ORDER WORKSPACE DOCUMENTATION

Everything you need to get the most from Order Workspace.

Learn how to install, configure and use Order Workspace Free and Pro in your WooCommerce store.
Getting Started

Install Order Workspace and create your first internal order workflow.

Fields & Orders

Organize and find Workspace information in WooCommerce Orders.

Order Workspace Pro

Set up Pro and learn the tools that speed up everyday order processing.

Help & Maintenance

Find compatibility, update, data and troubleshooting information.


Practical tutorials

Learn by doing

Explore step-by-step WooCommerce guides covering
internal order fields, production workflows and bulk
editing with Order Workspace Free and Pro.


Explore guides →

Getting Started

Install Order Workspace, choose optional starter fields, or create the internal order fields your WooCommerce workflow needs.

Order Workspace fields in WooCommerce

Installation

  1. Make sure WooCommerce is installed and active.
  2. Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin.
  3. Search for Order Workspace for WooCommerce.
  4. Install and activate the plugin.
  5. Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace to configure your fields.
Purchased Order Workspace Pro? The Pro add-on requires the base plugin to be installed and active. After completing these steps, follow Installing Pro and License activation. The base plugin can also be used independently to create fields, edit values on individual orders, and use columns, search, sorting, basic filtering and optional value colors. Workspace fields are internal to your store and are not displayed to customers.

Optional initial configuration

Start with a suggested set of fields, or skip this step and create your own.
  1. Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace.
  2. Click Use initial configuration.
  3. Choose the fields you need:
    • Priority — identify orders that need attention.
    • Internal stage — track your team’s progress.
    • Expected date — record an internal target date.
  4. Click Create selected fields.
  5. Customize their names, options, colors and visibility whenever needed.
This creates field definitions only; it does not fill in existing orders. Existing fields and stored order values are preserved. Matching fields, including archived fields, are kept unchanged. Order Workspace initial field configuration Internal stage is separate from the WooCommerce order status. Updating an internal stage does not change the order’s status.

Creating your first field

Fields let you add structured internal information to WooCommerce orders, such as Priority, Supplier, Expected date or Internal reference.
  1. Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace.
  2. Click Add field.
  3. Enter a clear field name and an optional description.
  4. Choose the field type: Text, Long text, Number, Select, Yes / No or Date.
  5. For a Select field, add its options and choose optional colors. Yes / No values can also have colors.
  6. Choose where the field should appear: on the order page, as an Orders column or as a filter, where supported.
  7. Click Create field.
Once created, the field is ready to use in your WooCommerce order workflow. You can edit its name, description and settings later; its type cannot be changed after creation.

Fields & Orders

Use Workspace fields throughout WooCommerce Orders to keep internal information organized, readable and easy to find.

Field Types

Order Workspace includes six field types:
  • Text — short text values, such as an internal reference or supplier name.
  • Long text — longer internal notes.
  • Number — numeric information.
  • Select — choose from a predefined list of options, with optional colors.
  • Yes / No — a simple yes-or-no value, with optional colors.
  • Date — dates such as a planned dispatch date or an internal target date.
Choose whether each field appears on the order page, as an Orders column or as a filter, where supported. Long text can appear on the order page and as a column, but does not support sorting or filtering. A field’s type cannot be changed after creation. Its name, description and other settings can be edited later.

Colors for Select and Yes / No fields

Add optional colors to make priorities, internal stages and other values easier to scan. Value colors are included in Order Workspace Free.
  • For Select fields, configure option names and colors together when creating or editing the field.
  • For Yes / No fields, choose an optional color for each value.
  • Use suggested colors or choose a custom color, then check the preview.
Colored values retain their text labels. Custom colors use automatic text contrast to keep labels readable. Select and Yes / No colors represent the saved value. Date-based indicators for overdue dates, today and upcoming ranges are a separate Pro feature.

Order page

Enable Show on the order page to display a field in the Order Workspace panel inside each WooCommerce order. Enter or change the field values, then click Update on the order to save your changes. Color previews below editable controls show the saved value. Workspace fields are internal to your store and are never shown to customers.

Editing by order status

Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace → Workspace settings to choose the order statuses in which your team can edit Workspace values.
  • New installations: all registered order statuses are enabled for Workspace editing.
  • Existing installations: previously saved choices are preserved.
  • Uncheck a status to make Workspace values read-only on orders with that status.
  • Selecting no statuses makes Workspace values read-only on all orders.
The same settings apply to Pro Inline Editing and Bulk Editing. Bulk results identify orders that could not be updated. User permissions still apply. These settings control Workspace fields only; they do not unlock order items, payments or totals.

Orders columns

Enable Show as a column in Orders to display a field in the native WooCommerce Orders list. Your team can review internal information without opening each order. Text, Number, Select, Yes / No and Date columns support sorting. Click a supported column heading to change the sort order. Select and Yes / No values display their configured colors. Pro can also display date indicators when enabled for a Date field.

