Order Manager Settings

Order Manager Settings connects ExpressionEngine templates to printable order documents, custom order output, email actions, and dashboard reports.

Every selector lists templates available to the current ExpressionEngine site. Order Manager never edits the selected template. It parses the template when the corresponding action is used.

Install the CartThrob demo templates

The main CartThrob add-on can automatically install working examples for every Order Manager template setting. Order Manager ships with CartThrob, but the templates are installed from CartThrob:

1. Open CartThrob → Installation.
2. Select the Store sample template group.
3. Run the template installation.
4. Return to Order Manager → Settings.
5. Select the templates listed below and save.

The installer creates the complete store template group. If a store group already exists, ExpressionEngine will not overwrite it. Copy the examples from this page into new templates or add the new template files manually on an existing site.

The samples use the channel and field short names created by CartThrob’s demo installer. On another site, replace orders, order_items, and each order_* field with the short names configured under CartThrob’s order settings.

Invoice Template

Selecting a template adds Print Invoice to the Order detail page.

Recommended demo: store/invoice

Order Manager injects these variables before parsing:

Standard ExpressionEngine global variables remain available. To access the order’s title, date, customer fields, totals, and purchased items, load the configured orders channel with entry_id="{entry_id}".

The demo store/invoice also supports CartThrob’s encrypted front-end invoice URL. When Order Manager opens it, the template follows its direct {entry_id} path.

Packing Slip Template

Selecting a template adds Print Packing Slip to the Order detail page.

Recommended demo: store/packing_slip

It receives the same two direct variables:

The packing slip should load the saved order and output the purchased item’s saved options. Reading the product entry’s current modifier values does not reliably describe a historical purchase.

Custom Templates

The Custom Templates grid adds named order-specific actions.

Recommended demo row:

Printing a custom template injects:

The same template can be emailed from the Order detail page. Emailing requires at least one completed-order email notification in CartThrob. Order Manager uses that notification’s sender and email type, replaces its body with the selected custom template, and uses the recipient and subject entered on the Order detail page.

During email parsing, the template also receives the saved order data. Because order field short names are configurable, that set contains every field loaded from the site’s order entry. These stable aliases are also available:

For one template that behaves identically when printed and emailed, use {entry_id} in a channel:entries tag as shown in the examples below.

Custom Report Templates

The Custom Report Templates grid adds named templates to the Dashboard’s Report selector.

Recommended demo row:

Custom reports do not receive {entry_id} or another Order Manager-specific variable because they are not tied to one order. They receive normal ExpressionEngine global variables and can run standard ExpressionEngine and CartThrob tags.

The optional order_totals tag exposes these variables:

order_totals currently follows ExpressionEngine’s default entry-status selection and does not accept filtering parameters. Sites that save orders under custom statuses may therefore receive zero totals. The installed demo report uses order_items as its reliable baseline. Each purchased-item row provides:

Saved custom item options can also be addressed by their option short name. The {item_options} pair makes templates independent of those names:

The installed examples display rows where {dynamic} is false, which keeps configured product and configurator selections while omitting CartThrob’s internal saved-item metadata. Remove that conditional when the template should also display intentionally submitted dynamic options.

Custom reports differ from saved Order Reports:

• a custom report executes an ExpressionEngine template; and
• a saved Order Report stores criteria selected in Order Manager.

Non-Super-Admin users must have permission to access the selected template.

Example templates

These examples are intentionally compact. They are viable starting points and show the parsing contract for each setting.

Invoice Template example

Select this template as Invoice Template:

{exp:channel:entries
    channel="orders"
    entry_id="{entry_id}"
    dynamic="no"
    limit="1"
    status="not none"
    show_future_entries="yes"
}
    {if no_results}<p>Order not found.</p>{/if}

    <h1>Invoice: {title}</h1>
    <p>Order date: {entry_date format="%F %j, %Y"}</p>
    <p>
        Bill to:<br>
        {order_billing_first_name} {order_billing_last_name}<br>
        {order_billing_address}<br>
        {order_billing_city}, {order_billing_state} {order_billing_zip}
    </p>

