How to use customize_panel_active filter in WordPress

Have you ever wondered how to manipulate the behavior of Customizer panels in WordPress? Well, today we’re diving into the customize_panel_active filter. As a WordPress enthusiast, you can use this filter to determine whether a Customizer panel is active. Let’s explore this with some examples!

To start using the customize_panel_active filter, you first need to register it using add_filter. This can be done within your theme’s functions.php file or, ideally, in a custom WordPress plugin. At WePlugins, we recommend creating a custom plugin for hooks to ensure nothing breaks when you update your theme.

Example 1: Basic Usage

Here’s a simple example where we define a function, weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_defaults, and register it with the filter. This function takes two parameters and returns whether the panel is active.

    function weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_defaults($active, $panel) { 
        // Update the $active variable according to your website requirements and return this variable.
        return $active; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "customize_panel_active", "weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_defaults", 10, 2 );
    

Example 2: Conditional Logic

In this example, we modify the $active status based on specific conditions related to the panel instance.

    function weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_conditionally($active, $panel) { 
        if ($panel->id === 'my_custom_panel') {
            $active = true; // Activate only for 'my_custom_panel'
        }
        return $active; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "customize_panel_active", "weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_conditionally", 20, 2 );
    

Example 3: Removing the Filter

Sometimes, you may need to remove a previously registered filter. Here’s how you can do that:

    // remove the filter
    remove_filter( "customize_panel_active", "weplugins_modify_customize_panel_active_defaults", 10, 2 );
    

Remember, when removing a filter, you need to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments.

Contact Us

If you need any customization or face issues using this hook, feel free to Contact Us. We’d love to help you out!