Hiding admin bar in WordPress 3.3

@vietnamica: This thread had already been marked resolved, and you are asking a totally different question (original question was about wanting to turn off the toolbar, not reporting that it was missing). Please jump into a thread with the same topic as you, or if there isn’t one, start a new thread. Thanks!

WP used to be a easy, simple, fast and unrestricted (much to it’s fantastic plugin/module possibilities) software. That’s my believe why it got so popular.

WP now has become a bloated software without any kind of accessibility (for example, if you have arthritis you want to avoid all unnecessary mouse clicking and pointing because we hate dropdown menus that takes multiple attempts to navigate through).

I just think it’s so sad. I wish I could stay on an earlier version, but if you run a popular site you really have to upgrade because of the security holes.

A simple solution to this would be to add a option where you can disable the admin bar on both front and backend, choose between the new and earlier 3.2 interface (and with the possibility to have it always expanded – skip the js collapsable thingy).

capour,

A simple solution to this would be to add a option where you can disable the admin bar on both front and backend

As already explained, the Toolbar combines the header and what used to be admin bar into one section. And since the header is now in the Toolbar, several options and links are now only available in the Toolbar, e.g. Log Out and Network Admin among others. Turning off the Toolbar in the Dashboard would be akin to turning off the header.

…with the possibility to have it always expanded – skip the js collapsable thingy).

AaronCampbell wrote a plugin that allows you to keep the menus expanded similarly to version 3.2. You can find it here: https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/expanded-admin-menus/

First, I know this thread has been marked resolved, but I have a question related to comments made in it. So please forgive me if I seem like I’m intruding. Anyways….

Ipstenu wrote:

You cannot turn off the admin bar on the backend anymore, however you CAN turn it off on the front end in your profile. As Charles put it, the Toolbar (no more the admin bar) replaces the Admin Bar AND the Header, and has information and tools not replicated elsewhere.

I can deal with the toolbar on the Admin side, that’s no problem. My problem here, and many others will probably chime in on it as well, is that it some installs, like certain community sites, e-commerce sites, etc., may need to have it disabled on the front end globally.

Doing it via the user’s profile in the back end would require me to disable it for every current and new user that comes along. That really seems unnecessary and I will probably not get everyone that comes along. Thus, using a plugin to disable it on the front end globally is awesome.

Sorry, is there a way to disable it just on the front end globally?

Ah, that is a VERY fair point, and a good question (I was answering under the assumption that it was a per-user question).

Put this in your THEME’S function.php (not in a plugin file).

add_filter('show_admin_bar', '__return_false');

That removes it from the front end only on TwentyEleven.

(If you want to get really fancy, wrap that around an ‘if is NOT admin, then…’)

Who marked this topic resolved? It’s not resolved for me quite yet, at least!

Anyway, many thanks for all the users who have contributed to this discussion; it has been a very intriguing read. To be clear, I’m not so sure I like the idea of combining the header with the “toolbar.” The merits of this decision can be discussed ad nauseam, but what I’d really like to do is hide any trace of this bar from showing up on the site for ordinary visitors—signed in or not. I as the admin don’t want to see it either on the front end. On the back end, I obviously need it when in the dashboard, jumping between front and back to test settings and CSS adjustments.

I use Theme my Login and the enhanced meta widget to control login and other link functionality. Users DON’T see the WordPress dashboard at all; they interact with WordPress Symposium settings (an optional social network alternative to Buddypress).

So, to be clear, I’ll reiterate what MickeyRoush said in that I need the toolbar to be disabled globally for all users and visitors. Ipstenu’s suggestion looks nice, but by version 3.3, I would have thought this “bar” element would have been handled more elegantly, since it has obviously been an issue for more than a few. An option to globally hide it from sight for visitors and users should be made available in the core settings, should certain users savvy or not (I’m not sure where I fit in), wish to hide it due to their design strategy.

Hello Everyone,

I also do not really like the combination in 3.3. However, you can remove the “other” links from the Toolbar and make it act like the old Header.

I’m using Adminimize to accomplish this, but it’s just .css modification. Set visibility:hidden; to the following items.

#wp-admin-bar-wp-logo .ab-icon
#wp-admin-bar-wp-logo .ab-item
#wp-admin-bar-updates .ab-icon
#wp-admin-bar-updates .ab-item
#wp-admin-bar-comments .ab-icon
#wp-admin-bar-comments .ab-item
#wp-admin-bar-new-content .ab-icon
#wp-admin-bar-new-content .ab-item

Jane Wells: “There is no more admin bar. There is a dashboard header that is also accessible on the front end when logged in if you want that option.”

Jane, is there an option to turn this off globally on the front end for all users?

I am new with WordPress, about 3 months and I love it. I am using it 100% now. Moved away from everything else. But …. I am really sorry to find out like most of you people that WordPress is restricting everyones freedom of choice..(to whether disable the admin bar publicly or not!) I totally agree with sickhippie who has commented here strongly the same thing. I thought its a Free program and such WordPress should remain. But it looks like they are now controlled by someone to have to restrict our choice of Freedom! Anyone knows what has happened? Why are we going backwards to controlled environment? Maybe you know anything Ipstenu??
Regards

Probably a dumb question, but…

if hiding it is so impossible in the back-end, why is it invisible when in “add new post” with “fullscreen” on?

I have add_filter( ‘show_admin_bar’, ‘__return_false’ ); in my functions, been there since 3.1, and in 3.3 the bar isn’t hidden. Anyone know if the filter has changed?

#wpadminbar
{ display: none; visibility: hidden; }

works for now.

I’m still waiting for Jane to respond. I hope she does, as she seems to be in the loop about WordPress far more than anyone I’ve seen here yet.

In the meantime, I will say that we shouldn’t have to tinker with .php code to have blindingly obvious features that should be made available from within the core itself. Being able to simply turn off the bar globally on the front end is one of those features.

It’s true that the WordPress core needn’t structure itself around third-party plugins and widgets, but it should take into account what a considerable percentage of users are doing with their blogs, and add commonly sought after options for those who wish to take their design strategy/blog functionality along a more customized path (there are many of us, trust in that!) I don’t have a citation proving X amount of people are doing this or that with WordPress, but I do know the admin bar/tool bar/whatever-you-want-to-call-it has been talked about quite a bit ever since the advent of version 3.

Phiew! After deactivating the “Admin Bar Removal” plugin I now understand more about that new feature…

I feel the same way. As a custom theme designer, who uses WP as a CMS for her clients, I generally build a custom link/dashboard system for my clients. They don’t want access to all that extra “stuff”; it confuses them, and makes my job twice as hard. I agree it should be a simple OPTION with the ability (thru hooks and/or filters) to add-on and remove things from it. WP talks about “Freedoms” but yet they’re forcing our hand here. Just my $0.02.