    <table>
        <thead>
            <tr><th>Item</th><th>Qty</th><th>Price</th><th>Subtotal</th></tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            {exp:cartthrob:order_items order_id="{entry_id}"}
                <tr>
                    <td>
                        {item:title}
                        {item_options}
                            {if dynamic}
                            {if:else}
                                {if configuration_label}
                                    <br>{configuration_label}: {option_name}
                                {if:else}
                                    <br>{option_label}: {option_name}
                                {/if}
                            {/if}
                        {/item_options}
                    </td>
                    <td>{item:quantity}</td>
                    <td>{item:price}</td>
                    <td>{item:subtotal}</td>
                </tr>
            {/exp:cartthrob:order_items}
        </tbody>
    </table>

    <p>
        Subtotal: {order_subtotal}<br>
        Shipping: {order_shipping}<br>
        Tax: {order_tax}<br>
        <strong>Total: {order_total}</strong>
    </p>
{/exp:channel:entries}

Packing Slip Template example

Select this template as Packing Slip Template:

{exp:channel:entries
    channel="orders"
    entry_id="{entry_id}"
    dynamic="no"
    limit="1"
    status="not none"
    show_future_entries="yes"
}
    {if no_results}<p>Order not found.</p>{/if}

    <h1>Packing slip: {title}</h1>
    <p>
        Ship to:<br>
        {order_shipping_first_name} {order_shipping_last_name}<br>
        {order_shipping_address}<br>
        {order_shipping_city}, {order_shipping_state} {order_shipping_zip}
    </p>

    <table>
        <thead>
            <tr><th>Item</th><th>Quantity</th></tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            {exp:cartthrob:order_items order_id="{entry_id}"}
                <tr>
                    <td>
                        {item:title}
                        {item_options}
                            {if dynamic}
                            {if:else}
                                {if configuration_label}
                                    <br>{configuration_label}: {option_name}
                                {if:else}
                                    <br>{option_label}: {option_name}
                                {/if}
                            {/if}
                        {/item_options}
                    </td>
                    <td>{item:quantity}</td>
                </tr>
            {/exp:cartthrob:order_items}
        </tbody>
    </table>
{/exp:channel:entries}

Custom Template example

Add a Custom Templates row and select this template:

{exp:channel:entries
    channel="orders"
    entry_id="{entry_id}"
    dynamic="no"
    limit="1"
    status="not none"
    show_future_entries="yes"
}
    {if no_results}<p>Order not found.</p>{/if}

    <h1>Order summary: {title}</h1>
    <p>{order_billing_first_name} {order_billing_last_name}</p>

    {exp:cartthrob:order_items order_id="{entry_id}"}
        <p>
            {item:title} × {item:quantity}: {item:subtotal}
            {item_options}
                {if dynamic}
                {if:else}
                    {if configuration_label}
                        <br>{configuration_label}: {option_name}
                    {if:else}
                        <br>{option_label}: {option_name}
                    {/if}
                {/if}
            {/item_options}
        </p>
    {/exp:cartthrob:order_items}

    <p><strong>Total: {order_total}</strong></p>
{/exp:channel:entries}

Custom Report Template example

Add a Custom Report Templates row and select this template:

<h2>Order Manager Report</h2>

<table>
    <thead>
        <tr><th>Order</th><th>Item</th><th>Qty</th><th>Subtotal</th></tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        {exp:cartthrob:order_items}
            <tr>
                <td>{item:order_id}</td>
                <td>
                    {item:title}
                    {item_options}
                        {if dynamic}
                        {if:else}
                            {if configuration_label}
                                <br>{configuration_label}: {option_name}
                            {if:else}
                                <br>{option_label}: {option_name}
                            {/if}
                        {/if}
                    {/item_options}
                </td>
                <td>{item:quantity}</td>
                <td>{item:subtotal}</td>
            </tr>
            {if no_results}
                <tr><td colspan="4">No purchased items were found.</td></tr>
            {/if}
        {/exp:cartthrob:order_items}
    </tbody>
</table>

Saving and testing

After changing Settings:

1. Save the page.
2. Open a known test order.
3. Print the invoice and packing slip.
4. Print the custom order summary.
5. Email the custom summary to a safe test recipient.
6. Confirm that order number, customer, totals, purchased items, and modifiers match the saved order.
7. Return to the Dashboard, select Order Manager Report, and refresh.
8. Test custom reports with a restricted control-panel role as well as a Super Admin.

Security

Order templates can expose customer and payment-related data. Restrict template and Order Manager access appropriately. Do not output full card numbers, credentials, gateway secrets, or data not required for fulfillment.