Nested Repeaters

Pro feature: Requires Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor Pro.

Version 2.0 can use a Repeater reached through other structural fields. The path may pass through a Repeater, Group, or Flexible Content field before reaching the Repeater whose rows you want to render.

Supported structures

Examples include:

• Departments → Team Members
• Page Sections → Hero Layout → Call-to-action Links
• Company Group → Offices
• Deeper combinations of Repeater, Group, and Flexible Content paths

The selector stores stable SCF/ACF field keys for the ordered path. Renaming a field label does not break an existing selection, although deleting and recreating a field gives it a new key.

How rows are resolved

Pro walks the source object in field order and flattens the matching child rows into one ordered list for Elementor. Each output row keeps its source-post and row context so Repeater dynamic tags continue to resolve the correct values.

For example, if three department rows contain two, zero, and four team-member rows, the Loop Grid receives six team-member rows in source order.

Setup

1. Select the Loop Item schema

Create or edit a Loop Item and open ACF Repeater Loop Settings in the document settings.

Choose the nested path under ACF Row Schema for Loop. Nested options are labeled with their path, such as:

[Nested Repeater] Departments › Team Members

Now connect Elementor controls to the child Repeater's subfields with the normal Repeater dynamic tags.

2. Select the widget row source

Add a Loop Grid or Loop Carousel and select the Loop Item. In Query:

1. Enable Use ACF Rows.
2. Choose the same nested path under ACF Row Source.
3. Choose the appropriate Repeater Context.
4. Decide whether Query Current Post Only should restrict the owner.

3. Verify source order and empty parents

Preview a source object with several parent rows. Parent rows without a matching child Repeater contribute no output rows; they do not create empty Loop Items.

Nested Repeaters inside Flexible Content

A Repeater nested inside a Flexible Content layout can be selected directly as a flattened child-row source. Use this when every child row shares one Loop Item design.

Use the ACF Flexible Content skin instead when the outer layouts themselves should render and each layout needs a different template.

Troubleshooting schema mismatches

If the widget returns rows but a dynamic tag is blank, verify that:

• The Loop Item schema and widget row source point to the same nested path.
• The Elementor preview object contains at least one matching child row.
• The selected subfield belongs to the terminal Repeater, not a parent row.
• The frontend context owns the same field group structure as the preview object.