{"id":2781,"date":"2026-10-08T21:03:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:42:31","slug":"main-author-faq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/main-author-faq\/","title":{"rendered":"Main Author: Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Find answers to common questions about Main Authors, co-authors, automatic author assignment, and publishing posts with Molongui Authorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is the Difference Between a Main Author and a Co-author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Main Author is the primary person credited for a post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-authors are additional contributors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When multiple authors are assigned, one must be designated as Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can a Guest Author Be the Main Author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Main Author can be either a registered WordPress user or a Guest Author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The author does not need a WordPress user account to receive primary credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does Molongui Automatically Assign the Main Author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, when there is only one unambiguous choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Molongui automatically selects Main when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You add the first author to an empty author list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You remove the Main Author and exactly one other author remains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You replace an author in single-author mode.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Molongui does not automatically choose between multiple remaining authors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Didn&#8217;t the Only Remaining Author Automatically Become Main?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Automatic promotion occurs when you remove an existing Main Author and exactly one author remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the post already had no Main Author before you removed other authors, Molongui preserves that unresolved state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Click the star next to the remaining author to designate them as Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Doesn&#8217;t Adding Another Author Fix a Missing Main Author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding a co-author to a nonempty list is not treated as a request to change primary authorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the post already has authors but no Main, you must explicitly select one using the star icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This prevents unintended changes to existing posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I Change the Main Author Without Removing Anyone?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Click the empty star icon next to the author you want to make Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The previous Main Author remains assigned as a co-author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does Moving an Author to the First Position Make Them Main?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reordering co-authors does not change primary authorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use the star icon to designate the Main Author. Molongui then keeps that author in the primary position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I Save a Draft Without a Main Author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drafts can be saved without a Main Author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you must assign a valid Main Author before publishing, scheduling, or updating an already published post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Happens If I Remove the Main Author From a Published Post?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If exactly one other author remains, that author automatically becomes Main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If multiple authors remain, Molongui requires you to choose a new Main Author manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The post editor will prevent an invalid update that would leave a published post without a valid Main Author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does Automatic Main Author Assignment Work in Quick Edit and Bulk Edit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting with version 5.3.2, the same author selection rules apply in the full post editor, Quick Edit, and Bulk Edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bulk Edit has one important difference: an empty Authors field means <strong>No Change<\/strong>, so existing post authors are not modified unless you make an explicit author selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can I Find Posts That Have No Main Author?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Go to <strong>Posts &gt; All Posts<\/strong> and select <strong>No Main Author<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This view shows posts explicitly marked as having unresolved Main Author information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Open each affected post and assign the appropriate Main Author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do I Need to Manually Select Main Every Time I Create a Post?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New posts normally start with an assigned Main Author, and the plugin automatically handles common author replacement scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manual selection is only necessary when the plugin cannot determine the correct Main Author without making an ambiguous choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find answers to common questions about Main Authors, co-authors, automatic author assignment, and publishing posts with Molongui Authorship. What Is the Difference Between a Main Author and a Co-author? The Main Author is the primary person credited for a post. Co-authors are additional contributors. When multiple authors are assigned, one must be designated as Main. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1],"tags":[31,39,63],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authorship","category-doc","tag-co-authors","tag-faqs","tag-main-author"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2782,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions\/2782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}