Extending Field Types

BuddyPress Profile Pro lets you register new field types without editing the plugin files. New types appear in the admin field-type dropdown alongside the 14 built-in types, and they participate in the same rendering pipeline.

All code goes in your theme’s functions.php or a small site-specific plugin. Never edit the plugin files directly - updates will overwrite those changes.

How the extension path works

A custom field type has three required surfaces and one optional surface:

Surface	What it controls	How to add it
Admin - type registration	The type key and label in the Field Type dropdown	`wbbpp_add_extra_field_types` filter
Frontend - input HTML	The form field shown on the profile edit tab and on the registration form	A PHP function named `bprm_get_field_{type_key}_html()`
Frontend - display (profile tab)	How the saved value looks when viewing the profile’s Extended Fields tab	`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content` filter
Frontend - display (profile loop)	How the value looks in the profile loop / shortcode render	`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases` filter

The plugin dispatches the input function by calling:

call_user_func( 'bprm_get_field_' . $field_type . '_html', $fields, $field_name, $resume_data, $grp_key, $key3, $user_id );

Both display filters use the same three-parameter signature and fall into the default branch of the built-in switch block, so they only fire for types that are not already handled by a native case.

Step 1 - Register the type key

Add your type to the wbbpp_add_extra_field_types filter. The key becomes the internal identifier used throughout the plugin; the value is the label shown in the admin dropdown.

add_filter( 'wbbpp_add_extra_field_types', function( $field_types ) {
    $field_types['color_picker'] = 'Color Picker';
    return $field_types;
} );

Source: admin/inc/wbbpp-resume-filter-functions.php, inside bprm_resume_field_types()

After registering the key, the admin UI lets you create fields of type color_picker. You must complete the steps below before those fields render correctly on the frontend.

Step 2 - Provide the input function

The plugin calls bprm_get_field_{type_key}_html() from two templates:

public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-add-profile.php - the profile edit tab
public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-add-register-profile-field.php - the registration form

Define the function globally (in functions.php or a plugin file). Use this signature - it matches every built-in type such as bprm_get_field_textbox_html():

/**
 * Render the color picker input.
 *
 * @param array  $fields      Full field config array for this field.
 * @param string $field_name  The field's internal key (e.g. 'my_color').
 * @param mixed  $resume_data The user's saved data for the current group (may be empty string on registration).
 * @param string $grp_key     Group key (e.g. 'bprm_contact_details').
 * @param int    $key3        Repeater group index (0 for the first or only row).
 * @param int    $user_id     The user being edited (0 on registration).
 */
function bprm_get_field_color_picker_html( $fields, $field_name, $resume_data, $grp_key, $key3, $user_id ) {
    $g_key         = ( 0 !== $key3 ) ? '_' . $key3 : '';
    $field_meta_key = 'wbbpp_' . $grp_key . $g_key . '_' . $field_name;
    $saved_value   = $user_id ? get_user_meta( $user_id, $field_meta_key, true ) : '';
    $saved_value   = is_array( $saved_value ) ? '' : esc_attr( $saved_value );

    $required_attr  = ! empty( $fields['bprm_nf_required'] ) ? 'required' : '';
    $required_class = ! empty( $fields['bprm_nf_required'] ) ? 'bprm-required' : '';
    ?>
    <div class="field-<?php echo esc_attr( $field_name ); ?> bprm-field-contain">
        <input
            class="inp-text <?php echo esc_attr( $required_class ); ?>"
            type="color"
            name="wbbpp_userdata[<?php echo esc_attr( $grp_key ); ?>][<?php echo esc_attr( $key3 ); ?>][<?php echo esc_attr( $field_name ); ?>][0]"
            value="<?php echo $saved_value ?: '#000000'; ?>"
            <?php echo esc_attr( $required_attr ); ?>
        >
    </div>
    <?php
}

Key rules:

The name attribute must follow the pattern wbbpp_userdata[{grp_key}][{key3}][{field_name}][{index}]. The plugin’s save routine reads $_POST['wbbpp_userdata'] and writes each value to the meta key wbbpp_{grp_key}{g_key}_{field_name}{f_key} - as long as the name attribute is correct, the built-in save handles everything.
For repeater fields, loop from 0 to $field_count - 1 and suffix each meta key and each name index accordingly. See bprm_get_field_textbox_html() for the repeater pattern.
If the function does not exist when the dispatch runs, PHP triggers a fatal error. Always define the function before any page that renders a field of your type.

Step 3 - Render the display value

The plugin renders saved values using two separate templates, each with its own filter. You need to hook both.

`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content`

Controls the display in public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-render-profile.php. This template powers the Extended Fields profile tab. It receives the default branch of the function bprm_render_field_type_html_for_resume().

Filter signature:

apply_filters( 'wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content', $field_type, $value_to_render, $field_name )

Parameter	Type	Notes
`$field_type`	`string`	The type key registered in Step 1
`$value_to_render`	`mixed`	Saved meta value - may be a scalar, an array, or an array of arrays depending on field and repeater configuration
`$field_name`	`string`	The field’s internal key

Source: public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-render-profile.php, line 198

`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases`

Controls the display in public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-profile-render-cases.php. This template is used by the profile loop and the [wbbpp_show_profile] shortcode. It receives the default branch of bprm_profile_render_field_type_html_for_resume().