Basic filtering

Order Workspace Free provides a basic Workspace field filter to help you focus on matching orders.
  1. Enable Allow filtering in Orders for a supported field.
  2. Open WooCommerce → Orders.
  3. Choose the Workspace field, condition and value in the toolbar.
  4. Click Filter.
For Select fields, is not excludes the chosen option and also includes orders where the field has no assigned value. For example, Priority is not Urgent includes other priority values and orders with no priority assigned. Pro lets you combine up to 10 Workspace conditions. All conditions must match.

Duplicate, Archive & Restore

Reorder fields to organize your workflow. The field order also determines their default order in the Workspace panel on individual orders. Duplicate a field to reuse a similar definition instead of starting from scratch. Archive a field to remove it from active use while preserving its stored order values. Open the Archived tab and click Restore to make it active again.

Managing Select options

Rename options or change their colors as your workflow evolves. Renaming an option preserves its stored identity and existing order values. Disable Available for new selections to retire an option. Existing orders keep their saved value, while the option is no longer offered for new selections.

Permanent deletion

Delete permanently is a separate action for archived fields. It removes the field and its stored order values. Use Archive when you only need to remove a field from active use.

Order Workspace Pro

Order Workspace Pro extends Free with faster editing, combined filters, personal and shared views, date indicators and working-list exports.

Installing Pro

  1. Install and activate Order Workspace Free 1.2.0 or later and WooCommerce.
  2. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Upload the Order Workspace Pro ZIP and install it.
  4. Activate Order Workspace Pro.
  5. Complete the license activation when prompted.
Order Workspace Pro extends the base plugin, so both plugins must remain installed and active. Update the base plugin first whenever a Pro release requires a newer version.

License activation

Activate your Pro license using the license setup shown after activation. License, subscription and account management are handled through Freemius. Pro updates and support are included while your license is active.

Inline Editing

Update supported Workspace values directly from the WooCommerce Orders list without opening each order.
  1. Go to WooCommerce → Orders.
  2. Open the inline editor for a Workspace value.
  3. Enter or select a different value.
  4. Click Save, or Cancel to discard the change.
Inline editing supports Text, Number, Select, Yes / No and Date. Long text is edited on the individual order page. Workspace editing-status settings and user permissions still apply. Colors and date indicators refresh after saving.

Bulk Editing

Change multiple Workspace fields across a selection of orders.
  1. Select up to 100 orders in the Orders list.
  2. Choose Edit Workspace fields from the bulk actions and click Apply.
  3. Choose a field, change action and value.
  4. Use Change another field to add more changes, up to 10 fields.
  5. Click Apply changes and review the results.
Orders are processed in batches of 25, with results for each order. Bulk editing works on your explicit selection, not every order matching the current filters. Supported types are Text, Number, Select, Yes / No and Date. Long text does not support bulk editing. Editing-status restrictions and user permissions still apply. Results identify orders that could not be updated.

Multiple Filters

Combine up to 10 Workspace conditions to focus on the orders you need. All conditions must match (AND logic).
  1. Click Workspace filters in the Orders toolbar.
  2. Choose a field, condition and value.
  3. Click Add filter to add another condition.
  4. Click Apply filters.
For example, combine Priority is Urgent with Planned dispatch date is within the next 7 days. For Select fields, is not excludes the selected option and also includes orders where that field has no assigned value.

Relative date filters

Date conditions include today, before today, tomorrow and the next N days. Calculations use the store timezone. The next N days starts tomorrow and ends N calendar days from today. It does not include today. Relative conditions remain relative when saved in a view, so a next-seven-days view updates as time passes.

Saved Views

Save useful Workspace filter and order-status combinations and reopen them without rebuilding the same setup.
  • Personal views are private to your account.
  • Shared views are available to users who can access your store’s orders. Creating or changing shared views requires WooCommerce management permission.
Open a view from the saved-views selector in the Orders toolbar. Use Manage Saved Views to rename or delete views. Deleting a view uses a confirmation inside the dialog. If another user has changed a view meanwhile, refresh the latest data before trying again. Views do not grant access to orders and do not save a column layout. On Multisite, views are scoped to each store.

Date Indicators

Highlight overdue dates, today and upcoming deadlines with configurable colors and readable labels.
  1. Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace and edit a Date field.
  2. Under Date indicators — Pro, enable date indicators for the field.
  3. Choose optional colors for Before today and Today.
  4. Add up to five upcoming ranges, with increasing day limits and a color for each range.
  5. Click Save field.

How upcoming ranges work

Upcoming ranges start tomorrow. The first matching range applies. For example, with limits of 2 and 7 days:
  • Dates 1–2 days ahead use the first range.
  • Dates 3–7 days ahead use the second range.
Before today and Today do not count towards the five-range limit. The maximum future limit is 3,650 days. Indicators use the store timezone. Empty dates have no alert. Date alerts are hidden for Completed, Cancelled, Refunded and Failed orders, independently of their Workspace editing settings. Date indicators are available with Pro. Static colors for Select and Yes / No values are included in Free.

