Fixed: Plugin Check audit warnings for unprefixed variables in uninstall.php and the admin view templates. All variables are confirmed to be function-scoped; inline PHPCS directives added as Plugin Check does not honour phpcs.xml exclusion patterns for this rule.
Fixed: Direct database query in uninstall.php now carries the correct inline suppression annotations, consistent with equivalent queries elsewhere in the plugin.
2.3.0
Improved performance: the plugin now reads its settings once per page load instead of making repeated database lookups, reducing overhead on busy sites.
Fixed: the author name cache count shown on the Debug tab could display an outdated number immediately after clearing the cache. It now always reflects the current state.
Fixed: toggling the “Suppress author from JSON-LD schema” option now takes effect without requiring a full server restart or cache flush.
Fixed: on block-theme sites, the manual post tester on the Debug tab no longer risks leaving behind a corrupted global state if an error occurs mid-test.
Improved reliability: the Gutenberg sidebar icon no longer depends on WordPress’s built-in icon font, making it compatible with environments where that font is not loaded.
Under the hood: several small code quality improvements to keep the plugin tidy and easier to maintain going forward.
2.2.0
Improved: the plugin now cleans up all of its data (settings and cached names) when it is deleted from WordPress, leaving no orphaned data behind.
Improved: the classic editor author field no longer requires jQuery, reducing the number of scripts loaded on your edit screen.
Improved: the plugin is now fully compatible with stricter WordPress hosting environments and passes Plugin Check without warnings.
2.1.0
New look: the settings page has been redesigned with a dark header, cleaner tab navigation, and a more consistent style that matches the other MENJ plugins. A credit link to the developer has been added at the bottom of each tab.
2.0.9
Fixed: when “Show Override On” was set to “Singular only”, guest author names were still appearing on category, tag, and date archive pages on block-based themes. This affected Twenty Twenty-One through Twenty Twenty-Five and most modern page builders.
Fixed: the author name displayed in the block editor sidebar panel could briefly show the wrong name on the first render when switching between posts.
Under the hood: shared helper functions introduced to eliminate repeated code, making the plugin smaller and easier to maintain.
2.0.8
New: the Debug tab now includes a live diagnostics panel. It checks that all filters are registered correctly, confirms the guest author meta is saved for a given post, and lets you run a filter simulation directly from the settings page — useful for troubleshooting without needing FTP access or a code editor.
Fixed: author name substitution was not working at all on block-based themes (Twenty Twenty-One through Twenty Twenty-Five, and any Full Site Editing theme). The plugin was hooking into an internal WordPress function that does not exist. This has been corrected and guest author names now display reliably on all themes.
Fixed: the default guest author name was not appearing on archive and listing pages even when it should have been.
Fixed: plugin upgrades now automatically clear any leftover cached data from older versions, preventing stale names from persisting after an update.
2.0.4
Fixed: guest author names entered in the block editor (Gutenberg) sidebar were being silently discarded on save. They now save correctly for all enabled post types.
2.0.2
Improved: the plugin has been split into separate files that load only when needed. Admin-related code no longer runs on the front end of your site, reducing the processing cost of every page view.
Fixed: author names containing special characters such as & or < were displaying as garbled code (e.g. &) on some themes.
2.0.1
Fixed: the plugin could not be activated at all due to a syntax error introduced in the previous build. This has been resolved.
Fixed: the bundled Malay translation was not loading. It now loads correctly on sites running the ms_MY locale.
Security: improved input handling on the settings page to follow WordPress best practices.
2.0.0
New: the settings page has been completely redesigned with a tabbed layout, colour-coded cards, and a dedicated Debug tab.
New: the Debug tab includes a Cache Status card showing how many author names are currently cached, with a one-click Clear Cache button.
1.9.1
Improved: the plugin now fully passes WordPress Plugin Check with no warnings. PHP 8.2 set as the minimum supported version.
1.8.9
Fixed: clicking a join style or post type option on the settings page showed no visual response — the card highlight was not updating. Now responds immediately on click.
Fixed: the author name preview on the Display tab was not updating when you switched between join styles. It now updates live without saving.
Fixed: the settings page sometimes forgot which tab you were on after saving. It now reliably returns to the correct tab.
1.8.1
Fixed: the author name field in the classic editor was not appearing for post types other than Posts and Pages, even when those types were enabled in settings.
Fixed: the “Suppress author from schema” toggle was not saving correctly when turned off.
Fixed: enabling all post types and then disabling all of them could not be saved; at least one type was always being re-enabled. This has been corrected.
1.8.0
New: choose which post types the guest author override applies to — not just Posts and Pages.
New: control how multiple guest authors are joined: natural language (A, B and C), comma-separated (A, B, C), or ampersand-separated (A & B & C).
New: restrict the override to single post views only, or apply it everywhere.
New: set a custom cache lifetime for author names (default 12 hours).
New: option to remove the author from JSON-LD structured data (compatible with Yoast SEO and Rank Math).
New: basic debug information table showing plugin status, active settings, and WordPress/PHP versions.
1.7.5
New: Malay (Malaysia) translation bundled. The word “and” in multi-author names will display as “dan” on Malaysian WordPress sites.
Removed: the author name prefix option (e.g. “By John Doe”) has been removed. It was producing doubled output because most themes already add their own label.
Fixed: guest author names are now displayed as plain text without a hyperlink, since guest authors do not have WordPress user accounts or author archive pages.
1.7.2
Improved: the settings page has been redesigned to match the visual style of the other plugins in the MENJ suite — consistent colours, icons, and layout.
1.7.1
New: settings page added under Settings › Guest Authors, with a default guest author field, a live preview of how author names will appear, and options for separators and prefixes.
1.6.2
Fixed: the author field was appearing twice in the block editor on some post types.
Fixed: a JavaScript error in the block editor sidebar panel on initial load has been resolved.
Fixed: compatibility updated for WordPress 6.5 and later, which changed how block editor detection works.
1.6
New: author field now appears in both the classic editor and the block editor (Gutenberg).
New: author data is accessible to the WordPress REST API, enabling future integrations.
New: plugin assets (styles and scripts) are now properly separated and loaded only where needed.
1.5
Fixed: changing a guest author name now takes effect immediately after saving, without needing to manually clear the cache.
1.2
New: you can now list multiple guest authors in one field, separated by commas.
1.1
New: author names are now cached for better performance. Input is sanitized and output is escaped for security.
