The Filter Content tab is where you define exactly which posts, products, pages, or custom content types are included and excluded in your SmartPost display. This ensures you show the most relevant content to your users.

Here is a simple explanation of the features found under this tab:

1) Post Type(s): This drop-down menu is the fundamental filter that allows you to select the type of content you want to display. You can choose to show WordPress Posts, Pages, WooCommerce Products, or any registered Custom Post Types that exist on your website.

COMMON FILTERING

2) Sticky Post: This feature refers to how posts marked as “sticky” in WordPress are treated within the post display element (like a carousel, grid, or list) you are configuring. The following options are available to set the sticky posts: 

•  Normal Position
•  Top of the List
•  Hide Sticky Posts

3) Include Only: This is a powerful filtering option that allows you to hand-pick specific posts, pages, or other content types to display, completely overriding the general category/tag/author filtering rules.

4) Exclude (by title): You can manually search for and select specific posts you want to hide from the display, regardless of their other settings.

• Current Post: Check this box to automatically exclude the current post/page the user is viewing. This is useful for preventing the page from displaying a link to itself.
• Password Protected Posts: Check this box to hide any content that requires a password from unauthorized users.
• Children Posts: Check this box to exclude child pages or posts that are hierarchically organized under a parent post.

5) Limit: This numerical field allows you to specify the maximum number of total items that will appear in your layout. Leave it empty to display all found items.

6) Offset: This numerical field allows you to set the number of items to skip from the beginning of your content list. For example, an offset of ‘5’ will start displaying content from the 6th post onward.

ADVANCED FILTERING

7) Filter By: The Smart Post plugin includes advanced filtration. Once you select a specific filter option, you will see its corresponding options.

7.1) Filter By Taxonomy: This section allows you to configure a live, front-end filter based on your content’s taxonomies (like Categories, Tags, or Custom Taxonomies).

I) Taxonomy Type: Select the specific category system you want to use for filtering. You can choose from built-in types like category (Categories) or post_tag (Tags), or any custom taxonomy available on your site.

II) Hide Taxonomy Name: Check this box if you want to hide the name of the taxonomy (e.g., hide the word “Category”) from appearing as a title or heading above the filter on the front-end.

III) Choose Term(s): Select the specific terms (categories or tags, such as “Business,” “Designer,” or “Clothing”) that you want to be available as filter options for your visitors on the front-end.

IV) Operator: Defines the logical rule for how the selected terms are applied to the post query: 

• IN: Display posts that belong to at least one of the chosen terms.  
• NOT IN: Exclude posts that belong to any of the chosen terms. 
• AND: Display posts that must belong to all of the selected terms simultaneously.

V) Add to Ajax Live Filters: Enable this option to convert the selected terms into an interactive filter (like buttons or a dropdown) that instantly updates the displayed content without a full page reload (using AJAX).

7.2) Filter by Author: This section allows you to control which authors’ posts are included or excluded from your post display.

I) Post by Author: This option allows you to include posts from a specific author or a selection of authors.

II) Post not by Author: This option allows you to exclude posts from a specific author or a selection of authors.

III) Add to Ajax Live Filters: This setting is generally used when you have a front-end filter (like a dropdown or button list) that your visitors can use to filter the posts on the page without a page reload (using AJAX).

7.3) Sort By: Selecting this box will reveal the Sort By Settings below, where you can define the exact rules for ordering the posts.

I) Order By: This sets the initial rule for ordering the posts when they first load. 

• ID
• Title
• Date
• Modified date
• Post in (Drag & Drop)
• Post slug
• Post type
• Random
• Comment count
• Menu order
• Author
• Most Liked
• Most Viewed

II) Add to Ajax Live Filters: If checked, this makes the “Order By” dropdown visible to users on the front-end, allowing them to dynamically change the sort criteria without the page reloading (using AJAX technology).

III) Order: This sets the initial direction for the sorting.

• Ascending: Means the oldest items  (based on the “Order By: Date” setting) will appear first. 
• Descending: Means the newest items (based on the “Order By: Date” setting) will appear first.

IV) Add to Ajax Live Filters: If checked, this makes the “Order” (Descending/Ascending) dropdown visible to users on the front-end, allowing them to dynamically change the sort direction without the page reloading (using AJAX technology).

7.4) Filter by Custom Fields: The Custom Fields filtering empowers you to create post show based on custom fields, allowing you to showcase specific content like products, services, or unique post details tailored to your needs.

I) Custom Fields Keys: A dropdown to select a specific custom field key (e.g., “product_image_gallery” for a product’s photo set).

II) Value Type: A dropdown to set the data type of the custom field (e.g., “Text” for simple text input).

III) Compare Operator: A dropdown to define how to match the value (e.g., “Equal (=)” to find exact matches).

IV) Compare Value: Text field to enter the value you want to filter by (e.g., “gallery1” to match that specific gallery).

V) Add to Ajax Live Filters: A checkbox to enable this filter for real-time updates on the frontend without reloading the page.

7.5) Filter by Status: When the Status checkbox is selected, you are enabling a filter that determines which posts are displayed based on their current states.

I) Post Status: This is where you select which status types of posts you want to include in the displayed list. 

The following post statuses are available: 

• Published
• Scheduled
• Draft
• Pending
• Private
• Trash
• Auto-draft
• Inherit
• Confirmed
• Failed
• Completed

7.6) Filter by Date: When the Date checkbox is selected, you are enabling a filter that restricts the displayed posts to those published within a specific time frame. 

The following date filter options are available. You can also set a specific period by selecting the Specific Period option.  

• Yesterday
• Today Only
• Today and Onwards
• This Week
• This Month
• This Year
• 1 Week ago to today
• 1 month ago to today
• 1 year ago to today
• Specific Date
• Specific Month
• Specific Year
• Specific Period ( From & To )

7.7) Filter by Keyword: This feature lets you search and narrow down content—like posts, products, or pages—by typing specific words or phrases, making it easy to find exactly what you need. With the Ajax Live Filters option, your site can update results instantly without page reloads.

I) Type Keyword: Text field where you can enter the keyword or phrase to filter by (e.g., “travel tips” to show related posts).

II) Add to Ajax Live Filters: A Checkbox to enable this filter for real-time updates on the frontend without reloading the page.

III) Ajax Live Filter Options: 

• Label: Text field to set a custom name for the filter (e.g., “Search Posts” instead of the default label).
• Alignment: Button icons to position the filter horizontally (left, center, or right) for better layout control.