Workspace CSV Export

Download a working order list for your team or supplier, using the Workspace fields you choose.
  1. Select 1–100 orders in the Orders list.
  2. Click Export Workspace CSV.
  3. Choose 1–20 active Workspace fields.
  4. Optionally enable Include product names and quantities.
  5. Choose a comma or semicolon separator.
  6. Click Download CSV.
The export contains one row per selected order. Order ID, order number and status are always included. Long text fields can also be exported.
  • Select values use readable labels, including retired options.
  • Empty Workspace values remain empty.
  • Dates use YYYY-MM-DD.
  • Numbers use a decimal point.
  • The file uses UTF-8 and has a maximum size of 2 MiB.
Exporting does not change order values. You can export an authorized order even when its Workspace fields are read-only because of its status. Billing, shipping and customer contact columns are not added. Review your own field contents before sharing the file. Formula-like text is exported with a leading apostrophe for spreadsheet safety.

Help & Maintenance

Compatibility, updates, data handling and troubleshooting information for Order Workspace.

Compatibility

Order Workspace uses WordPress and WooCommerce APIs and supports both High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) and legacy order storage.
  • WordPress: 6.9 or later.
  • WooCommerce: 10.9.4 or later.
  • PHP: 7.4 or later.
  • HPOS: supported.
  • Pro 1.1.0: requires Order Workspace Free 1.2.0 or later, installed and active.
Keep WordPress, WooCommerce and Order Workspace updated for compatibility and support.

Updates

Free updates are distributed through WordPress.org. Pro updates are distributed through Freemius and are available while your Pro license is active. Update Free before updating Pro when a new Pro release requires a newer Free version. Both plugins must remain active. Existing fields, stored order values and saved editing-status choices are preserved during updates. Keep a current backup before updating your store. For significant updates, test your workflow in a staging environment first.

Data & uninstall

Deactivating or uninstalling Order Workspace Free does not automatically delete your Workspace fields or the values stored with WooCommerce orders.
  • Archiving a field removes it from active use while preserving its stored order values. It can be restored later.
  • Retiring a Select option prevents new selections while preserving existing saved values.
  • Permanently deleting an archived field removes the field and its associated stored values.
  • Exporting Workspace CSV does not change or delete order values.
Use permanent deletion only when the information is no longer needed. Make a current backup before permanently removing important store data.

Troubleshooting

If something does not work as expected:
  1. Check that WordPress, WooCommerce and Order Workspace meet the requirements above.
  2. Confirm that WooCommerce is active.
  3. If you use Pro, confirm that Free and Pro are active, their versions are compatible and your license provides access to Pro features.
  4. Check the field’s visibility settings and your user permissions.
  5. Test for conflicts with unrelated plugins in a safe staging environment.

Why is a Workspace field read-only?

Go to WooCommerce → Order Workspace → Workspace settings and check Editable order statuses. The order’s status must be selected, and your user must have permission to edit the order. These restrictions apply to individual order editing, Pro inline editing and bulk changes. Selecting no statuses makes Workspace values read-only on all orders.

Why is a field missing from the Orders list?

Edit the field and enable Show as a column in Orders. Check Screen Options on the Orders page to make sure the column is visible. Archived fields are not available for active use.

Why is a value not colored?

For Select or Yes / No fields, check that a color is configured for the saved value. Colors are optional. On an individual editable order, the preview represents the saved value; update the order to save a new selection.

Why is a date not highlighted?

Confirm that Pro is available and Date indicators — Pro is enabled for the Date field. Check that the date matches a configured color or upcoming range. Empty dates have no alert. Date alerts are hidden for Completed, Cancelled, Refunded and Failed orders. Calculations use the store timezone.

Does “the next N days” include today?

No. This filter starts tomorrow and ends N calendar days from today, using the store timezone. Use the today condition to find today’s dates.

Why does “is not” include an empty value?

For Select fields, an unassigned value is different from the excluded option, so it is included in the results.

Why can’t I change a shared view?

Changing shared views requires WooCommerce management permission. Personal views belong to their creator. If another user changed a view meanwhile, refresh the latest data before trying again.

Can I export a completed or read-only order?

Yes, if you have permission to access the order. Workspace editing-status restrictions do not prevent CSV export.

Why won’t the CSV export download?

Select 1–100 orders and 1–20 active Workspace fields. The maximum export size is 2 MiB. If the selection exceeds the size limit, export fewer orders or fields, or omit product names and quantities.

How do I open the CSV in a spreadsheet?

Import it as UTF-8 and choose the same comma or semicolon separator selected during export. Dates use YYYY-MM-DD and numbers use a decimal point. Formula-like text may have a leading apostrophe for spreadsheet safety. This does not change the original value stored with the order.

Still need help?

Visit the Order Workspace Support page. Include your WordPress, WooCommerce, Free and Pro versions, the steps to reproduce the issue and any relevant error message. Remove customer details, license keys and other private information from screenshots.

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