Custom fields can make bulk modification of pages & posts an easier process since they render the content in a much more modular way. If custom fields are use, then the position of the filed content will be dictated within the page | post template via the php-html coding, and can be further controlled via CSS styling.
To universally call all custom fields rendered in a list, insert this code where desired within the loop:
<?php the_meta(); ?>
To selectively insert individual custom fields, insert this code (for each field) where desired:
<?php echo get_post_meta($post->ID, “test”, true); ?> *** replace “test” with given field name
With the code above if a given field is NOT populated, nothing will be shown. To display default content for an “empty” field use this conditional language:
<? php $field-name=get_post_meta ($post->ID,’field-name’,true);
if($field-name){ ?>
<?php echo $field-name;?>
<?php } else {?>
<p> default message</p> <?php }?>
Here is a plugin that will store a group of named custom fields and display them for any new post or page
Procedure to attach a thumbnail image to a post using custom field:
<a href=”<?php the_permalink()?>” rel=”bookmark” <img style=”float:letf; margin:0px 10px 0px 0px; src=”<?php echo get_post_meta
(?post ->ID, “thumbnail-field-name”, true); ?>” alt=”alt_text”/></a>
