[UX] Apps in a sidebar

[Cosmo.k]

Hey everyone,

I am a nextcloud user for a long time now, and grateful of what the community have build over the years. That being said, I’v never been a big fan of the navbar with all the apps as icons on top of the interface.

I’ve tried the “custom menu” plugin but it didn’t fit exactly what I wanted, never-hided menu with labels.

I’ve done some css tweaks and I come up with someting.

[Cosmo.k]

Here is the modified interface. Tell me what you think !

Alternative with full content

[nathan_foster]

Nice work! I actually prefer a sidebar layout too. It’s easier to navigate, especially if you have a lot of apps installed. Having labels visible all the time also improves usability compared to relying on icons alone. It would be great if this could be offered as an optional built-in layout in the future.

[hweihwang]

I like this. Labels make switching between Files, Calendar and Deck much easier. My only worry is width, since Deck and Files already have their own sidebar. On a laptop that becomes three columns pretty fast. Maybe keep the labels by default, but let the outer rail collapse when needed?

[Cosmo.k]

Thank you @nathan_foster @hweihwang for your replies Much appreciated.

@hweihwang

On a laptop that becomes three columns pretty fast.

Agreed. 2 sidebars is heavy, 3 is a killer. I regret that sidebars in apps are not always necessary and use a lot of space.
As you say, it would be a nice feature indeed to have hability to collapse it.

Maybe that sidebar could come within a new theme ? (instead of a plugin / app)