Title: query based on multiple custom fields
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# query based on multiple custom fields

 *  [Josh Byers](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jayberz/)
 * (@jayberz)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/query-based-on-multiple-custom-fields/)
 * I would like to know how to display my posts using a query based on multiple 
   custom fields. I have been through the initial example in the codex and it worked
   quite well for just one custom field, but I need a query based on 4 or 5.
 * I tried to just add more in (as seen below) but that didn’t work.
 * ``$querystr = "
    SELECT wposts.* FROM $wpdb->posts wposts, $wpdb->postmeta wpostmeta
   WHERE wposts.ID = wpostmeta.post_id AND wpostmeta.meta_key = 'model' AND wpostmeta.
   meta_value = '".$model."' AND wpostmeta.meta_key = 'city' AND wpostmeta.meta_value
   = '".$city."' AND wpostmeta.meta_key = 'state' AND wpostmeta.meta_value = '".
   $state."' AND wposts.post_status = 'publish' AND wposts.post_type = 'post' ORDER
   BY wposts.post_date DESC ";‘
 * Any help would be awesome. Thanks.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  [Roger Theriault](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rogertheriault/)
 * (@rogertheriault)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/query-based-on-multiple-custom-fields/#post-770244)
 * Your SQL logic is contradictory/impossible.
 * Your tables have a one to many relationship… for a post with ID = foo, you’ll
   have three separate items in the postmeta table.
 * ie,
 *     ```
       posts                | postmeta
       id      title        | id    meta_key   meta_value
       ----+----------------+----+-----------+-------------
       17       'foobar'      17    'model'    'bar'
       17       'foobar'      17    'city'     'smallville'
       17       'foobar'      17    'state'    'FL'
       ```
   
 * so you can’t possibly have a meta_key = ‘model’ AND = ‘city’ (in the same record)
 * Here’s a rudimentary solution that will result in 3 records (with the same id
   and posts data but different meta data) for each unique id, it’s a start … and
   a tip – test the SQL out on your DB first manually, it’s easier to debug. (I 
   shortened up the SQL using p for posts and m for the meta table)
 *     ```
       SELECT wposts.*
       FROM $wpdb->posts p, $wpdb->postmeta m
       WHERE p.ID = m.post_id
       AND (
         (m.meta_key = 'model' AND m.meta_value = '".$model."')
         OR
         (m.meta_key = 'city' AND m.meta_value = '".$city."')
         OR
         (m.meta_key = 'state' AND m.meta_value = '".$state."')
       )
       AND p.post_status = 'publish' AND p.post_type = 'post'
       ORDER BY p.post_date DESC
       ```
   
 * This is the simple answer, but depending on how many $model matches you have,
   and what you’re doing with the results, determines your choice of how to improve
   it. Google for one to many SQL queries and you’ll see a lot of opinions.
 *  [Roger Theriault](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rogertheriault/)
 * (@rogertheriault)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/query-based-on-multiple-custom-fields/#post-770245)
 * I noticed you weren’t retrieving the meta with the posts… so here’s an option
   to modify what I just posted.
 * Use the SELECT to only return one unique row
 * replace
 *     ```
       SELECT wposts.*
       ```
   
 * with
 *     ```
       SELECT DISTINCT wposts.*
       ```
   

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The topic ‘query based on multiple custom fields’ is closed to new replies.

 * 2 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Roger Theriault](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rogertheriault/)
 * Last activity: [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/query-based-on-multiple-custom-fields/#post-770245)
 * Status: not resolved

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