Title: WP_Screen::show_screen_options
Published: April 25, 2014
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# WP_Screen::show_screen_options(): bool

## In this article

 * [Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#return)
 * [More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#more-information)
 * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#source)
 * [Hooks](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#hooks)
 * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#related)
 * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#changelog)

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

## 󠀁[Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#return)󠁿

 bool

## 󠀁[More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#more-information)󠁿

This method automatically sets the $_screen_settings property and returns the $_show_screen_options
property.

## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#source)󠁿

    ```php
    public function show_screen_options() {
    	global $wp_meta_boxes;

    	if ( is_bool( $this->_show_screen_options ) ) {
    		return $this->_show_screen_options;
    	}

    	$columns = get_column_headers( $this );

    	$show_screen = ! empty( $wp_meta_boxes[ $this->id ] ) || $columns || $this->get_option( 'per_page' );

    	$this->_screen_settings = '';

    	if ( 'post' === $this->base ) {
    		$expand                 = '<fieldset class="editor-expand hidden"><legend>' . __( 'Additional settings' ) . '</legend><label for="editor-expand-toggle">';
    		$expand                .= '<input type="checkbox" id="editor-expand-toggle"' . checked( get_user_setting( 'editor_expand', 'on' ), 'on', false ) . ' />';
    		$expand                .= __( 'Enable full-height editor and distraction-free functionality.' ) . '</label></fieldset>';
    		$this->_screen_settings = $expand;
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Filters the screen settings text displayed in the Screen Options tab.
    	 *
    	 * @since 3.0.0
    	 *
    	 * @param string    $screen_settings Screen settings.
    	 * @param WP_Screen $screen          WP_Screen object.
    	 */
    	$this->_screen_settings = apply_filters( 'screen_settings', $this->_screen_settings, $this );

    	if ( $this->_screen_settings || $this->_options ) {
    		$show_screen = true;
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Filters whether to show the Screen Options tab.
    	 *
    	 * @since 3.2.0
    	 *
    	 * @param bool      $show_screen Whether to show Screen Options tab.
    	 *                               Default true.
    	 * @param WP_Screen $screen      Current WP_Screen instance.
    	 */
    	$this->_show_screen_options = apply_filters( 'screen_options_show_screen', $show_screen, $this );
    	return $this->_show_screen_options;
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-screen.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-screen.php#L993)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-screen.php#L993-L1038)

## 󠀁[Hooks](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#hooks)󠁿

 [apply_filters( ‘screen_options_show_screen’, bool $show_screen, WP_Screen $screen )](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/screen_options_show_screen/)

Filters whether to show the Screen Options tab.

 [apply_filters( ‘screen_settings’, string $screen_settings, WP_Screen $screen )](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/screen_settings/)

Filters the screen settings text displayed in the Screen Options tab.

## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#related)󠁿

| Uses | Description | 
| [WP_Screen::get_option()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/get_option/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-screen.php` |

Gets the arguments for an option for the screen.

  | 
| [get_column_headers()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_column_headers/)`wp-admin/includes/screen.php` |

Get the column headers for a screen

  | 
| [checked()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/checked/)`wp-includes/general-template.php` |

Outputs the HTML checked attribute.

  | 
| [get_user_setting()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_user_setting/)`wp-includes/option.php` |

Retrieves user interface setting value based on setting name.

  | 
| [__()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/__/)`wp-includes/l10n.php` |

Retrieves the translation of $text.

  | 
| [apply_filters()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/apply_filters/)`wp-includes/plugin.php` |

Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

  |

[Show 2 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#)
[Show less](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#)

| Used by | Description | 
| [WP_Screen::render_screen_meta()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/render_screen_meta/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-screen.php` |

Renders the screen’s help section.

  |

## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_screen/show_screen_options/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿

| Version | Description | 
| [3.3.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/3.3.0/) | Introduced. |

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