Woo Order Preview Locker

Woo Order Preview Locker adds a smart “soft lock” system to your WooCommerce Orders screen so multiple staff can’t accidentally open and work on the same order at the same time. It helps prevent double delivery, double refund, and messy order notes in busy support teams.

What this plugin does

When a staff member opens Order Preview for an order:

• That order is temporarily locked to that user.
• Other users will see a lock notice showing:
  • Which user is currently viewing the order, and
  • How many seconds until the order becomes available again.
• When the user closes the preview, the lock is cleared and the order is free for others.

If someone tries to edit an order that is already locked by another user, they are blocked from accessing the edit screen and shown a clear message that the order is currently locked.

Key Features

• ✅ Order Preview Locking
  Locks an order when a user opens the preview, so others can’t open it at the same time.
• ✅ Who is viewing this order?
  Shows the name of the staff member who currently has the order locked.
• ✅ Countdown timer
  Displays how many seconds remain until the lock expires and the order becomes free again.
• ✅ Automatic lock timeout
  If someone leaves the preview open or closes the browser without properly exiting, the lock automatically expires after a short timeout (e.g. 50 seconds).
• ✅ Auto-refresh while viewing
  While the user is actively viewing the preview, the lock is refreshed in the background so it doesn’t expire accidentally.
• ✅ Instant unlock on close
  When the user closes the order preview, the lock is cleared immediately – no need to wait for the timeout.
• ✅ Block direct order editing when locked
  If another staff member tries to open the full order edit screen while the order is locked, they are blocked and see a message explaining that the order is locked by someone else.
• ✅ Works with both order screens
  • Classic WooCommerce → Orders list
  • New WooCommerce Admin “Orders (wc-orders)” screen
• ✅ Lightweight and performance-friendly
  Scripts only load on the Orders pages and only send AJAX requests when necessary (on preview open, refresh, and close).

How it works (in simple terms)

1. User clicks “Preview” on an order.
2. Plugin checks if the order is already locked:
   • If not locked → it locks the order for this user and opens the preview.
   • If locked by someone else → it shows a modal saying who is viewing it and how long until it’s free.
3. While the preview is open, the plugin keeps the lock alive with small background requests.
4. When the user closes the preview, the lock is cleared so others can work on the order.
5. If the user disappears or closes the browser, the lock automatically expires after a short timeout.

Who is this plugin for?

This plugin is ideal for:

• Stores with multiple support agents or order processors
• Businesses that do manual top-ups, verifications, or high-risk orders
• Teams where double-delivery, double-refund, or conflicting edits have been a problem in the past

If your team often has 2–3 people working in the Orders page at the same time, this plugin helps keep things organized and safe.

Technical Notes

• No settings page required – install and activate and it just works.
• Uses a secure nonce on all AJAX calls.
• Uses standard WooCommerce order meta for storing locks.
• Designed to be lightweight and safe for production stores.