Bring back a missing editor sidebar

  • troubleshooting
  • editor
  • sidebar
  • fullscreen
  • block-editor

Updated

The block editor has two sidebars, and either one can disappear:

  • The dashboard menu on the left (Posts, Pages, Media, and so on). Fullscreen mode hides it.
  • The Settings sidebar on the right, where a page's and a block's settings live. It's closed with a button or a shortcut, often by accident.

None of this changes your page. It's only how the editor looks, and WordPress remembers your choice for next time.

How do I get the dashboard menu back?

The editor opens in Fullscreen mode by default, which hides the dashboard menu.

  1. Click the ⋮ (Options) button at the top right of the editor.
  2. Under View, click Fullscreen mode to turn it off.

The menu comes back on the left. The Fullscreen mode option only appears when the browser window is wide; on a narrow window or tablet, use the button at the top left instead.

To leave the editor without turning Fullscreen mode off, click the button at the top left (your site icon, or the WordPress logo). It takes you back to the list of pages or posts.

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+F on Windows, ⇧⌥⌘F on a Mac.

How do I get the Settings sidebar back?

Click the Settings button at the top right. It's the square icon with a panel on its right side, next to Publish or Save.

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+, on Windows, ⇧⌘, on a Mac.

If the sidebar opens but shows the wrong settings, switch between the Page (or Post) tab for the whole page and the Block tab for the selected block. Click a block first if the Block tab is empty.

If everything around the page is gone

Distraction free hides the toolbar and both sidebars so you can just write. Turn it off in the ⋮ (Options) menu under View, or press Ctrl+Shift+\ (⇧⌘\ on a Mac).

If the block toolbar has moved to the top of the screen instead of floating above each block, Top toolbar is on. It's in the same View menu.

If the editor itself looks different

If you see a plain text box with a toolbar of formatting buttons instead of blocks, the Classic Editor has taken over. See Restore the block editor if Classic Editor took over.

To find blocks nested inside layouts, use List View. See Navigating blocks with List View.