To save Gravity Forms registration fields to ACF user profiles, map each form field to its ACF field name in a User Registration feed, then add a snippet that saves those values through ACF. User Registration saves user meta as plain values, so ACF image fields show “No image selected”, checkboxes show unchecked, and clicking Update User on the profile deletes both. The snippet saves each field in the format ACF expects. It also turns the values back into form values, so an Edit My Profile form still pre-fills correctly.
This is lesson 4 of the ACF and Gravity Forms series. Lesson 3 fixed the same problem for posts created by Advanced Post Creation. This one does it for users, and it covers editing too.
What We’re Building
A freelancer network. People join with a Join the Network form that creates their WordPress account and fills an ACF profile: a headshot, job title, city, skills, availability, a start date, a website and a short bio. Members who choose to be listed appear in a member directory:
Once they log in, members update their profile with an Edit My Profile form that opens with their current answers already filled in.
This part is for Free account members.
Things to Know
- Text, URL and Select fields work without the snippet, as long as you don’t need ACF’s labels. If your profile only has text fields, plain User Registration mapping is enough.
- An empty field on an Update form deletes that meta. That’s how User Registration works. If a member removes their photo and saves, the photo is removed from their profile.
- Members created before the snippet keep the old values. Run Edit My Profile once for each, or fix them in Users → Edit.
- Building a full membership site? The Gravity Forms Membership Site class covers roles, login and logout, restricted pages and a member portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Gravity Forms User Registration save to ACF fields?
Yes for simple fields: map a User Meta row to the ACF field name and text, URL and select values work. Image, file, checkbox and date fields need ACF's own formats, so they show up empty in ACF until a snippet saves them through ACF.
Why is my ACF image field empty after registration?
User Registration saves the uploaded file's URL, but an ACF Image field stores a Media Library attachment ID. The snippet in this tutorial adds the upload to the Media Library and saves the ID.
Why did my user's ACF checkboxes disappear?
User Registration saves checked choices as text, so ACF shows the boxes unchecked. When an admin then clicks Update User, ACF saves the empty boxes and the values are deleted. Saving the values through ACF prevents this.
Can members edit their ACF profile with Gravity Forms?
Yes. Use a User Registration feed with the type Update User on a second form. The snippet makes that form pre-fill from the ACF values, including checkboxes, dates and the current photo.
Do I need ACF Pro?
No. User fields, image, checkbox, select, date and true/false fields are all in the free version of ACF.
Need More Help?
If you still need help, use the chat or leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you.
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