Dynamically Displaying ACF or Metabox Relationships in Query Loop (Adv) blocks

This guide covers how to display specific Custom Post Type (CPT) items, such as Tours, on another CPT, like Guides, using an ACF Relationship Field or Metabox Relationships.

With the Kadence Advanced Query Loop block and a custom code snippet, this can be done dynamically, without the need to manually select posts.

Want to see this functionality built-in without the need of custom code? Then, consider voting on this Feature Request to show your support. We often implement popular requests into our products.

Follow the steps below to start using relational data within Advanced Query Loop blocks. In this example, we’ll work with two Custom Post Types: Guides and Tours. The goal is to assign a specific Guide to a specific Tour and display this relationship dynamically using Advanced Query Loop blocks. While this example provides a general use case, the same approach can be adapted to fit your specific needs.

In this example, the Query Loop Vars Filter is used to modify the output of the Advanced Query Loop block. The custom code in this tutorial can be added to your site’s functions.php file if you are using a child theme. If you are not using a child theme, you should use a plugin such as Code Snippets to add custom code safely without editing theme files directly.

Get started below:

1. Add a new ACF field group with a Relationship Field or Metabox Relationships, and assign it to the Guide Custom Post Type.
2. Open a post from the Guide CPT and select the related Tours using the Relationship Field.
3. Within the post content, add an Advanced Query Loop block.
   (If you’re using a Hooked Element to display the query, you can add the Advanced Query Loop block to the Element’s content instead of placing it directly within the Guide post content.)
4. In the Query Loop (Adv) Block Settings, set the Post Type to Tour.
5. Then, add the following Code Snippet to your website if you are using ACF:

add_filter('kadence_blocks_pro_query_loop_query_vars', function( $query, $ql_query_meta, $ql_id ) {
   if ( 23146 == $ql_id ) { // Replace 23146 with your actual Query Loop block ID
       $relationship = get_field('ACF_RELATIONSHIP_NAME'); // Replace with your actual ACF field name
       
       $relationship_ids = array();
       
       if( !empty($relationship) ) {
           $relationship_ids = ( is_object($relationship) ? wp_list_pluck($relationship, 'ID') : $relationship );
       }
        
       $query['post__in'] = $relationship_ids;
       $query['orderby'] = 'post__in'; // Preserves the order from ACF field
   }
   return $query;
}, 10, 3);

Notes:

• Replace 23146 with your actual Advanced Query Loop block ID.
  (Read our full guide on customizing this filter here.)
• ACF_RELATIONSHIP_NAME: Replace this with your actual ACF field name

Add this Code Snippet if you are using Metabox:

add_filter('kadence_blocks_pro_query_loop_query_vars', function( $query, $ql_query_meta, $ql_id ) {
   if ( 23146 == $ql_id ) { // Replace 23146 with your actual Query Loop block ID

		$relationships = MB_Relationships_API::get_connected( [
			'id'   => 'METABOX_RELATIONSHIPS_ID', // Replace this with your actual Metabox Relationships ID
			'to'   => get_the_ID(),
		] );

		if ( ! empty( $relationships ) ) {
			// Extract just the post IDs from the array of post objects.
			$relationship_ids = wp_list_pluck( $relationships, 'ID' );

			$query['post__in'] = $relationship_ids;
			$query['orderby'] = 'post__in';
		} else {
			// If no relationships are found, ensure the query returns nothing.
			$query['post__in'] = [0];
		}
   }
   return $query;
}, 10, 3);

Notes:

• Replace 23146 with your actual Advanced Query Loop block ID.
  (Read our full guide on customizing this filter here.)
• METABOX_RELATIONSHIP_ID: Replace this with your actual Metabox Relationships ID

The Guide post will now show all the Tour posts from its associated ACF Relationship Field or Metabox Relationships, rendered dynamically using Kadence’s Query Loop (Adv) block.