Catalog Mode & Quote Request

Overview

The Catalog Mode module turns a WooCommerce store into a browsable catalogue: it can hide prices, remove the add-to-cart button, and offer an enquiry form in their place. Enquiries are stored, answered from the admin screen, and emailed to both sides.

It is for wholesale, made-to-order and trade stores where a price is quoted rather than published, and for stores that want a catalogue open while checkout is closed.

Availability

Item	Value
Module key	catalog_mode
Tier	Premium
Entitlement key	catalog_mode
Admin tab	catalog-mode, under Pricing & Promotions
Enabled option	aiowc_module_enabled_catalog_mode (off until turned on)
REST namespace	aiowc/v1

Enabling the module creates the two tables below, seeds the defaults and schedules the cleanup job. Every storefront behaviour is off by default: enabling the module changes nothing a shopper sees until at least one of hide_prices, hide_add_to_cart or enable_inquiry_form is turned on.

Settings

Stored in the bundled option row aiowc_cm_settings; legacy per-key options aiowc_cm_<key> are migrated on first read.

API name	Stored key	Default	Meaning
hidePrices	hide_prices	false	Register the price filters.
hideAddToCart	hide_add_to_cart	false	Register the cart-button filters.
enableInquiryForm	enable_inquiry_form	false	Register the enquiry button, modal and submit handler.
inquiryEmail	inquiry_email	site admin email	Address notified of a new enquiry, and the from address on the reply.
showCallForPrice	show_call_for_price	true	Show replacement text where a price would have been.
replacementText	replacement_text	"Contact us for pricing"	The text shown in place of a price.
applyToRoles	apply_to_roles	[] (all users)	When set, only users with these roles are subject to catalogue mode.
applyToCategories	apply_to_categories	[] (all products)	When set, catalogue mode applies only to products in these categories.
cleanupDays	cleanup_days	180	Age at which closed enquiries are deleted. 0 or less disables the cleanup.

The three switches are read once, when hooks are registered, so a change takes effect on the next request rather than mid-request.

Rules

Beyond the module-wide switches, catalogue mode can be scoped by rules. Each rule has a type, a set of target ids, its own hide_price, hide_cart and show_inquiry flags, optional replacement text, a priority and an active flag.

Rules resolve most specific first — product, then role, then category, then global — and within one type the lower priority number wins. Exactly one rule wins per product and visitor; results are cached per product and role for the request.

Admin screen

The Catalog Mode tab has three sub-tabs, and the active one is held in the URL:

Sub-tab	What it offers
Rules	Create, edit and delete catalogue rules through a rule editor dialogue.
Enquiries	The enquiry queue, a detail dialogue, status changes, admin notes and replies.
Settings	A form over the module settings above.

REST API endpoints

All routes are on aiowc/v1. Administration requires manage_woocommerce plus a REST nonce on cookie-authenticated requests. The submit route accepts guests but requires a REST nonce and is rate limited to 30 requests a minute.

Method	Path	Purpose	Required args	Permission
POST	/catalog-mode/inquire	Submit an enquiry; accepts customer_phone and message.	product_id, customer_name, customer_email	Public write
GET	/catalog-mode/inquiries	List enquiries; accepts status, page, per_page.	–	Manage
GET	/catalog-mode/inquiries/{id}	Read one enquiry.	id	Manage
PUT / PATCH / POST	/catalog-mode/inquiries/{id}	Update status or admin notes.	id	Manage
DELETE	/catalog-mode/inquiries/{id}	Delete an enquiry.	id	Manage
POST	/catalog-mode/inquiries/{id}/reply	Email a reply to the customer and record it; accepts admin_notes.	id, reply_text	Manage
GET	/catalog-mode/rules	List rules; accepts limit, offset.	–	Manage
POST	/catalog-mode/rules	Create a rule; accepts target_ids, hide_price, hide_cart, show_inquiry, replacement_text, priority, is_active.	rule_type	Manage
PUT / PATCH / POST	/catalog-mode/rules/{id}	Update a rule.	id	Manage
DELETE	/catalog-mode/rules/{id}	Delete a rule.	id	Manage
GET	/catalog-mode/settings	Read the settings above.	–	Manage
PUT / PATCH / POST	/catalog-mode/settings	Update the settings above.	–	Manage

WooCommerce integration

Frontend handlers are skipped inside wp-admin, and each group is registered only when its switch is on.

Hiding prices (hide_prices)

Filter	Priority
woocommerce_get_price_html	100
woocommerce_cart_item_price	100
woocommerce_cart_item_subtotal	100
woocommerce_variable_price_html	100

Hiding the cart button (hide_add_to_cart)

Hook	Priority	Effect
woocommerce_loop_add_to_cart_link	100	Replaces the loop button.
woocommerce_is_purchasable	100	Marks the product not purchasable.
woocommerce_single_product_summary	1	Removes the single-product add-to-cart output.
woocommerce_add_to_cart_validation	100	Refuses a direct add-to-cart attempt.

Because purchasability and add-to-cart validation are both filtered, a hidden product cannot be added by posting to the cart URL directly.

Enquiry form (enable_inquiry_form)

Hook	Effect
woocommerce_single_product_summary (35)	Renders the enquiry button on the product page.
woocommerce_after_shop_loop_item (15)	Renders the enquiry button in the loop.
wp_footer	Renders the enquiry modal.
wp_ajax_aiowc_submit_inquiry, wp_ajax_nopriv_aiowc_submit_inquiry	Handles the form post for signed-in and guest visitors.
wp_enqueue_scripts	Loads the enquiry assets.

The form can therefore be submitted either through admin-ajax or through POST /catalog-mode/inquire.

Email

A new enquiry is emailed to inquiry_email, falling back to the site admin address when it is empty. A reply is emailed to the customer from the same address. Both go through wp_mail, so they use whatever the site is already configured to send with.

Database schema

Table	Holds
{prefix}aiowc_catalog_mode_rules	Rules: type, target ids, per-rule hide flags, replacement text, priority and active state.
{prefix}aiowc_catalog_inquiries	Enquiries: product, customer name, email, phone, message, status, admin notes and replies.

Background jobs

Hook	Interval	Work
aiowc_catalog_inquiry_cleanup	24 hours	Deletes closed enquiries older than cleanupDays. Returns immediately when that setting is 0 or less.

Entitlement limits

catalog_mode is an on/off grant with no licence-side quota on rules or enquiries. Enquiry volume is bounded by the public-write rate limit of 30 requests a minute per caller, and enquiry retention by cleanupDays.

Health check

The module reports a warning when its tables are missing or WooCommerce is inactive, and otherwise reports that it is functioning normally.