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Better Recent Comments shortcode

As well as a widget, the Better Recent Comments WordPress plugin comes with a shortcode. You can use this to insert a list of recent comments anywhere on your site, outside of a widgetized sidebar. For example, you may wish to list comments on a normal WordPress page.

Basic shortcode

To list recent comments, simply insert the shortcode [better_recent_comments] anywhere on your site.

Shortcode options

  • format – the format of each comment. This option uses 'merge tags' or ‘placeholders’ which are replaced with the correct data when the comments are displayed on your site. It defaults to {author} on {post}: “{comment}” {date}. You can change the format using the following placeholders:
    • {avatar} - the comment author’s Gravatar image (a placeholder image will be displayed if they don't have a Gravatar).
    • {author} - the name of the comment author.
    • {post} - the title of the post that the comment relates to. This links to the comment below the post.
    • {comment} - the actual comment text.
    • {date} - the comment date.
  • number – the number of comments displayed. Default: 5. Enter 0 if you want to display all comments on your site.
  • date_format – the date and time format to use when displaying the date. Like WordPress, this uses a PHP date format and defaults to ‘M j, H:i’. See a full list of date and time options.
  • avatar_size – the size of the avatar in pixels. Only used if you have included {avatar} in your comment format (see ‘format’ option). Default: 50.
  • post_status – the status of posts to retrieve comments for. Defaults to ‘publish’. Can be any valid status or a comma-separated list of statuses.
  • post_type - the post type to retrieve comments for. No default specified. Accepts a single post type (e.g. post) or use 'any' to show comments for all post types.
  • excerpts – set to ‘true’ to show an excerpt of the comment (limited to 20 words), or ‘false’ to show the full comment. Default: true.

Example shortcode

For example, you might use the following shortcode which combines all of the above options:

[better_recent_comments number="10" date_format="F j, Y"
format="{author} on {post}: “{comment}” {date}" avatar_size="75" 
post_status="draft,publish" excerpts="false"]

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