Prenoteca – Booking Requests

PMF

Where should I place the form?

In a published page, using the [prenoteca_booking_form] shortcode. The cancellation link in the customer email leads back to that page, which shows the cancellation request in place of the form. Do not place the form in widgets, archives or theme templates: there the link falls back to the home page, where customers cannot cancel unless the home page also shows the form. Keep the page published while bookings are active, otherwise links already sent will stop working.

Can I customise the form?

You can change its look with CSS from your theme: the form and its main elements have classes and IDs starting with prenoteca (for example .prenoteca-form, .prenoteca-btn and #prenoteca_name). Email texts can be edited from Bookings → Notifications. Editing the plugin files is not recommended, because changes are lost when the plugin is updated.

Can I add custom fields?

Not from the settings. Custom fields require editing the form template and the code that validates and saves the booking (includes/class-prenoteca-frontend.php), and changes to the plugin files are lost when the plugin is updated.

Are the emails customisable?

Yes. Go to Bookings → Notifications to edit the subject and text of every email. Placeholders such as {nome}, {data} and {ora} are replaced with the booking details, and a button restores the default text.

When is the reminder email sent?

Enable Reminder and Booking statuses in Bookings → Settings. Between 09:00 and 20:00 (site time) the plugin emails customers whose booking for the next day is confirmed, once per booking. The reminder does not depend on the «Send a confirmation to the customer» option. The check runs every hour, so bookings confirmed later in the day still get their reminder, and a failed email is retried up to 3 times. If it still cannot be sent (or no attempts are left before 20:00), a notice in the admin area and a label in the booking list tell you to contact the customer directly. The text can be edited from Bookings → Notifications. The reminder uses WP-Cron, which runs when someone visits the site: on low-traffic sites, disable WP-Cron in wp-config.php (define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );) and have your server call wp-cron.php every 15 minutes, so reminders are sent on time.

How do I offer bookable services?

Enable Book Services in Bookings → Settings. A Services menu appears where you manage the list; the form then asks the customer to pick one. Each booking keeps a copy of the service name and duration, so your history stays accurate even if you later edit or delete the service. Disabling the option hides the field from the form.

Can I change the services created on first activation?

Yes, with the prenoteca_default_services filter, before you enable the option for the first time:

add_filter( 'prenoteca_default_services', function () {
    return array(
        array( 'nome' => 'Taglio', 'durata_min' => 30, 'pausa_tra_appuntamenti' => 10, 'attivo' => 'si', 'descrizione_breve' => 'Lavaggio incluso', 'prezzo' => '25' ),
    );
} );

Can I change the anti-spam limit?

By default the form accepts at most 3 booking requests per hour from the same IP address; administrators are not limited. You can change the number, or set it to 0 to turn the limit off:

add_filter( 'prenoteca_rate_limit', function () {
    return 5;
} );

The time window is set with the prenoteca_rate_limit_period filter, in seconds.

Where are the bookings stored?

In a dedicated database table, wp_prenoteca_bookings. Uninstalling the plugin drops that table and removes its options.

Does it send data anywhere?

No. Everything stays on your site.

Does the plugin use cookies?

Only one technical cookie, and only when a customer opens the cancellation link from their email. The cookie (prenoteca_cancel_ followed by the booking ID) temporarily stores the cancellation token, so the token can be removed from the page address. It expires after 30 minutes, is deleted once the booking is cancelled, and is not used for tracking. Visitors who only use the booking form receive no cookies from the plugin.