# Usage time

## How to Create a Usage Time Metafield in Accentuate Custom Fields (ACF)

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### Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* An active Shopify store
* Accentuate Custom Fields installed from the Shopify App Store
* Staff permissions to access Apps in your Shopify admin
* (Recommended) An Online Store 2.0 theme, which allows metafield values to be displayed via the theme editor without touching code

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### Key Concepts to Know First

Scope — The Shopify object the metafield attaches to. For Usage Time, this will be Products.

Namespace & Key — The unique identifier for your field. The namespace groups related fields (e.g. custom) and the key is the specific field name (e.g. usage\_time). Together they form custom.usage\_time, which is the address used in your theme to pull the value.

Field Data Type — Controls what kind of data the field holds. For Usage Time, a Single Select is recommended since a product typically has one designated time of use — Morning, Night, or Morning & Night. If your range includes products that can genuinely be used at multiple distinct times independently, you can opt for Multi Select instead.

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### Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 — Open ACF from your Shopify Admin Go to your Shopify Admin, click Apps in the left sidebar, and open Accentuate Custom Fields. You'll land on the ACF dashboard, which shows the Metafields and metaobjects section with cards for Products, Shops, Metaobjects, and Customers.

Step 2 — Open Product Metafields In the Products card, click the Metafields button. This takes you into the Product Custom Fields screen where you can see all existing fields listed with their types and manage your definitions.

Step 3 — Add a New Section Click the + Add section button in the top-right area of the Product Custom Fields screen. An Add Section modal will open across two pages.

Page 1 — Basic Details:

* Title: Usage Time — displayed in bold as a visual header when editing product values (1–50 characters, no HTML)
* Name: usage\_time — must be unique within your Product fields (3–64 characters, letters, digits, underscores or dashes only)
* Description: Optionally add a note like The recommended time of day to use this product — supports Markdown
* Color: Leave as the default #dfe3e8, or choose a colour to visually distinguish this section from others like Skin Type or Skin Concerns
* All fields in this section apply to: Leave as All types unless you want to restrict this to specific product types
* Make visible to the Storefront API: Leave checked (default) — this makes the usage time value accessible in themes and custom storefronts

Click Next to continue.

Page 2 — Advanced Settings:

* Repeatable section: Leave unchecked — Usage Time is a single value per product, not a repeating block.
* Include value of first text field: Leave unchecked — not needed for a select-type field.
* Show as collapsed when editing: Leave unchecked — keeps the section expanded by default so it is easy to find and fill in when editing a product.
* Hide section: Leave unchecked — checking this would make the section invisible in the editor entirely.
* Show section even if empty: Optionally check this if you want the Usage Time section to always appear on products, even before a value has been assigned.
* Exclude from layout: Leave unchecked — only tick this if you want the section excluded from ACF's layout editing tools.

Click Done to save the section.

Step 4 — Add the Usage Time Field Once the section is saved, click + Add field to add the actual field inside it. Fill in the details:

* Label: Usage Time
* Namespace: accentuate (ACF's default, or use your own e.g. beauty)
* Key: usage\_time
* Field Data Type: Select Single Select — this restricts input to your predefined time-of-use options

Step 5 — Add Your Usage Time Options Once Single Select is chosen, add each allowed value one by one:

* Morning
* Night
* Morning & Night
* Weekly (optional, for masks or treatments used less frequently)
* As Needed (optional, for spot treatments or occasional-use products)

Add or remove options at any time — existing product values are preserved when you edit the list.

Step 6 — Save Click Save. Your Usage Time field will now appear inside its section on every product edit page in your Shopify admin.

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### Populating Usage Time Values on Products

One by one: Open any product in Shopify Admin, scroll to the Usage Time section added by ACF, select the appropriate value from the dropdown, and save.

Bulk edit: Back on the Product Custom Fields screen, click Edit Values to open the table/bulk edit view. All products appear as rows and you can update the Usage Time column across many products at once. This is the fastest method if you have a large range to populate.

CSV import: Use the Export button to download a CSV template, fill in the usage\_time column for each product row, then re-import via the Import button. Best for large catalogs or when migrating data from an existing spreadsheet.

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### Displaying Usage Time on Your Storefront

Theme Editor (no code, OS 2.0 themes): Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize. Open a product template, click Add Block, select an ACF or Metafield block, choose the Usage Time field, position it on the page (typically near the how-to-use section or product highlights), and save. It will display automatically for any product with a value set.

Liquid Code (all themes): Add this to your product template file where you want the usage time to appear:

{% if product.metafields.custom.usage\_time%}

&#x20; \<p>\<strong>When to Use:\</strong>

&#x20; {{ product.metafields.custom.usage\_time.value }}\</p>

{% endif %}

If you used a custom namespace (e.g. beauty), replace custom with your namespace name.

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### Tips & Best Practices

* Keep options simple and clear — Morning, Night, and Morning & Night cover the vast majority of skincare products. Avoid overcomplicating the list with too many variations.
* Use "Morning & Night" as a combined option — rather than selecting both Morning and Night separately via Multi Select, a single "Morning & Night" option is cleaner and easier to filter by.
* Enable storefront filtering — connect usage\_time as a filter in Online Store → Navigation → Filter menus. Shoppers looking for a night cream or a morning SPF can then filter directly by time of use.
* Pair with Skin Type and Skin Concerns — having Usage Time alongside Skin Type and Skin Concerns gives you a powerful trio of attributes for building targeted collections (e.g. "Night Creams for Dry Skin targeting Fine Lines").
* Avoid the shopify namespace — it is reserved by Shopify and can cause conflicts. Use custom or a brand-specific name.
* Be consistent with capitalisation — decide whether options are title case (Morning & Night) or lowercase (morning & night) and apply it uniformly across all products.
* Multi-language stores — ACF supports translatable metafields. Mark Usage Time as translatable if you need localised labels for different markets.

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### Quick Reference

| Setting          | Value                                              |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Scope            | Products                                           |
| Section Title    | Usage Time                                         |
| Section Name     | usage\_time                                        |
| Field Label      | Usage Time                                         |
| Namespace        | custom                                             |
| Key              | usage\_time                                        |
| Full Identifier  | custom.usage\_time                                 |
| Field Data Type  | Single Select                                      |
| Options          | Morning, Night, Morning & Night, Weekly, As Needed |
| Storefront API   | Enabled (checked by default)                       |
| Liquid Reference | {{ product.metafields.custom.usage\_time.value }}  |

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For further details, visit the official ACF documentation at help.accentuate.io

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