Is there a way to mask biz email?

GUUST!! Your first link is exactly what I’m looking for!! THANK YOU!!!

Ok, I think I’ve figured out how to fix this…assuming you don’t come back to me with an easier solution…

I figured out that I have a listing export backup from before I started fiddling with things, so I have a spreadsheet with all the missing info. I’ve exported the current listings backup to confirm that indeed all those fields that I messed with are now blank, and in the other backup they are not. So I’m just going to copy/paste the info into the current backup and re-import into the directory, telling it to overwrite the listings that already exist. So theoretically that should fix it.

Just to be safe so that this doesn’t happen again, though, I am going to make sure I’m done editing those fields! Is this a side effect that you warn people of anywhere? Because if it’s not, it should be! Losing all that info could be seriously devastating! That’s a LOT of emails and social media and web urls that I now have to go back and copy/paste back in…thank heavens I have an export backup! Totally my own fault, but maybe there should be a warning somewhere (if there isn’t already…I may totally have just missed it) to be careful NOT to swap out fields that have existing info in your listings!! (like I did that by swapping out different email fields, website fields and social media fields…) Or maybe there’s a way to avoid this from happening?

In case you are unsure what editing of fields I mean, I am talking about in the GeoDir settings unders Places>settings then under the “Custom Fields” tab. I am moving around all the fields and playing with things to customize the way I want things to look and had no idea it would then wipe out info. It makes sense NOW, in retrospect…but didn’t occur to me at the time. A big warning could help others not make the same mistake, if you haven’t already made one…just a thought. I am definitely learning from my mistakes!!

When I said swapping I meant that I removed a field and replaced it with a different one. For example, I noticed later that there were social media fields that had the appropriate icons, so I removed the ones that I had created that didn’t…and that made the info that I had entered into those fields (hundreds of them) disappear. That’s what I am realizing now. For some reason, it didn’t occur to me at the time. It makes sense now. I didn’t think of the fields in the same way as posts/pages. But yes, it makes sense now, thank you. I’m sorting through this now and I think it shouldn’t be too hard to fix since I do have the backup. (I’m kind of obsessive about backups, thankfully.)

Ok, I was just thinking that maybe the info might have been saved in the database like how the info for a plugin is saved and even though you delete a plugin you can reinstall and reactivate and it often will still remember the info and settings you entered from the previous time it was set up. No such luck, I guess. Oh well, like I said, I seem to have found a solution that doesn’t appear to be THAT big of a hassle actually. Assuming it works.

Lesson learned. I AM going to make sure I finish fiddling with these fields before I do this restore of info though. Don’t need to lose any more info, just in case I decide to change anything else that would lose info… 🙂

THANK YOU!! You’ve been very patient and helpful!