Using Search Operators

The operators attribute allows you to define how each search value is compared to its corresponding field in the search attribute. It should be a comma-separated list, with each operator matching its position to the same-positioned field ID in the search attribute.

Supported Operators #

Operator	Meaning
= or is	Equals
!=, isnot, is not	Not equal to
contains	Partial match
like	SQL-style LIKE with custom wildcards
in	Value is in array
notin, not in	Value is NOT in array
gt	Greater than
lt	Less than
gt=	Greater than or equal to
lt=	Less than or equal to

To compare against multiple values using in or not in, pass a PHP-style array in the shortcode content, like:

array('item one', 'item two', 'item three')

Operator Matching Behavior #

Each operator in operators must match the position of a field in the search attribute:

•  If you pass fewer operators than search fields:
  • The remaining fields default to = (exact match).
  • This lets you apply advanced filters only where needed.
•  If you pass more operators than search fields:
  • Extra operators are ignored.
•  If operators is omitted entirely:
  • All search fields use = by default.

Examples #

Basic match with mixed operators

[gravops_search="3,5,8" operators="contains,=,gt"]
Smith|john@example.com|50
[/gravops_search]

• Field 3 must contain “Smith”
• Field 5 must equal “john@example.com“
• Field 8 must be greater than 50

Using array for in

[gravops_search search="5" operators="in"]
array('yes','maybe')
[/gravops_search]

• Field 5 must match one of the given values

Mixing defaults and explicit operators

[gravops_search search="3,5,8" operators="contains"]
Smith|john@example.com|50
[/gravops_search]

• Field 3 uses contains
• Field 5 and 8 default to =

Tips & Gotchas #

• Array format: Use array('one','two') exactly—do not just write comma-separated values.
• Order matters: Ensure your operators match the order of search fields.
• If a field is repeated in search, you can still assign distinct operators per instance.