Plugin Settings General Reference

This Reference page covers the General tab in Plugin Settings. It is a manual draft for the full option Reference, not a standalone public release of the whole Reference set.

General settings affect global storefront behavior across filter instances. Changes here can influence multiple filters, product archives, variation filtering, and search behavior.

Catalog Behavior

Products Per Page

• Public label: Products Per Page
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Number
• Default value: 0 (= WooCommerce)
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Sets how many products are shown per page when filtering runs, or leaves the value to WooCommerce when set to zero.
• When to use: Use it when filtered result pages need a different page size than the theme or WooCommerce default.
• Side effects / performance notes: Larger page sizes can make AJAX updates and count recalculation heavier.
• Related options: Max Products Per Query, Filter Loading Strategy, AJAX Timeout.

No Products Found Message

• Public label: "No Products Found" Message
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Enables or controls the global no-products message for empty filtered results.
• When to use: Use it when shoppers need a clearer empty-state message after filtering.
• Side effects / performance notes: Empty-state messaging should not conflict with per-filter no-products text.
• Related options: No Products Text, Prevent Empty Results Redirect, Hide Empty Filter Values.

WCAG Accessibility

• Public label: WCAG Accessibility
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Enables accessibility-oriented behavior for frontend filtering controls.
• When to use: Keep it enabled when the site needs stronger keyboard, label, or assistive-technology support.
• Side effects / performance notes: Accessibility behavior should be checked with the active theme and any custom templates.
• Related options: Close on ESC Key, Checkbox Type, Theme Compatibility Mode.

Send Usage Statistics

• Public label: Send Usage Statistics
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Controls whether anonymous usage statistics may be sent from the plugin.
• When to use: Enable it only when the site owner is comfortable sharing usage telemetry according to their policy.
• Side effects / performance notes: Privacy and compliance requirements should be reviewed before enabling telemetry.
• Related options: Debug Mode, Enable Filter Analytics, Data Retention Period.

Adaptive Filtering

• Public label: Adaptive Filtering
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: Disabled / Hide / Grey Out
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Controls how unavailable values are treated as shoppers make selections.
• When to use: Use Hide or Grey Out when shoppers should not choose combinations that return no products.
• Side effects / performance notes: Adaptive filtering can make the interface change after each selection, so test it with counts and empty values.
• Related options: Hide Empty Filter Values, Show Disabled As Greyed, Recount Products.

Remember Filter Selection

• Public label: Remember Filter Selection
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: URL Params / Session / None
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Controls whether filter selections persist through URL parameters, session storage, or not at all.
• When to use: Use URL Params for shareable filtered pages, Session for short-term browsing continuity, or None for stateless filtering.
• Side effects / performance notes: Persisted selections can surprise shoppers if they return to a catalog expecting an unfiltered page.
• Related options: URL Mode, Apply Params From URL, Disable Context Preselect on Load.

URL Mode

• Public label: URL Mode
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: Query Params / Hash Fragment
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Chooses how active filter selections are represented in the page URL.
• When to use: Use query parameters for standard shareable URLs, or hash fragments when URL changes should stay client-side.
• Side effects / performance notes: URL mode affects browser history, sharing, analytics, and SEO-related behavior.
• Related options: Apply Params From URL, Show Category Slugs, Disable Following URL.

Disable Context Preselect on Load

• Public label: Disable Context Preselect on Load
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Catalog Behavior
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: Off
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Prevents context-derived selections from being preselected when the page loads.
• When to use: Use it when category, archive, or page context should not automatically preselect filter values.
• Side effects / performance notes: Disabling preselect can change the initial state of category archives and linked filtered pages.
• Related options: Apply Params From URL, Remember Filter Selection, Force Show Only This Filter.

Variation Behavior

Variation Values Visibility

• Public label: Variation Values Visibility
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Variation Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: All / Existing / In-Stock
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Controls which variation values appear in filters.
• When to use: Use Existing or In-Stock when shoppers should only see values that map to real or purchasable variations.
• Side effects / performance notes: Restricting values can depend on variation indexing and stock data freshness.
• Related options: Out-of-Stock Variation Display, Variation Filtering Mode, Enable Index Tables.

