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Ethan Lin edited this page Nov 7, 2025 · 1 revision

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I list the same post under multiple letters?

No. AlphaListing displays each post, page, or term once based on the first character of its title. Duplicating entries under multiple headings is not supported.

Why is the list layout completely broken?

When using page builders such as WPBakery or Elementor, insert the shortcode inside a regular text block. Placing it inside a preformatted block wraps the output in <pre> tags, which breaks the layout.

Why is my list in a single column?

Each letter heading needs at least 11 items before the layout adds a second column. At 11 items the list becomes two columns (6 items in the first column and 5 in the second). AlphaListing adds a third column at 21 items if space permits and continues balancing content up to 15 columns where practical.

How do I show posts of a different post type or multiple post types?

Replace the placeholders with your actual post-type slugs.

Shortcode examples

  • Single post type:
[alphalisting post-type="post-type-slug"]
  • Multiple post types:
[alphalisting post-type="type1-slug,type2-slug"]

PHP examples

Add the snippets to a theme file.

  • Single post type:
<?php
  the_alphalisting( array(
    'post_type' => 'post-type-slug',
  ) );
?>
  • Multiple post types:
<?php
  the_alphalisting( array(
    'post_type' => array( 'type1-slug', 'type2-slug' ),
  ) );
?>

The function accepts the same arguments as WP_Query. Place the code inside PHP blocks and omit the opening/closing tags if the surrounding template is already in PHP mode.

How do I show posts from a specific category?

Use either the shortcode or PHP.

Shortcode examples

  • Single term:
[alphalisting taxonomy="taxonomy-slug" terms="term-slug"]
  • Multiple terms:
[alphalisting taxonomy="taxonomy-slug" terms="term1-slug,term2-slug"]

PHP example

<?php
  the_alphalisting( array(
      'tax_query' => array(
      'taxonomy' => 'taxonomy-slug',
      'field'    => 'slug',
      'terms'    => array( 'term1-slug', 'term2-slug' ),
    ),
  ) );
?>

How do I show terms from a taxonomy instead of posts?

Specify the taxonomy slug and switch the display mode to terms.

Shortcode example

[alphalisting taxonomy="taxonomy-slug" display="terms"]

PHP example

<?php
  the_alphalisting( 'taxonomy-slug' );
?>

How do I remove section targeting or limit which sections are available?

Add the following to the theme's functions.php file:

<?php
  add_filter( 'alphalisting-sections', '__return_empty_array' );
?>

To restrict the sections, adjust the returned array so it only includes the desired entries. Insert the code immediately after the first <?php if the file already contains PHP code.

Can I enable the built-in styles without using the shortcode?

Yes. Enqueue the styles manually by adding this snippet to functions.php:

<?php
  add_action( 'init', 'alphalisting_force_enable_styles', 99 );
?>

To limit the override to a specific page, wrap the helper in a conditional check:

<?php
  add_action( 'init', 'custom_override_wrapper_function', 99 );
  function custom_override_wrapper_function() {
    if ( ! is_page( 'custom-alphalisting-page-slug-or-ID' ) ) {
      return;
    }
    alphalisting_force_enable_styles();
  }
?>

How do I disable the built-in styling?

Return false from the styling filter:

<?php
  add_filter( 'alphalisting-add-styling', '__return_false' );
?>

How do I display the listing as a tabbed panel?

Enable tabbed output by returning true from the filter:

<?php
  add_filter( 'alphalisting-tabify', '__return_true' );
?>