wpautop recognizes shortcode syntax and will attempt not to wrap p or br tags around shortcodes that stand alone on a line by themselves. Note: in WordPress 2.5.0, shortcodes were parsed before post formatting was applied, so the shortcode output HTML was sometimes wrapped in p or br tags. This was incorrect behaviour that has been fixed in 2.5.1.The problem is particularly annoying to me, as I spent a couple of hours trying to work out where the extra <br />’s were coming from in my most recent post prior to this one ( Summary of plugins in a [WoW] website )
Expected behaviour
Two shortcodes on the same line remain on the same line. Here we can see [ WoW] and [ oik] on the same line Here we can see [WoW] and oik on the same line
Wrong behaviour
Two shortcodes on separate lines with an unwanted break [ WoW] [ oik] [WoW] oik
OK, this doesn’t look too bad, but in the previous post the shortcodes were formatted as table rows but all the breaks appeared before the table so there was a big vertical gap. Here, let me show you with [ bw_plug name=”oik” table=”y”] thrice.
| Plugin name and description | Plugin links | Version, total downloads, last update, tested |
|---|---|---|
| oik OIK Information Kit – Over 80 lazy smart shortcodes for displaying WordPress content By bobbingwide. | oik | 4.1.0 0 September 24, 2020 5.5.1 |
| Plugin name and description | Plugin links | Version, total downloads, last update, tested |
|---|---|---|
| oik OIK Information Kit – Over 80 lazy smart shortcodes for displaying WordPress content By bobbingwide. | oik | 4.1.0 0 September 24, 2020 5.5.1 |
| Plugin name and description | Plugin links | Version, total downloads, last update, tested |
|---|---|---|
| oik OIK Information Kit – Over 80 lazy smart shortcodes for displaying WordPress content By bobbingwide. | oik | 4.1.0 0 September 24, 2020 5.5.1 |
Workaround 1A
Put the shortcodes side by side: [ WoW][ oik] Put the shortcodes side by side: [WoW]oik
Workaround 1B
All on the same line but with spaces between them as required: [ WoW] [ oik] All on the same line but with spaces between them as required: [WoW] oik
Ineffective Workaround 2
If you want to write them on separate lines for ease of reading [WoW] oik trying leading spaces DOESN’T work.
Ineffective Workaround 3
Trying trailing required spaces doesn’t work either [WoW] oik
The real solution
Either implement the fix provided by the person who found the problem. Thanks aaroncampbell
Or use the wpautop-control plugin to choose on a post by post basis whether or not you want automatic paragraphs and breaks.
