Admin Search for WooCommerce
One search box for the whole of WooCommerce admin. Find an order, a product or a customer from a name, an email, a phone number, a postcode or a SKU, on the screen you are already using.
What it does
WooCommerce has a search box on nearly every admin screen and each one searches something different. Orders search orders. Products search products. Customers are somewhere else again. So before you can look anything up you have to work out which screen is willing to answer.
This puts one search on the screens you already use: a panel above Orders, Products and Customers, a widget on the Dashboard, a Search WooCommerce item on the admin toolbar, and a window that opens over any admin screen with Ctrl+K or Cmd+K. All of them ask the same search, which looks at orders, products and users together and answers in a table you can move through with the arrow keys and open with Enter or a click. The part you typed is picked out in the results, and each order's status is coloured the way WooCommerce colours it.
Orders are found by number, billing or shipping name, email, phone, company or postcode. Products are found by name or SKU, and a variation by its own SKU. Users are found by username, name, email, phone, company or postcode, and a guest who never registered is found from their order. A phone number is compared by its digits, so 07912 345678 and +44 7912 345678 are one number however they were typed. Coupons are not searched.
It runs on your own website. The search reads a table of its own, kept up to date as orders, products and users are saved, so nothing you type leaves the site and nothing you type is stored. The first build runs in the background after activation and the settings screen shows how far it has got. A later rebuild writes a new copy beside the one in use and switches to it in one step when it is complete, so search keeps answering from the current copy throughout. If a rebuild fails, or you press Cancel rebuild, the current copy stays in place. Only the very first build, when there is nothing yet to keep, fills in as it goes. In testing, 1,500 real orders were indexed in under two seconds, and with 150,000 records in the index a search finished in under a quarter of a second on the server.
It shows people only what they are already allowed to see. Order results need the same permission as the Orders screen, product results the same as Products, and user results the same as the Users list. Someone with none of them gets no search box at all, and nothing is granted that WooCommerce does not already give. On Orders, Products and Customers the panel is drawn instead of the list's own search box, and the list underneath, its filters and its columns are left alone. The search takes its colours from the admin colour scheme each person has chosen, and was checked for readable contrast on all nine that WordPress ships. It works in right-to-left languages, and on a narrow screen each result becomes a card.
Pro looks inside the order. Search the name or SKU of a product and it finds every order that contains it, including a variation's SKU, which is a question WooCommerce's own order search cannot answer. Pro also finds an order from the payment reference the gateway stored on it, and narrows what it found by order status, dates, payment method and shipping method. It can search the extra fields on your orders, products and customers too, such as a purchase order number or an account reference. You choose them from the fields your own shop already has, each shown by a plain name with its stored key beside it, and only the fields you choose are copied into the index. A field whose name looks private, such as a password, a token or a card detail, carries a warning and has to be confirmed before it is added. A field you add or remove becomes searchable once the index has been rebuilt, which starts in the background when you save, and search keeps using the current index until the new one is ready.
A search you run every day can be kept as a button. Run it and choose Save this search under the box, or add one in a table under Saved searches. It then sits under the search box in the search window, on the Dashboard and above the Orders list, and one click puts its words in the box. A saved search can hold a customer's email address or phone number, so it is private to the person who saved it, and anyone who can change the Admin Search settings can choose to share one with everyone who can search. An ordinary search is never stored. Pro's settings travel with the settings export, and of the saved searches only the shared ones go with it.
If a Pro licence lapses, nothing is deleted and nothing stops. Searching inside orders, payment references, custom fields, the filters and the saved searches already set up all carry on working and the index keeps updating. What stops is changing Pro's settings: they stay on screen to read and cannot be edited until you renew.
See it in action
What the plugin does
- One search over orders, products and users, from a panel above Orders, Products and Customers, a Dashboard widget, an admin toolbar item and a Ctrl+K or Cmd+K window
- Orders found by number, billing or shipping name, email, phone, company or postcode
- Products found by name or SKU, and variations by their own SKU
- Users found by username, name, email, phone, company or postcode
- A guest who never registered is found from their order
- A phone number matches however it was typed: 07912 345678, 7912345678 and +44 7912 345678 are one number
- Results are tables: the part you typed is picked out, order status is coloured as WooCommerce colours it, the arrow keys move and Enter opens, and a whole row can be clicked
- Takes its colours from each person's admin colour scheme, and works right-to-left and on narrow screens
- A local index kept up to date as things are saved, so nothing you type leaves the site or is stored
- Rebuilding the index never empties it: search keeps answering from the current copy, a failed or cancelled rebuild leaves it in place, and the settings screen has a Cancel rebuild button
- Each person sees only what their WooCommerce permissions allow
- Settings import and export
- High-Performance Order Storage compatible
- Does not search coupons
- Drawn instead of the list's own search box on Orders, Products and Customers, with the list underneath left alone
- Orders found by the name or SKU of a product on them, including a variation's SKU
- Orders found by the payment reference the gateway stored
- Orders, products and customers found by custom fields you choose from the ones they already have, such as a purchase order number, each shown by a plain name with its stored key beside it
- A warning, and a box to tick, before a field whose name looks private, such as a password, a token or a card detail, can be added. Only the fields you choose are copied into the index
- Result filters beside the search box: order status, a date range, payment method and shipping method
- Saved searches kept as buttons under the search box, with a Save this search button after any search and a table of them under Saved searches
- Saved searches are private to the person who saved them, and can be shared with everyone who can search
- The index rebuilds on its own when you change what Pro searches, or when you install Pro over an existing install, and search keeps using the current index while it does
- Pro's own settings travel with the settings export, and of the saved searches only the shared ones go with it
- A lapsed licence leaves every Pro search working, and Pro's settings stay on screen to read but cannot be changed until you renew
Pricing
Every Pro plan is the same plugin with every feature. The only difference is how many sites you can run it on.
