Discover and manage editing panels
Use Metaboxes to simplify the WordPress editor for each content type. A metabox is a registered editing panel supplied by WordPress, the theme, or a plugin. The module discovers these panels from a real editor screen before letting you choose how each one behaves.
Rules apply to everyone on the current site, including administrators. They do not change user permissions or delete saved metadata.
Before you begin
- Sign in with permission to manage site settings and edit the selected content type.
- Identify an example item with the template and data your editors normally use.
- Review panels that contain publishing controls or fields required by another plugin before removing them.
The module works with standard WordPress post editing screens, including registered metaboxes used in the block editor. Native block-editor sidebar panels, attachment editing, and custom plugin editors are outside its scope.
Discover panels and save rules
- Open Settings → POM Tweaks → White labelling → Metaboxes.
- Select Enable and click Save. If the discovery controls are not yet visible, reload the tab.
- Choose Content type.
- Leave Example post ID (optional) empty to inspect a recent editable item. If none is available, discovery uses the new-post screen. Alternatively, enter an existing ID of that content type to inspect panels that depend on a particular template or record.
- Click Discover panels. Each result shows its title, identifier, and editor location. The example ID appears above the results.
- Choose a behavior for each panel you want to change.
- Click Save panel rules and wait for Panel rules saved. Save each content type before switching to another.
| Behavior | Result |
|---|---|
| Keep unchanged | This module leaves the panel alone. WordPress, personal Screen Options, and other plugins still control its normal behavior. |
| Hide only | The panel stays registered, but its metabox container and Screen Options control are hidden. |
| Remove from editor | The panel is unregistered from the editing screen for that content type. Its fields are not rendered there. |
Removing a panel can affect a plugin workflow that expects fields from that panel to be submitted. Neither hiding nor removing is an access restriction: use WordPress roles and capabilities for that purpose.
Conditional panels and saved rules
Discovery reflects the selected example and the current administrator's permissions. Repeat it with a suitable example when a panel depends on the post's template, status, or metadata. Discovery does not acquire an editing lock on an existing example.
Panels already hidden or removed by this module remain discoverable. A saved rule whose panel is absent from the example appears with Saved rule; panel not found in this example. Its value is retained when you save, so a temporary plugin absence or conditional panel does not silently erase your choices.
Rules belong to the entire content type, not just the example item. Changing one content type preserves the others. Save controls module activation; Save panel rules saves the selected content type's choices.
Verify the result
- Open an affected item in a separate editor tab and reload it after saving the rules.
- Confirm Hide only removes the visible panel and its Screen Options control. Confirm Remove from editor removes the panel entirely.
- Check that retained editing and publishing controls still work.
- Repeat with the relevant editor account, another template if used, and a content type whose rules were not changed.
Disable or change the behavior
Choose Keep unchanged for an individual panel and click Save panel rules to stop controlling it. To suspend all rules, clear Enable and click Save. Saved rules remain available when the module is enabled again.
Troubleshooting
- Discovery fails: reload to refresh your session and retry. Confirm the content type uses the standard WordPress editor. A plugin that replaces that editor can prevent discovery.
- An example is rejected: use an existing, editable item of the selected content type that is not in the trash.
- A panel is missing: inspect a representative existing item. Native block-editor sidebar controls are not metaboxes and will not appear.
- The rules changed in another session: discover the panels again, review the current values, and reapply your intended changes. The module rejects an outdated save to avoid overwriting someone else's work.
- Saving reports a file error: ask your site administrator to check the site's settings-directory permissions, then retry.
- A panel remains hidden after choosing Keep unchanged: check personal Screen Options and other interface-customization plugins.