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Troubleshooting Missing Admin Menus After Using User Role Editor

32 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → User role editor

Content

One of the most common issues reported by users of the User Role Editor plugin is the sudden disappearance of menu items from the WordPress admin dashboard. This can affect plugin menus, core WordPress items like 'Posts' or 'Users', and even capabilities for site administrators. This guide will explain why this happens and provide step-by-step solutions to restore missing menus and functionality.

Why Do Menus and Capabilities Go Missing?

WordPress controls access to admin menus through capabilities. Each menu item requires a specific capability (e.g., 'edit_posts', 'manage_options') for a user to see it. The User Role Editor plugin allows you to modify these capabilities for any user role. The problem typically occurs when:

  • A capability necessary for a menu is accidentally removed from a role.
  • The 'Reset' feature reverts all roles to a default state, stripping away capabilities added by other plugins.
  • A plugin requires a custom capability (e.g., 'sgpb_manage_options') that does not exist by default in WordPress.
  • Changes are saved and then the plugin is deactivated, potentially leaving roles in a modified state.

How to Troubleshoot and Fix Missing Menus

1. Check and Re-add Capabilities

The first and most common fix is to verify that the correct capabilities are enabled for the affected user role.

  1. Go to Users -> User Role Editor.
  2. In the top-right corner, select the user role you are troubleshooting from the dropdown menu.
  3. Scroll through the list of capabilities. Look for capabilities that are likely related to the missing menu. These often start with the plugin's name (e.g., 'tablepress_', 'sgpb_').
  4. Check the box for any missing capabilities and click 'Update' to save the changes.

2. Consult the Plugin's Documentation

If you are unsure which capabilities a specific plugin requires, you should consult that plugin's documentation. The author will usually list the required capabilities for accessing its features. For example, the TablePress plugin requires capabilities like 'tablepress_list_tables'. If these are missing, the menu will not appear.

3. Reactivate the Problem Plugin

Many plugins automatically re-add their required capabilities to the Administrator role upon activation. A simple but effective troubleshooting step is to deactivate and then reactivate the plugin whose menu is missing. This can often reset the necessary permissions.

4. Investigate with a Default Theme and No Other Plugins

To rule out a conflict with another plugin or your theme, follow these steps:

  1. Switch your theme to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-One.
  2. Deactivate all plugins except User Role Editor and the plugin with the missing menu.
  3. Check if the menu reappears. If it does, reactivate your plugins one-by-one to identify the source of the conflict.

5. Manual Database Check (Advanced)

User Role Editor stores its role changes in the WordPress database's wp_options table (where 'wp_' is your database prefix) in a record with the option_name wp_user_roles. If you have a database backup from before the issue occurred, you can compare the values in this record to see what changed. Warning: Only edit the database directly if you are comfortable with SQL and have a recent backup.

6. Use a Code Snippet

In some cases, such as with the WPML plugin, a specific function needs to be called to reset capabilities. You can often find these solutions in support forums. For example, adding the following code to your theme's functions.php file can reset WPML's capabilities:

function wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities() {
    if ( function_exists( 'icl_enable_capabilities' ) ) {
        icl_enable_capabilities();
    }
}
add_action( 'shutdown', 'wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities' );

Remember: Always use a child theme when editing theme files, and remove any code snippets after they have served their purpose.

Conclusion

Missing admin menus are almost always a permissions issue. By methodically checking capabilities, reactivating plugins, and ruling out conflicts, you can almost always restore access. The key is to understand that plugins rely on these capabilities to register their menus in the admin dashboard. Always double-check your changes in User Role Editor and consider using a staging site to test role modifications before applying them to a live website.

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