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Fixing the Missing WooCommerce Save Button Caused by Activity Log

11 threads Sep 17, 2025 Plugin → Activity log – monitor & record user changes

Content

Many WordPress administrators rely on the Activity Log plugin to track user changes, but a common and frustrating issue has been reported: the Save Changes button disappears from WooCommerce settings pages when the plugin is active. This guide explains the cause and provides the most effective solutions to resolve the conflict.

Why This Happens

Based on user reports and code analysis, the issue occurs when the Activity Log plugin, or another plugin it conflicts with, inadvertently sets a global PHP variable called $GLOBALS['hide_save_button'] to '1'. WooCommerce's settings template checks for this variable; if it exists and is not empty, it hides the essential Save Changes button, making it impossible to update any store settings.

Most Common Solutions

1. Update the Activity Log Plugin

The most straightforward fix is to ensure you are running the latest version of the Activity Log plugin. The plugin's development team has addressed this specific WooCommerce compatibility issue in past updates. Notably, version 2.9.1 was released explicitly to fix this problem for many users.

Action: Navigate to Dashboard → Updates in your WordPress admin and check for an update to "Activity Log." Apply any available updates and then check your WooCommerce settings pages to see if the Save button has returned.

2. Identify a Conflicting Plugin

If updating does not work, the problem may be a three-way conflict between WooCommerce, Activity Log, and a third plugin. This has been frequently observed with plugins like WooCommerce PayPal Payments and WooCommerce Print Invoices/Packing Lists.

Action: Perform a conflict test.

  1. Temporarily deactivate all plugins except for WooCommerce and Activity Log.
  2. Check if the Save button is visible in WooCommerce settings. If it is, you know the issue is a conflict with another plugin.
  3. Reactivate your other plugins one by one, checking the WooCommerce settings page after activating each one.
  4. When the Save button disappears again, the last plugin you activated is the source of the conflict.

Once identified, you can seek support for the conflicting plugin or leave either it or Activity Log disabled.

3. Check for a Code Snippet (Advanced)

For users comfortable with code, one thread revealed a direct diagnostic method. The issue is that the hide_save_button global variable is being set to '1'.

Action: You can add the following code to your theme's functions.php file or a custom code snippet plugin. This will forcefully unset the variable, ensuring the button is always displayed.

// Force show WooCommerce save settings button
add_action( 'admin_init', function() {
    if ( isset( $GLOBALS['hide_save_button'] ) ) {
        unset( $GLOBALS['hide_save_button'] );
    }
}, 99 );

Warning: Only edit code if you are confident doing so and always back up your site first.

Conclusion

The missing WooCommerce Save button is a known compatibility issue that has largely been resolved in newer versions of the Activity Log plugin. If you encounter this problem, start by updating all plugins. If the issue persists, a systematic conflict test is the best way to identify the culprit. For a direct fix, the provided code snippet can help restore functionality.

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