=== Change WooCommerce Product Author - Transfer Ownership of WooCommerce Products ===
Contributors: FahimMurshed
Donate link: https://fahimm.com/donation
Tags: woocommerce product author, change product author, transfer product ownership, reassign product author, woocommerce author permissions
Requires at least: 5.6
Tested up to: 7.0
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 2.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html

Easily change WooCommerce product author ownership. Bulk transfer product authors, manage permissions, and display frontend author cards.

== Description ==

By default, WooCommerce does not allow store owners to easily change or reassign product author ownership from the admin dashboard or perform bulk author transfers. **Change WooCommerce Product Author** solves this problem by giving store managers complete control over product authorship, bulk migrations, and author role permissions.

Whether you run a multi-vendor store, manage multiple store managers, or need to reassign products from a departing team member, this plugin makes transferring WooCommerce product ownership effortless.

### 🌟 Key Features

* **Change WooCommerce Product Author Easily**: Reassign product author ownership in Quick Edit, Edit Product, or via the Bulk Transfer tool.
* **Bulk Product Author Transfer**: Transfer multiple products from one author to another in seconds with optional category filters.
* **Admin Dashboard & Analytics**: Visual charts showing product counts per author, percentage store shares, and author activity metrics.
* **Author Role & Permission Control**: Granular matrix control to define who can change product authors, perform bulk migrations, or restrict authors to managing only their own products.
* **WooCommerce List Table Filter & Column**: Filter products by author directly in the WooCommerce Products table and see the Author column at a glance.
* **Frontend Product Author Card**: Display customizable product author bio boxes and avatars on single product pages (inside tabs or summary).
* **High-Performance & HPOS Ready**: Fully compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS), WordPress 6.7+, and PHP 8.2+/8.3+.

### 🎯 Common Use Cases
* Reassign products when an author, vendor, or store employee leaves.
* Transfer bulk products from a temporary admin account to designated store vendors.
* Restrict vendor/author roles so they can only view and manage their own products in WP Admin.
* Show author/creator credentials on product pages to build customer trust.

### ⚖️ Trademarks & Disclaimer
*WooCommerce* and the WooCommerce logo are registered trademarks owned, developed, and managed by **Automattic, Inc.** This plugin is an independent extension developed by Fahim Murshid and is not affiliated with, funded, or endorsed by Automattic or WooCommerce.

== Installation ==
1. Upload the plugin directory to `/wp-content/plugins/` or install through WordPress plugins screen.
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress.
3. Access **Change Author** from the main WordPress admin sidebar (after Products) to open the Dashboard and Settings.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= How do I change a single product's author? =
You can change any product's author in three places: Quick Edit (under WooCommerce > Products), the Edit Product sidebar metabox, or via **Change Author > Bulk Transfer**.

= How does the Bulk Author Transfer tool work? =
Navigate to **Change Author > Bulk Transfer**, select the **Source Author** and **Destination Author**, and optionally filter by Product Category, Brand, Tag, or Product Attribute (`pa_*`). Click **Start Bulk Transfer** to instantly migrate all matching products.

= Can I restrict authors to only see their own products in WP Admin? =
Yes! Navigate to **Change Author > Author Permissions** and toggle **"Restrict to Own Products Only"** for Author, Contributor, or custom roles. Users with that role will only see and manage their own products.

= How do I customize or hide the frontend Product Author Box? =
Go to **Change Author > Settings**. You can choose the display position (Product Summary, Product Tabs, or Disabled), edit the box title, toggle gravatar avatars, and display author biographical info.

= Is this plugin compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS)? =
Yes! The plugin fully declares compatibility with WooCommerce HPOS (`custom_order_tables`) and runs smoothly on PHP 8.2+ and WordPress 6.7+.

= Can I translate this plugin into another language? =
Yes! The plugin includes a complete POT template file at `languages/change-woocommerce-product-author.pot`. You can easily translate it using Loco Translate or Poedit.

== Screenshots ==
1. Product Authorship Dashboard with Overview Metrics & Distribution
2. Bulk Product Author Transfer Tool
3. Role & Permission Matrix Control
4. Frontend Single Product Author Box

== Changelog ==

= 2.0.0 =
* Major Release: Introduced modern 2-column Admin Dashboard under Products ("Change Author").
* Added Overview tab featuring Published Products, Active Authors, Avg Products/Author metrics, and Product Ownership Distribution table with store share progress bars.
* Added Bulk Author Transfer tool with primary Reassign Ownership Pair highlight and optional filters (Categories, Brands, Tags, and Product Attributes `pa_*`).
* Added Role & Permission Matrix for controlling Dashboard Access, Author Editing, Bulk Transfers, and "Restrict to Own Products Only" query scoping.
* Added persistent right-side support sidebar ("Need more support!") linking directly to developer contact.
* Added About page featuring Fahim Murshid developer profile, photo, and 6 custom engineering service cards.
* Added Single Product Frontend Author Box with customizable position, title, avatar, and bio display settings.
* Added full i18n translation support and `languages/change-woocommerce-product-author.pot` template file.
* Declared full compatibility with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
* Rebuilt with modern PHP 8.2+/8.5+ OOP architecture and WordPress 6.7+ compatibility.

= 1.0.7 =
* WordPress 5.8 Compatibility

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release
