Getting Started

Installation

System Requirements

PHP 7.4 or higher — compatible with PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3.
WordPress 6.0 or higher
WooCommerce 6.0 or higher — must be installed and active.
Action Scheduler — bundled with WooCommerce; required for the Background Process sync method.

No custom database tables are created by the plugin.

Installation Methods

Upload via WP-Admin

Download the woocommerce-retroactive-download-access.zip plugin archive.
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New.
Click Upload Plugin at the top of the page.
Choose the .zip file and click Install Now.
Once the upload completes, click Activate Plugin.

Manual Upload via FTP / SFTP

Extract the .zip archive on your local machine.
Connect to your server using an FTP or SFTP client.
Upload the extracted woocommerce-retroactive-download-access folder to wp-content/plugins/.
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, locate the plugin in the list, and click Activate.

What Happens on Activation

When the plugin is activated, it redirects you to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > License so you can enter your license key before configuring anything else.

No database migrations or data imports run on activation.

Deactivation

When the plugin is deactivated:

All plugin settings in wp_options are preserved.
Any download permissions already granted to customers are preserved in WooCommerce’s permission tables — deactivation does not revoke access.
Pending Action Scheduler jobs (queued background regeneration tasks) remain in the queue but will not be processed until the plugin is reactivated.

Note: Uninstalling (deleting) the plugin removes all wcrda_* options from wp_options. Previously granted download permissions are not affected.

License Activation

The plugin requires an active license key to enable permission syncing. Without a valid license, no download permissions are granted — but the admin settings page remains fully accessible.

Activating Your License

Navigate to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > License.
Enter your license key in the License Key field.
Click Activate License.
The plugin contacts the license server at webdevelop.hu to validate the key.
On success, the status badge changes to Active and a confirmation notice is shown.

Tip: Your license key is in your purchase confirmation email or in your account at webdevelop.hu.

Deactivating Your License

To move your license to a different domain:

Navigate to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > License.
Click Deactivate License.
The plugin sends a deactivation request to the license server, freeing the license seat for use on another domain.

Important: Always deactivate before migrating to a new domain. If the old site is no longer accessible, contact support at webdevelop.hu to release the license manually.

License Status

Status	Description
Active	License is valid — the plugin is fully functional.
Expired	License has passed its expiry date. Sync is disabled.
Revoked	License has been revoked. Sync is disabled.
Inactive	No license key has been entered, or the key was deactivated.

Effect of an Invalid License

When the license is not active:

The configured sync method (Background Process or On-the-Fly) is not initialized.
No new download permissions are granted automatically or in real time.
All admin settings tabs remain accessible so you can update the key and re-activate.
Any permissions already granted to customers are unaffected.

First Steps

After activating your license, complete these steps to get the plugin working.

1. Choose a Sync Method

Navigate to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > Sync Method and select how permissions are granted:

Background Process (default) — detects file changes when you save a product and processes all past orders for that product asynchronously via Action Scheduler. Each file change triggers a full order scan for the affected product, so this method is best suited to stores with infrequent file changes or a moderate number of historical orders per product.
On-the-Fly — grants permissions synchronously when a customer visits their Downloads page. Scans only that customer’s own orders, so the total work is distributed across customer visits rather than run all at once. This avoids the per-change full-order-scan cost, making it a better fit for stores with a large number of historical orders per product and frequent file changes.

See Sync Methods Overview for a full comparison.

2. Set Eligible Order Statuses

Navigate to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > Scope.

By default, orders with status Completed or Processing qualify for retroactive access. Adjust this to match the statuses your store uses for fulfilled orders.

3. (Optional) Restrict to a Date Range

On the Scope tab, set Orders From and/or Orders To if you only want to backfill permissions for orders placed within a specific window. Leave both fields blank to process all qualifying orders regardless of when they were placed.

4. (Optional) Enable Customer Notifications

Navigate to WP-Admin > Retroactive Downloads > Behavior and enable Notify Customers. When enabled, customers receive an email each time new file permissions are granted to one of their past orders.

Customize the email subject and template at WooCommerce > Settings > Emails > New Downloadable Files Available.

5. Test the Setup

Edit a downloadable product and add a new file in the Downloadable Files section.
Click Update.
If using Background Process: navigate to WooCommerce > Status > Scheduled Actions and confirm a wcrda_process_product_batch job is pending or has completed.
If using On-the-Fly: log in as a customer who previously purchased the product and visit My Account > Downloads — the new file should appear immediately.

See Troubleshooting if permissions are not being granted as expected.