Use Woocommerce functions in custom php files

Question

I am a total beginner in programming with PHP. I wanted to create a PHP file in which the order_status from a predefined order (in my case 108) gets changed to completed.

Therefore I need the woocommerce functions get_order($ID) and update_status but I do not know how to use them in my PHP. I hope you understand my problem. From Java I could imagine that I need to get an instance from a class or something like that?

Here is the code I have so far:

<?php $ord = new WC_Order(108); $ord->update_status('completed'); ?>

When I open the page I receive the following error:

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Class 'WC_Order' not found (...)

Hi Leopold, this is what I have so far: update_status('completed'); ?> When I open the page I receive the following error: Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Class 'WC_Order' not found (...) — Philipp Ritter, Dec 26 '17 at 02:22
In what file are you putting this code? I’m trying to figure what libraries of code have been included. — Will Hines, Dec 26 '17 at 03:01
Hi Will! I put the code in a .php file called completor.php It is located in /wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/includes/completor.php — Philipp Ritter, Dec 26 '17 at 03:04

LoicTheAztec · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-26T03:55:30.017

In general on Wordpress/WooCommerce you will include your functions code:

In your active child theme (or active theme) function.php file
In a plugin…

You can also enable some code in:

Your theme templates
WooCommerce templates that you will override through your active child theme (or active theme).

Now to execute that function, you will need an event that will execute your function.

In (Wordpress) Woocommerce there is a lot of action hooks that are triggered on some specific events that you can use to execute your function. In this case your function will be hooked (ready to be executed on a specific event).

If you want to change the status of a specific order is better to do it in the related order edit page in backend.

An example:
For example you can change the order status when a customer has submit his order after checkout on order-received end point (thankyou page):

add_action( 'woocommerce_thankyou', 'custom_woocommerce_auto_complete_order');
function custom_woocommerce_auto_complete_order( $order_id ) {
    if ( ! $order_id ) return;

    // Get an instance of the WC_Order object
    $order = wc_get_order( $order_id );
    // Change order status to "completed"
    $order->update_status( 'completed' );
}

This code is an official code snippet: Automatically Complete Orders.

It is a good example that shows you how things can work… So in your case you are using here WC_Order class methods like update_status().

Now with this code base, you can refine the behaviors like in this answer:
WooCommerce: Auto complete paid Orders (depending on Payment methods)

Related to orders: How to get WooCommerce order details

Thank you for your answer! Now I understand much more. I have the following problem: I wrote a programm that fullfills my orders from woocommerce. It changes the order_status directly via sql to completed. The problem is that the email trigger won't be triggered using this way. So I decided to write all fullfilled orders in a new table in my database and add a cronjob which opens a php page every 10 minutes. In this php I wanted to get all id's from the table and set the order_status from them to completed. My event would only be that the page is opened. How can I add this as a hook? Philipp — Philipp Ritter, Dec 26 '17 at 05:24

Use Woocommerce functions in custom php files

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