WP_List_Table Search Pagination Workaround

I am using the WP_List_Table class to display a plugins admin tables and have setup the search_box() which is successfully pulling in search data. I notice it doesn’t paginate the data from a search. Here is a quick solution to get your page buttons and sortable columns paginating.

It is not recommended to do this unless you have included a local copy of the class-wp-list-table.php that you can make edits to. Performing this on the file located in your wp-admin/includes directory will get overwritten upon your next WordPress upgrade.
Learn more at: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Class_Reference/WP_List_Table

This answer assumes you have your table working and have a search_box() that also is working… at least to get search result. Depending on what version of class-wp-list-table.php you have this may differ or need tweaking. I have not tested this very thoroughly nor on other configurations.

This is what I am doing to get pagination working in my searches:

In my plugins prepare_items() method I changed the start of my search to also check for $_REQUEST[“s”] so I know we are still in a search.

if( $search != NULL || isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ))
	if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {
		$search = $_REQUEST["s"];
	}

That is all I changed in my plugin file. From there, I worked within my copy of the class-wp-list-table.php file.

The pagination links are stored in an array called $page_links[]. Search for this, you should find 5 or so matches. For this example I will update the ‘first page’ button. The rest are done similarly.

Find the $page_links[] line that handles the first page link, it should look similar to this:

$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' title='%s' href='%s'>%s</a>",
	'first-page' . $disable_first,
	esc_attr__( 'Go to the first page' ),
	esc_url( remove_query_arg( 'paged', $current_url ) ),
	'?'
);

I replaced the above code with the if statement below:

if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'first-page' . $disable_first,
		esc_url( add_query_arg(	array( 'paged' => 1, 's' => $_REQUEST["s"] ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'First page' ),
		'?'
	);

} else {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'first-page' . $disable_first,
		esc_url( remove_query_arg( array( 'paged' => $current_url ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'First page' ),
		'?'
	);
}

That did indeed include the search term in my first page button, and the rest of the buttons once I updated them. I’ll provide additional code for the other buttons below. I am sure this can be cleaned up and improved on but it is a start.

Next, I need to update the column pagination. I found $column_display_name and replaced it with this:

if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {
	$s = $_REQUEST["s"];
	$column_display_name = '<a href="' . esc_url( add_query_arg( compact( 'orderby', 'order', 's' ), $current_url ) ) . '"><span>' . $column_display_name . '</span><span class="sorting-indicator"></span></a>';
} else {
	$column_display_name = '<a href="' . esc_url( add_query_arg( compact( 'orderby', 'order' ), $current_url ) ) . '"><span>' . $column_display_name . '</span><span class="sorting-indicator"></span></a>';
}

That included the term in my column links and they are paginating correctly. I still need to figure out how to update the page number textbox (by changing the page number manually and hitting enter.) Below is the code for the other buttons I updated if it makes it easier for you. Cheers!

To update the Previous Page arrow button.

if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'prev-page' . $disable_first,
		esc_url( add_query_arg(	array( 'paged' => max( 1, $current-1 ),	's' => $_REQUEST["s"] ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'Previous page' ),
		'?'
	);

} else {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'prev-page' . $disable_first,
		esc_url( add_query_arg(	array( 'paged' => max( 1, $current-1 ), ), $current_url	) ),
		__( 'Previous page' ),
		'?'
	);
}

To update the Next Page arrow button.

if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'next-page' . $disable_last,
			esc_url( add_query_arg(	array( 'paged' => min( $total_pages, $current+1 ), 's' => $_REQUEST["s"] ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'Next page' ),
		'?'
	);

} else {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'next-page' . $disable_last,
			esc_url( add_query_arg(	array( 'paged' => min( $total_pages, $current+1 ) ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'Next page' ),
		'?'
	);
}

To update the Last Page arrow button.

if ( isset( $_REQUEST["s"] ) ) {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'last-page' . $disable_last,
		esc_url( add_query_arg( array( 'paged' => $total_pages, 's' => $_REQUEST["s"] ), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'Last page' ),
		'?'
	);

} else {

	$page_links[] = sprintf( "<a class='%s' href='%s'><span class='screen-reader-text'>%s</span><span aria-hidden='true'>%s</span></a>",
		'last-page' . $disable_last,
		esc_url( add_query_arg( array( 'paged' => $total_pages), $current_url ) ),
		__( 'Last page' ),
		'?'
	);
}