FAQ and Troubleshooting
Common questions and problems with BuddyPress Schedule Activity.
General questions
Section titled “General questions”What does this plugin do?
Section titled “What does this plugin do?”It lets registered members write a BuddyPress activity post now and have it appear in the activity feed automatically at a future date and time they choose.
Who can use scheduling?
Section titled “Who can use scheduling?”Any logged-in member can schedule activities. There is no special role requirement beyond being a registered, logged-in user on the site.
Does it work in groups?
Section titled “Does it work in groups?”Yes. Open the activity posting area inside a group, write your post, and follow the same scheduling steps. The post will appear in the group’s activity feed when it publishes. You must be a group member with posting permissions.
Does it work on mobile?
Section titled “Does it work on mobile?”Yes, as long as your site uses a responsive theme. The scheduling interface works in mobile browsers. The layout may look slightly different on a small screen, but the controls are the same.
How far in advance can I schedule?
Section titled “How far in advance can I schedule?”Up to 90 days from today.
Scheduling questions
Section titled “Scheduling questions”Where is the schedule button?
Section titled “Where is the schedule button?”Look for the calendar icon or the “Schedule Activity” link in the posting toolbar. Its exact position depends on your theme - see Scheduling an Activity for a table by theme.
What timezone does the plugin use?
Section titled “What timezone does the plugin use?”The site’s timezone, which the site owner sets in WordPress Settings > General. If you are in a different timezone, convert your desired time before entering it in the picker. Ask your site administrator if you are not sure which timezone the site is using.
Can I schedule the same post for two different times?
Section titled “Can I schedule the same post for two different times?”Not with one post. Each scheduled post is a single entry. To publish the same content twice, create two separate posts and schedule each one independently.
What if I close the browser after clicking Schedule?
Section titled “What if I close the browser after clicking Schedule?”Your post is saved on the server immediately when you submit it. You do not need to stay online. The post will publish at the scheduled time regardless.
Can I include photos or other media?
Section titled “Can I include photos or other media?”Yes. Attach any media before you open the scheduler. The media will be included when the post publishes.
Managing scheduled posts
Section titled “Managing scheduled posts”Where can I see my scheduled posts?
Section titled “Where can I see my scheduled posts?”Go to your profile. The navigation shows a Scheduled Posts tab (on standard BuddyPress, the tab label also shows a count - for example, “Scheduled Posts 3”). Click that tab to see all posts waiting to publish.
Can I edit a scheduled post?
Section titled “Can I edit a scheduled post?”There is no direct edit option. To change a scheduled post, delete it and create a new post with the corrected content and time.
Can other people see my scheduled posts?
Section titled “Can other people see my scheduled posts?”No. Scheduled posts are hidden from the activity feed, from group activity, and from other members’ profile views. Only you can see them in your Scheduled Posts list.
What happens when a post publishes?
Section titled “What happens when a post publishes?”The cron job runs every minute. When it detects that a scheduled post’s time has passed, it publishes the post to the activity feed. The post then appears as a normal activity entry - others can see it, like it, and comment on it. It is removed from your Scheduled Posts list.
Expect posts to appear within 1 to 2 minutes of the scheduled time. The exact delay depends on when WordPress cron last ran on the server.
Will I get a notification when my post publishes?
Section titled “Will I get a notification when my post publishes?”There is no special “your post just went live” notification. Standard BuddyPress activity notifications apply once the post is published (for example, notifications to group members if that is configured for the site).
Technical questions
Section titled “Technical questions”How often does the plugin check for posts to publish?
Section titled “How often does the plugin check for posts to publish?”Every 60 seconds. The plugin registers a WordPress cron schedule called bp_every_min (interval: MINUTE_IN_SECONDS). A transient lock prevents two cron runs from publishing the same post simultaneously.
What if the server is down at the scheduled time?
Section titled “What if the server is down at the scheduled time?”The post will publish as soon as the server comes back online and cron runs again. It may appear slightly later than planned, but it will not be lost.
Does this work with caching plugins?
Section titled “Does this work with caching plugins?”The publishing mechanism is server-side and is not affected by page caching. However, cached pages may not immediately show the newly published post. If the post does not appear right away, try refreshing the page or clearing your browser cache. Most caching plugins expire cached pages within a few minutes.
Are scheduled posts included in site backups?
Section titled “Are scheduled posts included in site backups?”Yes. Scheduled posts are stored in the WordPress database like any other activity. They are included in standard database backups. Once deleted, they cannot be recovered without restoring a backup.
Does the plugin add server load?
Section titled “Does the plugin add server load?”The cron job is lightweight. It runs a targeted database query once per minute and uses a transient lock to prevent duplicate runs. It has no impact on page load times for visitors.
Error messages
Section titled “Error messages”“Schedule time is in the past”
Section titled ““Schedule time is in the past””The date or time you selected has already passed. Choose a future date or a later time today and click Next again.
“Security check failed.”
Section titled ““Security check failed.””Your login session expired before the post was submitted. Refresh the page, log in again, and retry scheduling.
“Unable to schedule activity. You must be the group owner or a moderator to schedule activities.”
Section titled ““Unable to schedule activity. You must be the group owner or a moderator to schedule activities.””You do not have permission to schedule posts in this group. Only the group owner and moderators can schedule activities. Contact your site administrator if you believe your permissions are incorrect.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”- Refresh the page and try again - many one-off errors clear on their own.
- Try a different browser to rule out a browser extension or cache issue.
- Contact your site administrator for site-specific problems.
- Reach the plugin support team at wbcomdesigns.com/support/.