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Resolving Duplicate Menu Items Caused by Admin Menu Editor and BuddyPress/bbPress

11 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Admin menu editor

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If you use the Admin Menu Editor plugin on a site with BuddyPress or bbPress, you might encounter a frustrating issue: duplicate menu items appearing under your Dashboard. Common duplicates include "Welcome to BuddyPress" or "Welcome to bbPress." This article explains why this happens and provides a clear, step-by-step guide to resolving it.

Why Do These Duplicate Menus Appear?

Based on community reports and analysis, this is not a bug in Admin Menu Editor but rather a conflict with how certain plugins, particularly BuddyPress and bbPress, manage their admin menus.

Here is the technical reason for the conflict:

  • Plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress create special "Welcome" or internal menu items for their own setup processes.
  • Instead of using standard WordPress methods to hide these items (like role capabilities), they add them and then remove them from the global menu array later.
  • Admin Menu Editor processes the admin menu before these plugins have a chance to remove their temporary items. Consequently, AME detects and displays these items as if they were permanent, leading to the duplicates you see.

How to Fix the Duplicate Menu Items

You do not need to deactivate either plugin. The most effective solution is to manually hide the duplicate items within the Admin Menu Editor interface.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Menu Editor in your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Locate the duplicate menu items (e.g., "Welcome to BuddyPress"). They will likely be listed under the Dashboard menu.
  3. Click on the duplicate menu item to select it.
  4. In the toolbar that appears above the menu, click the button that looks like a grey puzzle piece. This is the "Hide/Show" button.
    • Note: If you do not see this button, click the "Settings" button near the top of the page and enable the option labeled "Enable the Show/Hide button (the 'eye' icon)" or similar. Save the settings and the button should appear.
  5. Clicking the puzzle piece button will hide the menu item without changing its permissions. The item should now appear greyed out in the editor.
  6. Repeat this process for any other duplicate items.
  7. Finally, click the Save Changes button to apply your new menu configuration.

The duplicate items should now be hidden from your admin menu. This workaround is effective because it instructs Admin Menu Editor to ignore the specific items that are causing the problem, regardless of when other plugins add or remove them.

Other Potential Causes

This behavior is not exclusive to BuddyPress and bbPress. Community threads indicate that other plugins, such as Easy Digital Downloads, MailPoet, and AffiliateWP, can cause similar issues with their welcome screens. The same hiding method described above is the recommended solution for those cases as well.

If you continue to experience issues after following these steps, it is recommended to check for JavaScript errors on the Menu Editor page, as conflicts with your theme or other plugins can sometimes cause unexpected behavior.

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