Chronos – Opening Hours & Scheduling

FAQ

What happens when the store is closed?

The plugin blocks add-to-cart requests, validates existing cart contents, prevents checkout, and adds an error to WooCommerce Store API cart requests.

Can I add a break during the day?

Yes. Each weekday has an optional break start and end time. The store is treated as closed during that interval.

Can opening hours continue after midnight?

Yes. If the closing time is earlier than the opening time, the plugin treats the schedule as an overnight shift.

How can I keep the store open 24 hours?

Leave both opening and closing time fields empty for that day and keep the Closed checkbox unchecked.

What does Reset days do?

It clears all opening and closing times and unchecks the full-day closed setting. The resulting schedule is open 24 hours a day.

What does Reset breaks do?

It clears only the break intervals. Opening hours and full-day closed settings remain unchanged.

How does Manual Open behave?

If Manual Open is activated before today’s scheduled closing time, the store opens immediately and still closes according to the schedule. If Manual Open is activated after the scheduled closing time, it remains active until you change the mode manually.

How does Manual Closed behave?

Manual Closed blocks ordering immediately, but the store returns to normal automatic scheduling on the next day. You do not need to open it manually the next morning.

How do manual holidays work?

Enter holiday dates separated by commas, semicolons or new lines. The settings screen follows the date order configured in WordPress.

Does the plugin support 12-hour time format?

Yes. Public times follow the WordPress time format selected under Settings > General.

Why does the notification bar overlap my theme header?

Adjust the Top position setting. Its default value is 110 pixels to accommodate fixed theme headers.

How does the reopening information behave on desktop and mobile?

When a scheduled reopening time is available, the closed-store notice shows the main closed message and a clickable reopening line. On desktop, both parts can stay on one line when space allows. On mobile, the main closed message is kept on the first line and the reopening line moves to the second line for predictable wrapping. Tapping the reopening line opens the weekly store-hours dialog. The dialog is appended outside the notice bar, uses SVG close icons, is centered on mobile, and is constrained by the available viewport without inheriting the notice-bar width.

How does the closed-store product button behave?

When the store is closed, product-loop and single-product add-to-cart controls are changed to a Closed button. Chronos removes AJAX/cart action classes from those controls, keeps ordering blocked, and avoids circular icon-only theme buttons so the closed state remains readable.

Can visitors dismiss the closed-store notice?

Yes. The closed-store notice has a close button. The dismissal is stored in the visitor browser local storage for the current closed-notice signature, so the notice can reappear when the closed message or reopening information changes.

Why does the deadline notice stay hidden after I closed it?

The optional PRO deadline notice stores a dismissal signature in the visitor browser local storage. This is per browser and per device. During testing, open a private window or clear the site’s browser data/local storage if you need to show the same deadline notice again.

Does the FREE plugin contact external services?

No. The FREE plugin does not send store or visitor data to external services.

How does the PRO add-on handle automatic holidays?

The optional PRO add-on refreshes supported-country holiday data from OpenHolidays when automatic holidays are first enabled, when the selected country changes, when an administrator clicks Refresh holidays now, and periodically about twice a year. The downloaded holiday data is stored locally as JSON files under wp-content/uploads/chronos-holidays/. Normal store-status checks read only those local files.

Where is the PRO mobile control interface?

The current PRO add-on uses /chronos-app/ with any non-Plain permalink structure. With Plain permalinks it shows the fallback URL /?wc_hours_app=1. Administrators can be granted a Settings shortcut in the app; other allowed roles can control store status without receiving that shortcut.

How does the settings screen stay organized when PRO is active?

The Chronos settings page uses tabs. FREE manages the store plan, holidays and the notice bar. When the optional PRO add-on is active, the same screen also exposes separate tabs for Deadline, App and Whitelabel settings.

Are my settings removed when I deactivate the plugin?

No. Deactivation keeps the settings. Deleting the plugin through WordPress runs its uninstall routine and removes its stored options.