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The new app layout

Why Elium moves to a narrow navigation bar, what changes, how to try it and how to arrange it.

Elium has a new layout. A narrow navigation bar replaces the wide menu on the left, and the list of spaces only shows on the homepage and in your spaces. Your pages get more room, and each item in the bar becomes an app that you can arrange.

Why we are changing the layout

The old menu was open on every page, even when you did not need your spaces. The new navigation bar is about a third of the old menu's width. The rest of the screen goes to your pages, and later to apps that need the full width, such as analytics.

The second goal is to turn Elium into a set of apps. Each item in the bar opens one, for example your spaces or your tasks. In future versions, more apps will join the bar, such as approvals, analytics and the public portal. You will choose which apps your platform shows. These new apps will only be available in the new layout.

What changes in this first version

This first version keeps the items of the old menu, in the same order. As before, some items only show for the people who can use them. One label changes: "Article Requests" is now "Requests". The numbers next to "Tasks", "My Events" and "Requests" still show what is waiting for you.

When the bar is too short for all the items, for example on a small screen, the last items move under "More".

The list of spaces, with "Promoted spaces", "Favourite spaces" and "My Spaces", now shows only on the homepage, on the "Spaces" page and inside each space. On the other pages, such as "Tasks" or "My Contents", it is hidden and the page uses the full width. To show or hide the list, click the button on the left of the top bar. To change its width, drag its right edge.

Apart from the button that shows the list of spaces, the top bar does not change. On a phone, the browser version and the mobile app keep their current menu.

Your logo shows at the top of the navigation bar, in a small square. The old menu had room for a wide logo, for example one with the full name of your company. In the square, a wide logo becomes very small.

The "Look & feel" settings have a card for the new layout: "Narrow sidebar layout". The first step on the card is the square logo. Only the new layout uses the platform logo, so you can upload it before you switch. The platform logo is available on the Corporate and Enterprise plans.

  1. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then click "Settings".

  2. In the menu on the left, open "General" and click "Look & feel".

  3. In the "Narrow sidebar layout" card, under "Upload square-format logo", click "Browse" or drop an image into the area. Use a PNG or JPG file of at least 256 × 256 pixels.

  4. Crop the image to a square, then click "Confirm".

  5. Click "Save changes".

If you do not upload a platform logo, the navigation bar shows your current logo, made smaller to fit the square. On the other plans, the navigation bar always shows the Elium logo.

Preview the new layout

Until the new layout is on for your platform, administrators see a banner at the top of Elium. It has a switch to preview the new layout and a link to this article. You can close the banner. It comes back when you open Elium in a new tab.

The preview applies only to you, in the browser you use. The other members keep the old layout.

To start the preview, turn on the switch in the banner. The layout changes at once. The settings pages do not show the navigation bar, so open the homepage to see the new layout. To leave the preview, turn the switch off.

The "Narrow sidebar layout" card in the "Look & feel" settings has the same switch, named "Enable for you".

The "Settings" page also has a card named "Updated sidebar layout". Its "Manage sidebar" button opens the "Look & feel" settings. The card disappears once the new layout is on for everyone.

Switch to the new layout

We plan to move every platform to the new layout before the end of 2026. Until then, you decide when to switch. Before you switch, we recommend that you upload a square logo and tell your members.

  1. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then click "Settings".

  2. In the menu on the left, open "General" and click "Look & feel".

  3. In the "Narrow sidebar layout" card, click "Enable for everyone".

  4. Read the message, then click "Apply to everyone".

Every member of the platform now sees the new layout. The banner and the card on the "Settings" page disappear, and the "Narrow sidebar layout" card shows "Enabled".

To go back to the old layout, click "Disable for everyone" in the same card, then "Disable narrow sidebar". This is possible until the end of 2026.

Arrange the navigation bar

  1. In the navigation bar, click "Customise", under the last item.

  2. Drag an item to change its position.

  3. To hide an item, turn off its switch. Hidden items move to the end of the list. Turn the switch on to show the item again.

  4. Close the window. Each change is saved immediately.

Your changes apply to every member of the platform. "Homepage" always stays first and you cannot hide it. To go back to the default items and order, click "Reset".