Filter signature:

apply_filters( 'wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases', $field_type, $value_to_render, $field_name )

Parameters are identical to wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content.

Source: public/buddypress-template/wbbpp-profile-render-cases.php, line 238

Example - hook both filters

/**
 * Render a saved color picker value.
 *
 * @param string $field_type     The type key (we only act on 'color_picker').
 * @param mixed  $value_to_render Saved meta value.
 * @param string $field_name     The field's internal key.
 * @return string HTML string, or empty string for unrecognized types.
 */
function my_plugin_render_color_picker( $field_type, $value_to_render, $field_name ) {
    if ( 'color_picker' !== $field_type ) {
        // Return an empty string - do NOT return $field_type or you will corrupt output.
        return '';
    }

    // The value arrives as whatever was stored by the save routine.
    // For a simple non-repeater field this is typically a scalar string.
    $color = is_array( $value_to_render ) ? ( $value_to_render[0] ?? '' ) : $value_to_render;
    $color = esc_attr( (string) $color );

    return '<div class="fields-items ' . esc_attr( $field_name ) . ' color_picker">'
        . '<span class="color-swatch" style="background:' . $color . '; display:inline-block; width:20px; height:20px; border:1px solid #ccc;"></span>'
        . ' ' . esc_html( $color )
        . '</div>';
}

add_filter( 'wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content',       'my_plugin_render_color_picker', 10, 3 );
add_filter( 'wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases', 'my_plugin_render_color_picker', 10, 3 );

Important: Both filters pass control only when the switch block reaches its default case - meaning the type key is not one of the 14 built-in types. Always guard with a if ( 'your_type_key' !== $field_type ) { return ''; } check so your handler ignores types it does not own.

Step 4 - Saving (automatic for most types)

The plugin saves all extended profile data in wbbpp-add-profile.php by reading $_POST['wbbpp_userdata'] and writing each value to user meta. You do not need a custom save handler as long as:

Your input’s name attribute follows the pattern from Step 2.
Your value is a scalar or a simple array.

The meta key written is:

wbbpp_{group_key}{group_key_suffix}_{field_name}{field_index_suffix}

For example: field my_color in group bprm_contact_details (index 0) is stored under:

wbbpp_bprm_contact_details_my_color

For repeater groups at row index 1: wbbpp_bprm_contact_details_1_my_color.

The save routine uses array_walk_recursive( $data, 'bprm_sanitize_data' ) before writing, which applies sanitize_text_field() to every leaf. If your type stores structured data (e.g. JSON), handle serialization before the form submit or override the name pattern to store as a scalar.

Step 5 - Search support (optional)

By default, the member search system does not know about your new type. If you want members to be searchable by a color_picker field value, you need to handle it in the search layer. The plugin exposes these extensibility points:

wbbpp_search_results filter - modifies search results array (public/class-buddypress-profile-pro-public.php)
wbbpp_search_users filter - modifies the user query object before execution

See the filter parameter details in the search-related sections of this guide above.

Complete checklist

Step	What you add	Required?
1	`wbbpp_add_extra_field_types` filter	Yes
2	`bprm_get_field_{type_key}_html()` function	Yes
3a	`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content` filter	Yes
3b	`wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases` filter	Yes
4	Custom save handler	Only for structured/complex data
5	Search integration	Only if the field should be searchable

Template override alternative

Some of the plugin’s front-end templates support theme overrides; others do not. Whether a theme copy takes precedence depends on how the plugin loads each file.

Supports theme override - these three files are loaded via locate_template() in public/class-buddypress-profile-pro-public.php, so placing a copy at the path below causes the theme version to load instead of the plugin version:

your-theme/
└── buddypress-profile-pro/
    ├── wbbpp-add-profile.php           ← controls the add/edit profile form
    ├── wbbpp-show-profile.php          ← controls the public profile display
    └── wbbpp-add-register-profile-field.php  ← controls the registration form field

Does not support theme override - the following files are loaded via require_once with a hardcoded plugin path in includes/class-buddypress-profile-pro.php (lines 117, 133, 138). Placing copies in your theme directory has no effect:

wbbpp-dropdown-options.php
wbbpp-render-profile.php
wbbpp-profile-render-cases.php

To extend field type rendering in those files, use the PHP filters described in Steps 2-3 (wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content and wbbpp_render_extra_field_type_content_cases). The filter-based approach is the only supported extension point for those files and works without duplicating entire template files.

Notes on the built-in type slugs

The 14 built-in type keys are defined in bprm_resume_field_types(). Do not reuse any of them in your wbbpp_add_extra_field_types callback - returning an existing key under the same array position overwrites the built-in label but the display switch cases still handle that key natively, so your display filters will never fire for it.

The key calender_field is a known spelling inconsistency in the codebase (should be calendar_field). Do not correct it in your code - existing data uses this key and the built-in cases match on it exactly.