Out-of-Stock Variation Display

• Public label: Out-of-Stock Variation Display
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Variation Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: Show / Grey Out / Hide
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Controls how out-of-stock variation values are shown in filters.
• When to use: Use Grey Out when shoppers should see unavailable values, or Hide when unavailable values should not appear.
• Side effects / performance notes: Stock status changes may require fresh indexing or cache clearing before filters reflect them.
• Related options: Variation Values Visibility, Exclude Backorder Variations, Rebuild Index.

Variation Count Display

• Public label: Variation Count Display
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Variation Behavior
• Type: Select
• Default value: Parent Products / Individual Variations
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Chooses whether counts represent parent products or individual variations.
• When to use: Use parent products for standard catalogs and individual variations when each variation should count separately.
• Side effects / performance notes: Variation-level counts can be more expensive and can differ from product-card counts.
• Related options: Variation Count Mode, Display Variations in Results, Count Calculation Mode.

Dynamic Variation Image

• Public label: Dynamic Variation Image
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Variation Behavior
• Type: Reserved option
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Reserved; visibility depends on final product exposure.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Reserves configuration space for updating product imagery based on variation data.
• When to use: Use only if the control is exposed in the final product UI and variation image behavior is part of the implementation.
• Side effects / performance notes: Image switching can affect product-card layout, lazy loading, and perceived filtering speed.
• Related options: Variation Values Visibility, Display Variations in Results, Dynamic Variation Image support.

Fuzzy Search

Enable FuzzySearch Module

• Public label: Enable FuzzySearch Module
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Fuzzy Search
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Always.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Enables the fuzzy search module for filter/search behavior.
• When to use: Use it when shoppers should find products even with partial, typo-tolerant, or flexible search terms.
• Side effects / performance notes: Search behavior should be tested with large catalogs and relevant languages.
• Related options: Search Scope, Fuzzy Matching Level, Search In Fields.

Search Scope

• Public label: Search Scope
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Fuzzy Search
• Type: Select
• Default value: Products Only / Products + Categories
• Shown when: Enable FuzzySearch Module is on.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Chooses what content the fuzzy search module searches across.
• When to use: Use Products + Categories when shoppers often search by category names as well as product names.
• Side effects / performance notes: Wider search scope can increase result volume and should be checked for relevance.
• Related options: Enable FuzzySearch Module, Search In Fields, Show Live Suggestions.

Fuzzy Matching Level

• Public label: Fuzzy Matching Level
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Fuzzy Search
• Type: Select
• Default value: Strict / Forgiving / Generous
• Shown when: Enable FuzzySearch Module is on.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Controls how tolerant fuzzy matching is.
• When to use: Use Strict for precise catalogs, Forgiving for common typos, and Generous when shoppers use broad or imperfect terms.
• Side effects / performance notes: More generous matching can return less precise results.
• Related options: Search Scope, Search In Fields, Show Live Suggestions.

Search In Fields

• Public label: Search In Fields
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Fuzzy Search
• Type: Checkboxes
• Default value: Title, Desc, Short Desc, SKU
• Shown when: Enable FuzzySearch Module is on.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Chooses which product fields are searched by the fuzzy search module.
• When to use: Include SKU for catalog lookup, descriptions for discovery, and titles for standard product search.
• Side effects / performance notes: Searching more fields can increase matches and reduce precision.
• Related options: Search Scope, Fuzzy Matching Level, Show Live Suggestions.

Show Live Suggestions

• Public label: Show Live Suggestions
• Location: Plugin Settings > General > Fuzzy Search
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: None
• Shown when: Enable FuzzySearch Module is on.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Shows search suggestions while shoppers type.
• When to use: Use it when shoppers benefit from immediate product or category suggestions.
• Side effects / performance notes: Live suggestions can increase frontend requests and should be tested with debouncing and large catalogs.
• Related options: Enable FuzzySearch Module, AJAX Debounce, Search Scope.