Profile Search
The profile search feature adds a filter form to the BuddyPress members directory. Visitors can use it to find members whose extended profile fields match specific values — for example, members in a particular city, with a certain skill, or who joined in a specific year.
Enabling Profile Search
Section titled “Enabling Profile Search”- Go to WB Plugins > Profile Pro > Profile Search.
- Check Enable profile search.
- The search field builder appears below the toggle.
- Add the fields you want to search on (see below).
- Click Save Changes.
Once enabled, the search form appears at the top of the BuddyPress members directory page.
Adding Search Fields
Section titled “Adding Search Fields”Each row in the builder represents one filter in the search form. Click Add Field to add a new row. Each row has four columns:
Search Field — pick which profile field this filter searches. The dropdown lists:
- Core WordPress user fields: First Name, Last Name, Nickname, User ID, User Login, User Email, Display Name.
- All extended profile fields you have created (grouped by their group name).
- Standard BuddyPress xprofile fields (if BuddyPress xProfile is active).
Field Label — the label shown above the input in the search form. Defaults to the field name but you can change it to something more user-friendly.
Field Description — optional helper text shown below the input in the search form.
Search Mode — controls how the search matches the member’s stored value. The available modes depend on the field type:
| Field type | Available search modes |
|---|---|
| Textbox, Textarea, Email, Phone, URL, Google Place Autocomplete | contains, is, is like |
| Select (Dropdown), Radio Button, Year Dropdown | is |
| Textbox and Dropdown Combination | match any |
| Selectize, Checkbox | match any, match all |
| Calendar | contains, is, is like, range |
To remove a search field row, click Delete on that row.
Rows can be reordered by dragging the arrow icon on the left.
How the Search Form Looks
Section titled “How the Search Form Looks”The form appears on the members directory with a Show Search Form toggle link. Members click it to expand the form, fill in their filters, and click Search.
After a search, the active filters are displayed above the member list as a summary (field label + value). A Clear link resets all filters.
Search state is persisted in a cookie (wprm-profile-search) so the filters survive page navigation within the directory.
Search Modes Explained
Section titled “Search Modes Explained”is — exact match. The member’s stored value must equal the search value exactly. Use this for fixed-option fields like dropdowns and radio buttons.
contains — the stored value must contain the search string anywhere within it. Good for text fields where you want partial matches.
is like — similar to “contains” in effect. Used for text searches where approximate matching is acceptable.
match any — the stored value matches at least one of the selected values. Relevant for Selectize and Checkbox fields where a member may have multiple stored values.
match all — the stored value contains all of the selected values. Useful when you want members who have every selected skill or every selected category.
range — available for Calendar fields. Lets the visitor specify a date range.
Google Place Autocomplete in Search
Section titled “Google Place Autocomplete in Search”If a profile field uses the Google Place Autocomplete type and a valid Google API key is configured, the corresponding search input also shows location autocomplete suggestions as the visitor types.
If no API key is configured, the field falls back to a plain text search input.
What Gets Searched
Section titled “What Gets Searched”The plugin searches the user meta keys written by the extended profile fields. The search is handled by modifying the BuddyPress member query — specifically the bp_members_get_members query’s meta_query argument. Serialised multi-value meta keys are matched using a LIKE prefix comparison.
Standard BuddyPress xProfile fields are also searchable via this form if BuddyPress xProfile is active — the builder picks them up automatically.
Core WordPress user table fields (first name, last name, nickname, etc.) are searched using WP_User_Query meta or user data conditions.
Empty State
Section titled “Empty State”If no search fields have been configured but the “Enable profile search” checkbox is checked, the form area renders but shows no inputs. Add at least one field row and save to give visitors something to search on.
If a search returns no members, the members directory displays the standard BuddyPress “No members found” message.