Product Settings
Each downloadable product has two additional controls in the Downloadable Files section of the product edit page.
Exclude from Retroactive Access
A checkbox labeled Exclude from Retroactive Access controls whether the product is skipped during all regeneration runs — automatic detection, per-product manual triggers, and global regeneration.
When to use:
- Products with restricted distribution where retroactive access grants should never be applied automatically.
- Products that have been deliberately removed from past orders (refunded, revoked).
- Free or promotional products where granting new files to all past customers is undesirable.
How it works:
When checked, the value yes is saved to the product’s post meta under the key _wcrda_exclude. The plugin checks this flag before processing any order item for the product and skips it entirely if set.
Note: Unchecking the checkbox and saving the product does not automatically grant permissions for past orders. You would need to run a manual trigger or wait for the next automatic detection to catch a file change.
Regenerate Download Permissions
A button labeled Regenerate Download Permissions queues a background regeneration job for this specific product. Clicking it has the same effect as saving the product with a new file — the plugin schedules an Action Scheduler job (wcrda_process_product_batch) that processes all past orders containing the product.
When to use:
- After manually editing a file URL without triggering the automatic detection.
- After changing Scope or Behavior settings and needing to re-process a single product’s orders.
- To verify that permissions are correctly granted for a specific product.
A success notice is shown on the product edit page once the job is queued. The job runs asynchronously — check WooCommerce > Status > Scheduled Actions to confirm it completes.
Note: This control is only available when Background Process is the active sync method. When using On-the-Fly, permissions are granted when customers visit their Downloads page.