How can I output specific elements in this php array?

Question

I am using Gravity Forms for WordPress and one of the form elements is a List item that can have multiple entries. I have a page on the website that I am building that will output the data from this item onto the page but I am having trouble accessing the actual items from the array.

This is the code I am using to retrieve the array:

$user_id = $current_user->ID;
$key = 'my_playlist';
$single = false;

$my_playlist = get_user_meta( $user_id, $key, $single );
print_r(array_values($my_playlist));

The output I get from this looks like this:

Array ( [0] => a:2:{i:0;a:2:{s:10:"Song Title";s:15:"test song title";s:11:"Song Artist";s:16:"test song artist";}i:1;a:2:{s:10:"Song Title";s:11:"test song 2";s:11:"Song Artist";s:13:"test artist 2";}} )

So far I have tried to access the elements like this:

foreach($my_playlist as $item){
    echo 'Item: ' . $item[0] . '<br />';
}

but it only outputs Item: a

I would like to output it like:

Song Title: test song title Song Artist: test song artist

Song Title: test song 2 Song Artist: test artist 2

How do I access each element in this array? Also, what type of array is this? It might help me track down how to access the required items.

please take a look at this: codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_option — Jules Colle
– Jules Colle, Commented May 21, 2013 at 12:06
Looks like serialized data, so use unserialize on it before accessing values. — C3roe
– C3roe, Commented May 21, 2013 at 12:07
Thanks @Jules for the link however the table I need to access is this one codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_user_meta — ObstacleCoder
– ObstacleCoder, Commented May 21, 2013 at 12:28

moonwave99 · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-21 12:06:32Z

3

You have to unserialize your array:

$my_wake_playlist = unserialize($my_wake_playlist);

and you'll have your PHP array back.

answered May 21, 2013 at 12:06

moonwave99

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ObstacleCoder Over a year ago

Thanks, this has saved me heaps of time. To get it to serialize the array in my case I had to use my_wake_playlist = unserialize($my_wake_playlist[0]);

claustrofob · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-21 12:06:20Z

2

This string:

a:2:{i:0;a:2:{s:10:"Song Title";s:15:"test song title";s:11:"Song Artist";s:16:"test song artist";}i:1;a:2:{s:10:"Song Title";s:11:"test song 2";s:11:"Song Artist";s:13:"test artist 2"

is serialized. Use unserialize function to decode it.

answered May 21, 2013 at 12:06

claustrofob

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1 Comment

ObstacleCoder Over a year ago

Thanks for your answer. It pointed me in the right direction.

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