WordPress Bug: Changing Screen Options to 1 Column Won’t Let You Revert Back to 2 Columns

The other day I was experimenting with the screen options in my WordPress blog. On my Dashboard I changed the Screen Options from 2 columns to 1. Then when I tried to switch back to 2 columns again I was unsuccessful. I spent a lot of time Googling the issue and discovered that this bug has been driving people crazy for a long time…..over a  year. People are experiencing this problem since WordPress version 2.6. I am using WordPress version 3.0.

Problem

In WordPress 2.6 or later, once you switch your Screen Options layout from 2 columns to 1 column you cannot go back to the 2 column layout again. You are stuck. By getting stuck in a single column layout, all the panels are lined up in one column so you have to go way down in the page to select items, such as categories. By using two columns you can easily select categories or publishing options at the top of the screen in the right hand column.

Solution

The solution that worked for me was simple. I made sure the Screen Options was set to 2 columns and then I clicked and dragged the panels that I wanted to the right side of my screen, such as Author, Publish and Categories.

Another possible solution is to remove one of your screen options and then exit the edit screen. Re-enter the edit screen and choose a different option. This may work for some of you but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t.