[5.3] Author Filter Now Supports Deleted Users

[AdarshSantoria]

Pull Request for Issue #45181

Summary of Changes

This PR fixes a bug where filtering articles by Author = None did not return articles created by deleted users. Joomla previously used created_by = 0 for the "None" filter, but in reality, deleted users leave their created_by values intact in the #__content table — they just no longer exist in the #__users table.

This fix updates the logic to:

• Detect when the filter is set to 0 (representing "None")
• Return articles where created_by NOT IN (SELECT id FROM #__users)
• Support multi-select filters, e.g. author_id = [0, 42], to include both deleted users and existing ones

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Testing Instructions

1. Create two users in Joomla.
2. Create articles using each user.
3. Delete one of the users via Users > Manage.
4. Go to Content > Articles.
5. Apply the Author filter:
   • Select "None" → should show article by deleted user ✅
   • Select deleted user + another existing user → both articles show ✅
   • Select only existing user → shows only that user’s articles ✅

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Actual result BEFORE applying this Pull Request

• Filtering by Author = None shows no articles.
• Deleted users are not handled properly in the query.
• created_by = 0 was used incorrectly.

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Expected result AFTER applying this Pull Request

• Articles created by deleted users appear when Author = None is selected.
• Query uses created_by NOT IN (SELECT id FROM #__users) for deleted users.
• Filtering works as expected for mixed author selections (deleted + existing).

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Link to documentation

Please select:

• Documentation link for docs.joomla.org:

• No documentation changes for docs.joomla.org needed

• Pull Request link for manual.joomla.org:

• No documentation changes for manual.joomla.org needed

[fgsw]

@AdarshSantoria Please delete "Fix #45181 - " from the title.

The title say [5.3], but the label is PR-5.2-dev.

[brianteeman]

please rebase this to 5.3 dev https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/changing-the-base-branch-of-a-pull-request

[brianteeman]

I have tested this item ✅ successfully on 66cd254

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_{This comment was created with the J!Tracker Application at issues.joomla.org/tracker/joomla-cms/45186.}

[AdarshSantoria]

Thank you for your feedbacks, @fgsw @brianteeman.

[brianteeman]

great work!!

[fgsw]

I have tested this item ✅ successfully on 66cd254

Before PR

No deleted user

One deleted user

After PR

One deleted user

Three deleted user

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_{This comment was created with the J!Tracker Application at issues.joomla.org/tracker/joomla-cms/45186.}

[richard67]

RTC

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_{This comment was created with the J!Tracker Application at issues.joomla.org/tracker/joomla-cms/45186.}

[bembelimen]

No extra function needed, array_filter removes "empty" values

[AdarshSantoria]

Fixed, thanks!

[bembelimen]

Good work with this PR, really like it, just found a minor thing you probably could fix.