query/#post-3937391)
 * Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t matter what type true is in PHP, I’m more conscious
   of type than need be, coming from strongly typed languages.
 * It may be the View::render() method does not fully support WP_Query arguments.
   If it did, your query arguments should work. I’m sure if you did a new WP_Query
   using those arguments, the correct results would be returned. But I’ve no idea
   what View::render() does with such arguments. I take it this is some sort of 
   theme method? I’ve never seen anything like it.
 * Also, I was only looking at the meta arguments, I don’t know how the ‘posts’ 
   or ‘wp_query’ arguments fit in, I have to assume they are proper, knowing nothing
   of View::render(). Are you sure they are proper?
 * Is there a way to pass an array of post objects and get them rendered properly?
   I’m thinking do your own new WP_Query outside of View::render() and then pass
   the results to be rendered somehow. Or maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to write
   your own loop to output the same thing?
 * I’m grasping at straws because I’m unfamiliar with your theme. As such, I’m not
   sure I’ll be of much more help 🙁

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘Exclude meta_key from wp_query’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [array](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/array/)
 * [query](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/query/)

 * In: [Hacks](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/plugins-and-hacks/hacks/)
 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * Last activity: [13 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/exclude-meta_key-from-wp_query/#post-3937391)
 * Status: not resolved

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