Before you begin
Write down:
- where the rule should run;
- the exact orders or customers it should match;
- the editing deadline those orders need;
- any tags, holds, messages, feature restrictions, forms, routing, or automations that should also apply;
- one existing eligible order that should match and one that should not. Reuse suitable controlled orders when you already have them.
Check Editing Rules and Automations first if you are not familiar with overlapping-rule behaviour.
Start a rule
- Open App Settings > Global settings > Editing Rules and Automations.
- Select Create Editing Rule.
- Choose one of the available starting points:
- Create from scratch for a blank rule;
- Create from template for a guided starting configuration;
- Duplicate existing to copy a rule for review and adjustment.
A duplicated rule starts as Draft. A new rule created from scratch is published through the final Publish action, so finish your review before that step.
Choose where the rule applies
In Where does this apply?, select the customer journey:
- On Product Pages applies the rule through the storefront Order Editing Rules app embed.
- At checkout applies it before the order is placed.
- Post-Purchase applies it to the Thank You, Order Status, and later order-editing journey.
Product pages and checkout can be selected together. Selecting Post-Purchase replaces those before-order selections. If you use On Product Pages, follow the prompt to enable the Order Editing Rules app embed in the theme editor.
The selected phase changes the conditions and actions available. Before-order rules cannot use data that exists only after Shopify creates an order.
Add matching conditions
- In the matching section, select Add condition.
- Choose one condition from Select Matching Condition.
- Enter the value and choose the operator shown for that condition.
- Add the remaining conditions.
- Choose whether All conditions or Any condition must match.
The picker includes order contents, totals, customer information, destinations, shipping methods, tags, discounts, timing, subscription and B2B status, pickup and point-of-sale orders, company details, payment terms, note attributes, locations, and sales channels.
Use the narrowest reliable data. For example, a shipping-method exact match is clearer than a broad title keyword when only one service needs a shorter cutoff.
Date, time, destination, order-location, and sales-channel conditions deserve extra testing because timezone or Shopify data availability can affect when the rule resolves.
Choose the editing deadline
For a post-purchase rule, choose what happens to the editing window:
Choice | Result |
|---|---|
Store default | Keeps the global Editing Time. |
Block editing immediately | Stops editing for matching orders. |
Scheduled cutoff | Ends editing at a configured day, date, and time. |
Custom editing deadline | Uses a fixed time after order creation. |
Until fulfilled | Keeps editing open until fulfilment. |
For a scheduled cutoff, confirm the weekday or date, time, timezone, and whether the cutoff should move to a future business day. For a custom deadline, select the required minute, hour, or business-day duration.
Use the customer message to explain an unusual or restricted editing window. Keep it specific and tell the customer what they can do next.
Add actions for matching orders
Under What happens when orders match?, search for an action or select View all.
Action | What it configures |
|---|---|
Tag Management | Adds or removes Shopify order tags. |
Hold Orders | Holds matching orders during the allotted editing period. |
Order Re-Routing | Controls source, included, or excluded fulfilment locations. |
Customer message | Shows different text when editing is available, expired, or cancelled. |
Removing product modules and app features | Removes selected editing modules or feature flags for matching customers. |
Contact form | Adds and customises the customer support form, including optional behaviour after expiry. |
Cancellation form | Customises cancellation reasons, fields, and submit text. |
Editing automations | Attaches reusable product-bundling and edit-time automations. |
Combine with other editing rules | Adds eligible settings alongside another primary matching rule. |
Only the actions supported by the current phase and deadline can be added. Combine with other editing rules requires the store-default deadline. Feature removal is unavailable when editing is blocked immediately.
Review advanced sections
Depending on the rule and connected apps, also review:
- Geographic restrictions, for allowed or blocked destinations and a customer message;
- ShipHero Specific Settings, for holding the order in ShipHero until a time-based editing deadline expires;
- Opposite editing rules, for an inverse of the saved conditions;
- the surface-coverage card, customer-communication preview, and rule summary in the sidebar.
An opposite rule can be created only after the original has been saved. It starts as Draft.
Name and publish the rule
- Review every section and correct any validation messages.
- Select Publish.
- Enter a unique Editing Rule Name.
- Optional: add a staff-only description explaining the operational reason for the rule.
- Select Publish in the modal.
Use an outcome-based name such as Weekend orders close Monday at 9am. The name should make the audience and result clear without opening the rule.
After creation, open the saved rule to review its Draft or Active status. Move it to Draft before testing if you do not want it to affect customers yet.
Test and activate
- Find an existing eligible order that should match the rule.
- Find an existing eligible order that should not match it.
- For each order, confirm the rule's purchase phase, editing deadline, and customer message.
- Confirm every configured tag, hold, feature restriction, form, routing action, and editing automation.
- Check Shopify and any connected fulfilment, bundle, payment, or communication system.
- Check another active rule that may overlap with the same order.
- Return to the rule, correct the configuration, refresh both customer pages, and repeat the checks with the same orders.
- Set the final rule to Active and select Save Changes.
When several active rules match, the one with the shortest calculated editing deadline is primary. Test the rule as part of the whole ruleset, not only in isolation.
Create a new order only when the rule depends on information fixed at order creation and none of your existing controlled orders has the required data. One matching and one non-matching order can be reused while you refine the rule.
Maintain rules
Review active rules when fulfilment cutoffs, promotions, markets, bundles, apps, locations, cancellation policies, or customer communication change. Use export before a large rules change.
Troubleshooting
The rule does not match
Confirm it is Active, the purchase phase is correct, and the Shopify order data matches every required condition. For All matching, one failed condition prevents the rule from matching.
The wrong deadline is used
Check for another active rule that also matches. The shortest calculated editing deadline becomes primary.
An action is unavailable
Review the purchase phase and editing action. Some actions require a completed order, and some cannot be combined with an immediate block.
A newly created rule affected customers before testing
Open the rule, change its status to Draft, and save. New from-scratch rules use the Publish flow; duplicated and opposite rules start as Draft.
A ShipHero hold option is disabled
Confirm ShipHero is connected and the store uses a predictable time-based editing deadline. Until-fulfilled and Flow-controlled windows do not provide a fixed release time.
