Using WordPress ‘disabled()’ PHP function

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The disabled() WordPress PHP function outputs the HTML disabled attribute. It compares the first two arguments and if they’re identical, it marks the attribute as disabled.

Usage

Here’s a basic usage of the disabled() function:

$disable_element = true;
echo '<input type="text" ';
disabled( $disable_element, true );
echo ' name="sample_text_field" />';

In this example, if $disable_element is true, the input field will be disabled.

Parameters

  • $disabled (mixed): Required. One of the values to compare.
  • $current (mixed): Optional. The other value to compare if not just true. Default: true.
  • $display (bool): Optional. Whether to echo or just return the string. Default: true.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: disabled()
This function was implemented in WordPress 3.0.

Examples

Disabling a Text Input Field

$disable_field = true;
echo '<input type="text" ';
disabled( $disable_field, true );
echo ' name="my_text_field" />';

This will disable the text input field if $disable_field is true.

Disabling a Checkbox

$disable_checkbox = true;
echo '<input type="checkbox" ';
disabled( $disable_checkbox, true );
echo ' name="my_checkbox" />';

This will disable the checkbox if $disable_checkbox is true.

Disabling a Button

$disable_button = false;
echo '<button ';
disabled( $disable_button, true );
echo '>My Button</button>';

This will keep the button enabled as $disable_button is false.

Comparing Two Values

$user_role = 'admin';
$required_role = 'admin';
echo '<button ';
disabled( $user_role, $required_role );
echo '>Admin Button</button>';

This will disable the button if $user_role does not match $required_role.

Returning Disabled Attribute Instead of Echoing

$should_disable = true;
$disabled_attribute = disabled( $should_disable, true, false );
echo '<button ' . $disabled_attribute . '>Test Button</button>';

This will return the ‘disabled’ attribute string instead of echoing it directly. If $should_disable is true, the button will be disabled.