---
title: "Automatic Display vs. the Shortcode: How to Put a Field Group on the Front End"
description: "Easeful Themes for ACF puts a field group on the front end in two ways: automatically, on every post the group applies to, or exactly where you place it with a shortcode or a template tag. Both render the same…"
url: "https://htmgarcia.com/docs/automatic-display-vs-shortcode/"
updated: "2026-10-15"
category: Easeful Themes for ACF
---

# Automatic Display vs. the Shortcode: How to Put a Field Group on the Front End

Easeful Themes for ACF puts a field group on the front end in two ways: automatically, on every post the group applies to, or exactly where you place it with a shortcode or a template tag. Both render the same design from the same Design tab settings — the difference is who decides where the group appears.

Automatic display is on by default, so a field group renders on its posts as soon as you activate the plugin, before you have configured anything. Use the shortcode or template tag when the group belongs somewhere automatic display can't reach — a sidebar, a page builder block, a specific spot in a template, or a post the group's location rules don't cover.

## How automatic display works

Automatic display uses the field group's own location rules, the same ones that decide where the group's fields appear in the editor. On any post or page matching those rules, Easeful Themes for ACF adds the rendered group to the content, with no shortcode and no template code. It only does this on the post's own page, in the main content, so widgets, excerpts and lists of posts are never affected.

1. Edit the field group, scroll down to its Settings box and switch to the 'Design' tab.

   ![Design tab in the field group's Settings box](https://htmgarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/automatic-display-vs-shortcode-01-open-design-tab.png)
2. In the 'Display' section, 'Automatically display custom fields on the front end' is the switch for this behavior. Leave it on to let Easeful Themes for ACF place the group; turn it off when you will place the group yourself.

   ![Automatically display toggle in the Display section](https://htmgarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/automatic-display-vs-shortcode-02-auto-display.png)
3. While it's on, 'Position' sets where the group goes relative to the post content: 'Before the content', 'After the content', or 'Around the content', which places the content itself among the fields at a spot you choose in the 'Custom fields' list. Each field group has its own position, so one group can sit above the content while another sits below it on the same post.

   ![Position dropdown in the Display section](https://htmgarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/automatic-display-vs-shortcode-03-position.png)
4. Click 'Save Changes'. Every post matching the group's location rules now shows the group in that position.

## How to place the group yourself with the shortcode

The shortcode and template tag render the group wherever you put them, on any post, regardless of the group's location rules. They ignore 'Position', since you are choosing the position yourself, and they work whether or not automatic display is on — turn it off first if you don't want the group to appear twice on posts it already applies to.

1. In the Design tab, scroll the right column down to 'Shortcode & PHP Snippet'. It shows the shortcode and the template tag for this specific field group, each with a copy button.

   ![Shortcode & PHP Snippet section in the Design tab sidebar](https://htmgarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/automatic-display-vs-shortcode-04-shortcode.png)
2. Click 'Copy' next to the shortcode and paste it into a post, a page, a Shortcode block, or anywhere else your site renders shortcodes. It looks like this:

   `[easeful_themes_for_acf group="group_xxxxxxxxxxxxx"]`

   By default it uses the field values of the post it's placed on. Add `post="123"` to show another post's values instead, or `theme="minimal"` to render with a different theme than the one picked in the Design tab — any theme's key works, as shown on the Themes screen under ACF → Themes. The field order and widths still come from the tab.
3. For a theme template file, copy the template tag instead and place it where the group should render inside the loop:

   `<?php easeful_themes_for_acf_the_group( 'group_xxxxxxxxxxxxx' ); ?>`

   It takes the same options as the shortcode: a post ID as the second argument, and an array of overrides as the third, for example `array( 'theme' => 'plain' )`. Use `easeful_themes_for_acf_get_group()` with the same arguments if you want the HTML returned as a string rather than printed.

Either way, the group renders with the theme, field order, widths and options set in its Design tab — the shortcode and template tag only decide where.