Single site
One site, with a year of updates and support.
$49/year
Secure checkout. Cancel any time.
5 sites
Most popularUp to 5 sites, with a year of updates and support.
$99/year
Secure checkout. Cancel any time.
25 sites
Up to 25 sites, with a year of updates and support.
$199/year
Secure checkout. Cancel any time.
Need more than 25 sites? Get in touch about a custom licence.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I search?
On the Orders, Products and Customers screens, on the Dashboard, from Search WooCommerce on the admin toolbar, and in a window that opens over any admin screen with Ctrl+K or Cmd+K (not in the block editor, and not while you are typing in a field, where that key already does something else). Arrow keys move through the results, Enter opens one, and Escape closes the window.
What can I search orders by?
The order number, the billing or shipping name, the email, the phone, the company and the postcode. Capital letters and spacing do not have to match.
Does a phone number have to be typed exactly?
No. Spaces, brackets and a leading plus are ignored, and a number typed as 07912 345678 finds the same person as +44 7912 345678.
Can it tell me which orders contain a SKU?
In Pro. Search the name or the SKU of a product and Pro finds every order that contains it, including a variation's own SKU.
Can I search by a payment reference or a purchase order number?
In Pro. The reference the gateway stored on an order is searched, and so are the extra fields you choose, such as a purchase order number. Only the fields you choose are added to the index.
Which extra fields are indexed?
In Pro, only the fields you choose, on orders, products or customers: a purchase order number, an account reference, an internal job number. Under Custom fields, search the list of fields found on your own orders, products and customers, pick one and press Add field. Each is shown by a plain name with its stored key beside it, and a row has its own Remove button. If the field you want is not listed yet, type its key exactly as it is stored, capital letters included, because keys are case-sensitive.
What if a field might hold something private?
A field whose name suggests a password, token, secret, card detail, access key or personal identifier carries a warning, and you have to tick a box to confirm before it is added. Anything you add is copied into the search index on your website and shown in results to everyone who can search. Keys WordPress uses to hold logins are never offered and cannot be added.
Do new fields need a rebuild?
Yes. A field you add or remove is not searchable until the index has been rebuilt. Saving starts that in the background, and Reindex now starts it again if you want. Search keeps working from the current index until the new one is ready.
Can the team keep a search?
In Pro, yes. Run a search and choose Save this search under the box, or add one under WooCommerce, Admin Search, Saved searches, where they are listed in a table with an Add saved search button. A saved search appears as a shortcut button under the search box in the search window, on the Dashboard and above the Orders list. An ordinary search is not stored.
Who can see a saved search?
Only the person who saved it. A saved search can hold a customer's email address or phone number, so it is private by default. Somebody who can change the Admin Search settings can choose Everyone who can search to share one with the team. Only shared searches are included in a settings export.
Does it search coupons?
No. Orders, products and users are searched.
Does it replace WooCommerce's own search box?
On Orders, Products and Customers the panel is drawn instead of the list's own search box, and the list underneath, its filters and its columns are left as they were. Every other admin list keeps its own search. A link that arrives with the list's own search in its address is sent back to the list without it.
Who can see the results?
Anyone who can edit orders sees order results, anyone who can edit products sees product results, and anyone who can list users sees user results. A shop manager sees all three. An editor or an author sees no search box at all. The search does not give anyone a permission WooCommerce has not already given them.
Does it send what I type anywhere?
No. The index is a table on your own site, a search is sent to your own site and nothing you type is stored. Pro contacts PluginCity for its licence and updates, and for nothing else.
Will it slow my shop down?
A search starts a moment after you stop typing, cancels itself if you type again, and reads one indexed table. With 150,000 records in the index a search finished in under a quarter of a second on the server in testing. Keeping the index up to date adds a little to saving an order, and rebuilding it runs in the background.
How long does the first build take?
It starts when you activate the plugin and runs in the background, and the settings screen shows its status. Until it finishes, results are incomplete. In testing, 1,500 orders were indexed in under two seconds, and a larger shop takes proportionally longer.
Is search affected while the index rebuilds?
No. A rebuild writes a new copy beside the one in use and switches to it in one step when it is complete, so search keeps answering from the current copy throughout. If a rebuild fails or you cancel it, the current copy stays in place. Only the very first build, when there is nothing yet to keep, fills in as it goes.
Does it follow my admin colour scheme?
Yes. The field, the highlight, the selected row and the focus ring use the accent colour of the scheme each person has chosen, and the text stayed readable on all nine schemes WordPress ships. It also works right-to-left and on a narrow screen.
Does it work with High-Performance Order Storage?
Yes, with it on or off. Orders are read the way WooCommerce stores them.
Does it need a licence key?
Pro needs a licence key for its updates and to keep its settings editable. Searching does not depend on one.
Do I keep my settings if I install Pro over an existing install?
Yes. Your settings are kept and there is nothing to deactivate or delete first. The index rebuilds on its own so that the new searches work.
What happens if my Pro licence lapses?
Nothing is deleted and nothing stops. Searching inside orders, payment references, custom fields, the filters and the saved searches already set up carry on working, and the index keeps updating. Pro's settings stay on screen to read and cannot be changed until you renew.
What happens if I deactivate WooCommerce?
The plugin steps aside and shows a notice. It does not fatally error, and your settings are waiting when WooCommerce comes back.
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