Issues about the “Set up fields” block
This guide is part of our Advanced Order Export Troubleshooting series and is designed to help you resolve the most frequent issues related to the Set up fields block. This section is where you decide which columns appear in your report. Even a small configuration mistake here can lead to duplicate rows, missing columns, or empty data.
This page covers the following topics
- Why is the same order exported many times?
- Why do I see only green fields in the “Set up fields” section?
- Why does Preview show different values than the actual export?
- Why is my custom field not appearing in the export?
- “Add field” button not working or drag-and-drop is unresponsive
- Column headers appear as technical keys instead of readable labels
- The “Remove all fields” button cleared my entire export but I want it back
- Troubleshooting checklist
Why is the same order exported many times?
Possible cause
By default, the plugin repeats common order information for each product (line item) inside the order. This is especially noticeable if every row of your export shows identical billing details for multiple products.
Solution
Open the Set up fields section and set the Fill order columns for option to 1st row only. This tells the plugin to display the general order data (billing address, payment method, etc.) just once, on the first row of that order. Every additional product row belonging to the same order will show only the product‑related fields without duplicating the order information again.
Why do I see only green fields in the “Set up fields” section?
Possible cause
The Summary Report by Products or Summary Report by Customers mode has been enabled. When either summary mode is active, the plugin automatically replaces the usual field set with a reduced, pre‑defined set of aggregated fields. The fields that remain available are often displayed with green highlights to indicate that a summary mode is in effect.
Solution
Uncheck the Summary Report By Products (or Summary Report by Customers) checkbox located below the date range. After disabling summary mode, the full drag‑and‑drop field selection returns, and all fields appear normally again.
Why does Preview show different values than the actual export?
Possible cause
The Preview button is a convenience tool that processes only a limited sample of orders (by default, the first five orders) to give you a quick look at the structure of your export. It does not run the full filters or process all orders that match your date range and conditions.
Solution
- Use Preview to verify that your field layout, column order, and headers are correct.
- Run a full export (click Export or Export w/o progressbar) to see the final report with all orders that match your filters.
- For summary reports or aggregations that depend on the entire dataset, do not rely on the Preview values as final.
Why is my custom field not appearing in the export?
One of the most common Advanced Order Export Troubleshooting questions involves missing custom fields. Below is a step‑by‑step checklist.
1. Confirm the field was added to the export layout
- Open the Set up fields section.
- Locate the category that contains your field (for order‑level custom fields, check the Ordergroup; for product‑level custom fields, check the Product group).
- If the field is not in the left (export) column, drag it from the right panel into the left panel.
2. The custom field was never stored in the database
- Create a test order that contains a value for your custom field.
- After the order is saved, run the export again.
- The plugin pulls custom fields from existing orders. If there is no order containing the field, the field will not appear in the dropdown or will export empty values.
3. Using the wrong field type
If the custom field belongs to a product line item (for example, an extra option selected at checkout), the field should be found in the Product Items category, not under the general Productor Order sections. The Product Items section is specifically designed to export data attached to each individual order item.
4. Outdated plugin version
If the Product Items section is completely missing or many fields are unavailable, the installed version of the plugin may be outdated. Updating the plugin to the latest version often resolves this issue.
5. The custom field stores serialized data
If the custom field in the database contains serialized or JSON‑encoded arrays instead of plain text, the plugin may not display it correctly. In such cases, a developer would need to write custom PHP code (using the Misc Settings section) to unserialize the data and extract the desired value.
6. Incorrect meta key name
Meta keys are case‑sensitive. If the custom field was created with a key like _myCustomField but the plugin is looking for _mycustomfield, the export will remain empty. Double‑check the exact meta key name in the database using a tool like phpMyAdmin或 your hosting control panel’s database manager.
“Add field” button not working or drag-and-drop is unresponsive
Probable cause
This is usually caused by a JavaScript conflict with the active theme or another active plugin. The drag‑and‑drop interface relies on JavaScript to function properly.
Solution
- Clear your browser cache and reload the plugin’s Export Orders page.
- Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twenty-Four).
- Deactivate other plugins one by one while testing the drag‑and‑drop functionality.
- If the issue disappears after deactivating a specific plugin, the conflict has been identified. The conflicting plugin may need to be updated, reconfigured, or replaced.
Column headers appear as technical keys instead of readable labels
Possible cause
If a custom field is added using the Add field button and the Column name is left blank, the plugin may default to showing the raw meta key as the column header.
Solution
- In the Set up fields section, locate the field that is showing the technical key.
- Click on the field label in the left (export) column.
- Enter the desired human‑readable label in the Column name field and confirm.
- Save the settings and run the export again. The new column header will appear in the export file.
The “Remove all fields” button cleared my entire export but I want it back
Possible cause
The Remove all fields button intentionally clears the left (export) column, removing every field from the export layout. This is useful when starting from scratch.
Solution
The action cannot be undone automatically, but the fields can be restored in two ways:
- Manually drag every desired field from the right panel back to the left panel.
- If a saved profile exists that contains the required field set, open that profile. Otherwise, consider cloning a backup export profile if one was created earlier.
Troubleshooting checklist
- Check for duplicate rows – Set Fill order columns for to 1st row only.
- Verify summary mode is disabled – If only green fields are visible, uncheck Summary Report By Products or Summary Report by Customers.
- Add the field to the export layout – Ensure the custom field has been dragged from the right panel to the left panel.
- Check the correct category – Order custom fields belong to Order; product custom fields belong to Product Items (not the general Product group).
- Create a test order – Create at least one order that contains the custom field before exporting.
- Update the plugin – Older versions may lack certain field categories or fail to recognise some meta keys.
- Test for JavaScript conflicts – Switch to a default theme and deactivate other plugins briefly.
- Verify the meta key name – Ensure the key is spelled exactly as it appears in the database.